About this product

Product Information

The fate of a young couple, Cecilie and Joachim, collides with that of an older married couple, Marie and Niels. This spirals into conflict turning their lives upside down. Dispensing with the conventions of film-making, Open Hearts is part of the Dogme95 movement.

Product Identifiers

ProducerVibeke Windelov, Jonas Frederiksen

EAN5051429100272

eBay Product ID (ePID)63222079

Product Key Features

ActorNikolaj Lie Kaas, Mads Mikkelsen, Stine Bjerregaard, Paprika Steen, Sonja Richter, Birthe Neumann

Film/TV TitleOpen Hearts

DirectorSusanne Bier

LanguageDanish

Subtitle LanguageEnglish

Run Time109 Mins

Aspect Ratio16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen

Release Year2008

FormatDVD

FeaturesAudio Commentary\San Sebastian Film Festival Featurette\4 Deleted Scenes\Music From Soundtrack\Picture Gallery\Cast and Crew Biographies\Trailers, Widescreen, With Subtitles

GenreDrama, General

Additional Product Features

Number of Discs1

Certificate15

Country/Region of ManufactureDenmark

Additional InformationIn Susanne Bier's achingly tender drama, filmed according to the tenets of the Dogme 95 collective, the fates of two couples are forever altered in the blink of an eye. Joachim (Nicolaj Lie Kaas) and Cecilie (Sonja Ricther) are a young couple on the verge of marriage. But before they can make it official, a car hits Joachim, leaving him paralyzed. It turns out the driver of the car, Marie (Paprika Steen), is the wife of Niels (Mads Mikkelsen), a doctor at the local hospital. Niels offers Cecilie a shoulder to cry on, and when a tormented Joachim sends her away, she takes Niels up on his offer. What begins as a harmless connection between two strangers quickly turns into something else, as Niels finds himself falling in love with Cecilie. Gradually, Marie begins to sense something is amiss, until the truth finally comes out, destroying their relationship in the process. A sudden change of heart from Joachim forces Cecilie to decide which man she wants to spend her life with. Like the most successful Dogme films (FESTEN, MIFUNE), Bier boldly mixes a melodramatic storyline with a documentary-like visual approach to create a work that is deeply affecting, and wholly believable.

ReviewsEntertainment Weekly - ...A striking Danish drama....Discovering such a small pleasure is the kind of experience that rewards film lovers who browse with open eyes as well as hearts..., Sight and Sound - ...[With a] tightly intelligent script....[And] touches of humor..., Los Angeles Times - ...The gritty, low-budget realism approach of the Dogme manifesto gives immediacy and edge to the raw emotions Bier and her cast uncover..., Movieline - ...[The actors] give stunning performances flecked with raw, almost unbearably painful shards of truth..., New York Times - ...The rough-hewn visual style matches the bite of Anders Thomas Jensen's screenplay....OPEN HEARTS is scrupulously even-handed..., Total Film - ...Benefiting from handheld camerawork that gives the drama a sense of authenticity, OPEN HEARTS is refreshing and clear-eyed...

ScreenwriterSusanne Bier, Anders Thomas Jensen

MusicJesper Winge Leisner

Sound sourceDolby Digital

Movie/TV TitleOpen Hearts

Director of PhotographyMorten Soborg

Consumer AdviceContains very strong language and moderate sex