Direction: Thomas Vinterberg
Country: Denmark
Another Round, the 13th feature from Danish director Thomas Vinterberg (The Celebration, 1998; The Hunt, 2012), focuses on four disappointed high school teachers who decide to put in practice a debatable theory from Norwegian psychiatrist Finn Skårderud, which defends that men should maintain a certain amount of alcohol in their blood to improve relaxation and creativity. The idea came from Martin (Mads Mikkelsen), a History teacher, whose plan was forged under the sudden pressure of becoming a more motivating teacher at school as well as a better and more communicative husband at home. He is joined by fellow teachers Nikolaj (Magnus Millang), Tommy (Thomas Bo Larsen) and Peter (Lars Ranthe).
The positive results were pretty much immediate for all, and the usual lifeless classes and despondent mood were replaced by an inspirational approach and some propulsive emotions. The four then decide to raise the alcohol intake for a better performance and further analysis, but while the party time remains exciting, the unhinged disintegration that comes next is pretty ugly.
Despite the consequences of this deliberate intoxication, the film is never downbeat, rather preferring to look ahead. It’s directly connected to alcoholism but it’s also about life itself and the emotional stagnation and frustration that may come from its routines. The ensemble cast is competent while the sober Vinterberg, who collaborated once more with Tobias Lindholm (A Highjacking, 2012; A War, 2015) in the script, grounds the action firmly in the fantastic camaraderie shared by the friends. The film was awarded distinctive prizes at the BFI London and San Sebastian film festivals.
