Another Round (Druk - 2020)

Jack and I really liked this story of four Danish school teachers who decide to test whether drinking will perk up their sad lives. The title literally translates to bender or binge drinking. Terrific performances by Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Magnus Millang, and Lars Ranthe highlight this both funny and moving feature, book-ended with scenes of teenagers on an alcoholic spree. 

Thomas Vinterberg directs from a script co-written by him and Tobias Lindholm. Vinterberg's daughter Ida participated in the real-life drinking game, Lake Run, that opens and closes the movie, and was to star as Mikkelson's character's daughter. When Ida was killed by a texting driver four days after filming began, Vinterberg almost ceased production. He didn't, and her character was replaced by a second son. This New York Times review contains no spoilers for a change, and delves into the importance of alcohol to Danish culture.

No composer is named, but I can offer you one playlist on Apple Music and another on Spotify.

Sturla Brandth Grøvlen provides the gorgeous photography.

Vinterberg was last blogged for Far from the Madding Crowd. Mikkelsen has been in, among others, Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself (2002), Casino Royale (2006), Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and At Eternity's Gate. Grøvlen shot Shirley.

We rented this on December 29th from the distributor's website, benefiting our favorite local theatre. If you have a favorite, see if you can do the same. In our case, we made the transaction on a MacBook and then used AirPlay to send it to the Apple TV. If that's too challenging, read this for some tech support.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics' average is 92% and there are not enough audience reviews for an average. We definitely recommend it.