Another Round
Director: Thomas Vinterberg
Starring: Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Magnus Millang
Genre: Skål
I was going to review the US-Korean critically acclaimed Minari this month (four-and-a-half kimchi) but thought it would be more fun to review Another Round, the Danish film about four middle-aged mates at the cross-roads of their lives experimenting with alcohol. It’s probably also easier for me to relate to!
Anyway, their theory was that they should stay moderately drunk during working hours. And it initially pays off spectacularly, enhancing their personal, physical and social relationships. Mind you, I’m discovering it doesn’t help with writing film reviews given the multiple attempts it’s taken me just to get this far and my decreasing ability to typw prolperkly/.
My fear about Another Round was that it would get all preachy about the dangers of drinking to excess and chart the inevitable descent of all involved. Well there is some of that, they do ramp up the drinking and things do go generally downhill, but there is a lot of fun to be had along the way.
Ultimately, what the drinking did trigger, apart from (spoiler alert) partying, vomiting, fighting, potential marriage bust-ups and death, is voyages of discovery. Each of the mates is impacted, positively and negatively in their own way. But on the whole they learn that you should embrace what you have, enjoy everything in moderation and there’s nothing wrong with an occasional binge in the best of Danish traditions.
And I’ve also learnt to be careful embracing the subject matter of your reviews (my review of Trainspotting is spectacular and unintelligible).
Rating: Three-and-a-half double-shots of anything.
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