Cecilie and Joachim are about to get married when a freak car accident leaves Joachim disabled, throwing their lives into a spin. The driver of the other car, Marie, and her family don’t get off lightly, either. Her husband Niels works in the hospital where he meets Cecilie and falls madly in love with her.
Acting
Sonja Richter's unraveling is physically devastating to watch.
Direction
Bier's handheld intimacy makes voyeurism feel unavoidable.
Writing
Every character is complicit; no villains, only cowards.
Director
Susanne Bier
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Dogme 95 cofounder Thomas Vinterberg reportedly called this 'too emotional' for the movement—Bier had already left.
This launched the 'Nordic melodrama' wave that peaked with Bier's Oscar win for In a Better World (2010).
DK
