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MOVIES / ON DVD / OPEN HEARTS
Open Hearts

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Open Hearts (2003)

96%
100%
83%
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96 %
Reviews Counted: 54 Fresh: 52  Rotten:2 Average Rating: 7.6/10
 
Consensus: Pulsing with honesty, this film lays bare the rawness of human emotion with a story made all the more believable thanks to its gritty, low-budget approach. Pulsing with honesty, this film lays bare the rawness of human emotion with a story made all the more believable thanks to its gritty, low-budget approach. more
 
Runtime: 1 hr 54 mins
Synopsis:
In 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... [More]
In 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. [Less]

Genre: Foreign Films

Starring: Sonja Richter, Nicolaj Lie Kaas, Mads Mikkelsen, Paprika Steen, Stine Bjerregaard

Director: Susanne Bier
Screenwriter: Susanne Bier
Producer: Vibeke Windelov
Screenwriter: Anders Thomas Jensen
Producer: Jonas Frederiksen

DVD Info

Release:

[DVD Details]

Reviews

 
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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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12/30/06 08:26 AM
Empire Magazine
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01/26/06 03:15 AM
Time Out
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04/20/03 08:04 AM
Guardian [UK]
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04/08/03 05:05 PM
FilmFour.com
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04/05/03 12:51 PM
Alexander Walker
This is London
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Acutely observed and beautifully written.

Full Review | Comment
03/23/03 08:03 AM
Nev Pierce
BBC
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A powerfully moving drama that's well worth seeing.

Full Review | Comment
01/09/03 08:08 AM
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
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No review available.

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08/17/05 02:50 PM
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
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07/21/05 03:23 AM
Houston Chronicle
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Arguably, the dogma movement has found its most accomplished expression to date in Open hearts.

Full Review | Comment
02/16/05 02:07 PM
Boyd van Hoeij
european-films.net
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Reminds me of the best of Bergman’s chamber dramas. Nerves are exposed, hearts opened and emotions bared, all under Bier’s X-ray cameras.

Full Review | Comment
02/09/04 04:47 PM
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly
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Unusual and provocative, Open Hearts is a genuine romantic drama written and delivered with heart-wrenching honesty.

Full Review | Comment
05/10/03 07:00 PM
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
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A small-scale domestic drama with large-scale feeling.

Full Review | Comment
04/27/03 08:03 AM
Steve Murray
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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One instance where Dogme's subtraction of extraneous elements turns out to be a plus.

Full Review | Comment
04/11/03 09:08 PM
Sean Means
Salt Lake Tribune
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Refreshingly honest.

Full Review | Comment
04/11/03 05:27 PM
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City
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Has the wherewithal to follow through on its dramatic dalliances, no matter how gloomy the prospect.

Full Review | Comment
04/10/03 02:09 PM
Steve Schneider
Orlando Weekly
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Open Hearts is far from inaccessible, but it demands a higher level of concentration than most big-budget movies do. The drama exists in a glance or a nod, or in a slight hesitation in speech.

Full Review | Comment
04/04/03 06:04 PM
Jay Boyar
Orlando Sentinel
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Director Susanne Bier and co-writer Anders Thomas Jensen draw attention away from the famous Dogme gimmick... and pull us into a surprisingly powerful emotional snafu.

Full Review | Comment
04/01/03 12:45 PM
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid
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What Open Hearts does best is capture the raw, frank essence of hurt.

Full Review | Comment
03/28/03 05:43 PM
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press
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There is no doubting the heart-rending impact of the story. But because it is made clear from the start that there is no chance of an uplifting ending, viewers may grow restless.

Full Review | Comment
03/28/03 05:39 PM
C.W. Nevius
San Francisco Chronicle
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