Copenhagen (2014) Reviews

• ... you'll always remember her

  bjarias2014-10-19

  Stayed up late and watched this film.. bad decision, for I could not put it out of my mind, thinking about what I would say regarding it. If you're like me, you probably watch quite a few indy and foreign films, so there's more a possibility of coming across individuals you know little or nothing about involved in their effort. With this film there are several exceptional talents displayed. It's a great experience, because when you see the person again, you'll easily remember the first time you saw them. It's impossible now to ever forget this performance of Frederikke Dahl Hansen, she is just awesome.. binged.it/1sYfR1m .. Twenty years old she's playing the role of a very bright, awkward/shy-at-times, fourteen year old girl.. falling hard in love for the first time (with a guy twice her age). It's a standout, career-starting display of top notch talent, at times you see each part clearly. For a young actor her age, to be portraying a character so much younger is the big challenge, and give credit to her being selected for the role. Now although she will without question be in many more productions, you will always see a part of her as Effy (and we have another Effy.. if you haven't seen 'Skins'..watch it). Gethin Anthony also deserves much praise, his complex character again being played to perfection.. good portion of us wondering how he was going to come through it all in the end. It's a truly wonderful little film, one you'll definitely look forward to viewing again.

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• Rent the bike; get on and savor the ride: what this movie is really about explained

  jij981112015-07-22

  ***warning, possible spoilers*** this movie should be studied in film classes: you watch it, enjoy it, but don't really realize the effectiveness of the writer and director until later. Here is what happens: 1. An analogy best explains this film: we have all probably seen a video of a master with his dog. Sitting in front of the dog is the most delectable treat imaginable to the dog. The dog does nothing even though every fiber of its being wants to gobble up that treat. It is waiting for its masters command. The Masters here are the writer and director, the dog is the male lead. The girl is the treat (and not in a prurient sense). She says she will be 15 (the age of consent) "in a few days". He wants to pounce (But not in a sexual sense even though there is obvious physical attraction). 2. The age difference is not for shock value. It is a very effective plot device relating to 1 above. 3. They are alone in a hotel room, both drunk (largely at his insistence). She is the aggressor. The reality is he cannot believe she is only 14 and repeatedly says that throughout the movie. She tries to seduce him, taking off her blouse and kissing him which he appears to accept. 4. The "masters" do not outright state that they did not sleep together but instead, more effectively, make that clear by: they both wake up in bed fully clothed (she must have put her top back on) in sharp contrast to his other many dalliances where he graphically wakes up with a naked partner; just prior to this he turns down an offer that most males his age dream about – two beautiful drunk girls try to drag him back to their hotel for a threesome. Instead of going with the women, he is much more concerned about having hurt the girl's feelings and rushes out of the bar, leaving the women, to try to call the girl and apologize for acting like a jerk. So, the attraction is not about sex per se. there is much more to his feelings for the girl and he is clearly conflicted. He does not sleep with her. 5. There is more to him than meets the eye: he is in Denmark to find his grandfather and understand why he was abandoned by his father. The girl, with a great heart and overlooking the fact that he is superficially an insensitive jerk sees something deeper in him and embraces the cause of him finding his past and takes it upon herself to help him. 6. The girl, is far more substantial and mature than the women he has been sleeping with (who is really older, the girl or his earlier partners?). She too, has a troubled family but is very close to her mother and wants to help him resolve that part of his life. 7. In one effective scene, he simply glances down a street and sees a father briefly interacting with his son (short and effective). 8. The most effective scene in the movie: she takes him to a museum. She brings him to a dark corner where there is a bust. She tells him she has never brought anyone there before. She stands next to the bust. It is an exact image of the girl. She tells him she is really hundreds of years old and he says the bust is 1500 years old. This scene is a metaphor for what the movie accomplishes. After 1500 years, here she (who posed for the bust) is here again, resurrected, with the human traits that allowed us to survive over those 1500 years: the yearning for family, love, and a striving for happiness even in an imperfect world. In other hands this might seem corny, here it is movie-making genius.

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• Outstanding work from a film maker who can handle a controversial subject

