Beginnings
A stroke forces a family on the verge of separation to find a new balance in this poignant drama about love, bitterness and moving forward.
This is not Ane’s year. Her husband, Thomas, is leaving their family for another woman, but before the couple gets a chance to tell their daughters about their divorce, Ane has a stroke. All of the sudden, she needs help with almost everything, and Thomas stays beside her at home.
The Danish Jeanette Nordahl’s second feature film continues the Nordic tradition of harrowing portrayals of relationships but finds an exceptionally physical perspective. The separation and stroke start to mirror each other: with both, the familiar lifestyle is disrupted when the other side isn’t there to support you anymore, and going forwards means learning new ways to go on.
Trine Dyrholm portrays Ane impressively, whose grief, anger and bitterness clash with the external world’s habit of continuing as if nothing had happened at all. At the same time, the film also closely examines the family’s daughters, and how impossible it is to keep children away from the crises of adults. The daughters, too, have to find a new balance when the family’s life changes irreversibly.
Despite its bleak nature, Beginnings doesn’t sink completely into hopelessness. Ane’s gradual rehabilitation, as well as the family’s changed relationships allow space for a comforting thought: maybe life doesn’t go back to how it was, but it can still continue.
Iiro Myller (translated by Tara Tuchyner)
Screenings
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Kino Engel 1Sun 20.9. at 16.30–18.0696 min, 1/3
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Kino Engel 1Mon 21.9. at 18.30–20.0696 min, 2/3Guests present: Trine Dyrholm
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Kino Engel 2Thu 24.9. at 20.30–22.0696 min, 3/3
Trailer
Collaboration
