In a country such as ours with greedy corporate officers infiltrating the news on a regular basis, it's refreshing to see a film about a wealthy business owner willing to give away a substantial sum of money to a worthy cause. In "After the Wedding", however, it's a Danish exec, not an American, who ultimately donates $12 million to help feed, clothe and take care of thousands of poor children in India. Jorgen Hansson (Rolf Lassgard) is the generous CEO worth billions (not sure if it's dollars or krones, but a billion of anything is a lot), although his motives aren't purely philanthropic, and that's the nub of this movie.

To explain why he's willing to part with such a large sum of money would risk giving away too much of the plot. He is a doting father of twin boys, plus a young woman about to be married, and his wife, Helene (played wonderfully by Sidse Babett Knudsen) is still beautiful with her blue eyes and raven hair. They all live on a fabulous estate, and although he's a heavy drinker and smoker, Jorgen appears to be a rather likeable fellow.

Harmony and bliss seem apparent all around, until Jacob Petersen (Mads Mikkelsen), a Danish humanitarian running an Indian orphanage, enters ---- and suddenly everything changes. The movie gets its name from the older daughter Anna's big day (Stine Fischer Christensen), and it is at the reception that all the "fun" starts. Mikkelsen plays a sort of anti-hero, as he stirs up a major hornet's nest, and later lets his pride stand in the way of badly needed funds for his orphanage.
As an actor, he proves capable of playing good guy roles as well as bad (007's latest nemesis Le Chiffre from "Casino Royale").

This is one movie where Jeanne will not complain about the writing, because it is so credibly conceived that the viewer melts into the story and can empathize with virtually every character. We really do feel like we're present, whether it's a wedding party or a funeral. Director Susanne Bier is obviously fond of extreme close-ups (people smoking, people drinking, people licking their lips), especially focusing the camera on the actors' eyeballs too many times to count. I can overlook this annoying little technique because the ensemble cast is superb, and they hold our attention throughout.

"After the Wedding" was nominated for an Academy Award for 2006 (losing out to "The Lives of Others"), and did win some Danish honors, not the least of which was Christensen's award for Supporting Actress at the Robert Festival, Denmark's most prestigious film entity. She is simply marvelous in her delicate role as the young bride who experiences so much of life at a tender age. In fact, the movie garnered 10 other Robert nominations in its native country, but no other wins. This is another sub-titled film that will hopefully find its audience in the U.S.

Opinion: See It Now!