  Score_The_Film2014-01-23

  From ScoreTheFilm's movie blog... NOTE: Anything considered a spoiler in this review is a soft one. This is a picture that needs to be seen and I'd hate to ruin it for anyone. The entire cast and crew are to be congratulated for making such a beautiful film filled with love and quality at every turn. Writer/director Mark Raso has crafted an unconventional love story that shouldn't offend anyone if you give yourself to the picture and to the characters. What's most striking is that it never once feels disingenuous; it holds true to itself until the very end. No spoilers here, but the ending does not compromise anything that was so carefully and quietly set up in the previous hour and a half. The two leads, Gethin Anthony and Frederikke Dahl Hansen, are fantastic. They really sell it and Hansen, in particular, is a wonder to watch. Her subtle performance goes that extra mile so naturally that it's nearly shocking this is only her third feature film. Keep an eye on her career. She's got moxie! I don't know moxie is but whatever it is, she's definitely got it. But seriously, I think I could have fallen in love with Effy, too, only it would be even more gross for someone three times her age, much less twice. Effy is a fun and endearing character that makes it all too easy for William to find himself falling for such a free spirit. Anthony has the unenviable role of starting out a picture as a right angry a$$hole (to his best friend and everyone else) and gradually transforming into a warm and caring man. Between his performance and Raso's script and direction, he pulls it off. Copenhagen is a beautiful city and Alan Poon's camera captures it with such detail, admiration and allure that it's practically an invitation to be a part of it. This is his first narrative feature film as cinematographer. The young talent associated with this picture is staggering and most impressive. Hell, it's Raso's first feature film as well. His choices in music for the picture, from the Danish songs to Agatha Kaspar's score (her first feature, too!), only add to the magic of the film. The song that Effy sings at the karaoke bar is mesmerizing and it feels like the grounding moment that solidifies the bond she now has with William. It's a powerful scene. Ultimately, the maturity of Raso and his co-conspirators in art and beauty boils down to a pivotal scene near the close of the film. The choice Raso makes with these two characters hinges on making or breaking the film and he does exactly what was needed to stay true to their story. I kept waiting for the ball to drop, not for my lack of knowledge about these film makers but because so often there's something that will take you out of a picture that has worked so hard to keep your attention. It might not ruin it but it dilutes what was carefully constructed. COPENHAGEN doesn't compromise itself with convention or societal acceptance. The relationship William and Effy have is told with such grace that it pulls you in, making you care deeply for them, wanting it to somehow work out but knowing that it shouldn't. The moment they kiss for the first time (don't worry, it's nicely done) took me back 30 years to when I had those 'first' moments, moments I haven't felt in a very long time. That's how much I was drawn into this picture. How it plays out (the film and not my teenage love life) and how it concludes is a journey you need to take. Keep this on your radar. Hopefully it will be available to the public by the end of this year.

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• It's Far More Important to Find Oneself

  SLUGMagazineFilms2014-01-18

  Shot in the beautiful city of (you guessed it) Copenhagen, Denmark, the film follows 28-year-old William (Gethin Anthony) as he searches for his grandfather with nothing to guide him besides a letter—written in Danish, which William can not read nor speak—that his father wrote around 40 years ago. After his best friend Jeremy (Sebastian Armesto) and Jeremy's girlfriend (Olivia Grant) leave him to search the city on his own, William enlists the help of a local girl, Effy (Frederikke Dahl Hansen), to aid him in his search. The two begin to form a budding romance, until William discovers that Effy is only 14 years old. Though Copenhagen begins as a search to find one's family, it soon becomes clear that it's far more important to find one's self. Through William's character, Raso paints a vividly accurate portrait of having to mature and develop as one travels through their 20s. Both Anthony and Hansen give remarkable performances, artistically presenting a great deal of sentiment. I personally prefer to remain eternally seven, but Raso gives a great argument on the benefits of growing up.

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• Great Cast and Wonderful Thoughtful Movie

  blperoc2015-01-22

  Major spoilers below. This is a great movie if you like a mellow thoughtful drama. Spoilers beyond this point. This is what I thought about the movie: William was a damaged person who could never relate to women. Women found him attractive, but all he did through his whole life was have sex with them and throw them away. When he was in Copenhagen he really needed Effy's help and he wanted to sleep with her badly, but when he found out she was 14 the fear of getting in trouble kept him from doing it, but then something else happened. Since the legality slowed him down he really had to get to know her and he really did love her deeply and not just as a girlfriend, he loved her as a person. She was his friend and girlfriend though unconsummated. When they were in the hotel and she wanted to have sex with him he wanted to very badly, but I think at this point it was no the law that stopped him. What stopped him was that he really cared for her and he knew she was too young and it would be bad for her so he stopped himself. I would guess Effy's motivations were that she never really had a father so she was attracted to older men. Like is hinted at in the movie in the beginning, 'she needed someone to lean on.' William was a poor choice but as I said above her age and the law slowed him down enough so that he became that better person that she could lean on. Perhaps in some ways it seemed erratic at the time, but I think this came to a head when he punched her mother's boyfriend. she wasn't going to let anyone hurt her no matter what the consequences. Effy taught him a lot too, she helped him live and grow and you see this in the final scene when he observes the two seas she was talking about. I have to say that now that this is on Netflix it is quite likely that this will reach a wide, wide audience and that Frederikke is going to be a huge star. She has the looks, the voice, beautiful accent, and the screen presence to be a major, major actress. She can do anything she wants after this movie. I believe this is her "Winter's Bone." Other than Frederikke the whole cast and the entire movie is just wonderful. watching it for the second time right now. For those that say this is about a man taking advantage of a 14 year old girl....that is the last thing it is. It is about this girl helping this man to not just become a man, but to become a good man and she succeeds, even if it was not her intention. I'm giving this 9 out of 10 stars.

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