Another Round

Martin (Mads Mikkelsen) is a history teacher at a Danish high school who has become bored with his own lessons. His students have noticed, and so has his family. He and three colleagues — psychology teacher Nikolaj, music teacher Peter and the school's lonely gym teacher Tommy — each feel that life is slipping past them.

At a dinner, the friends discuss a theory attributed to Norwegian psychiatrist Finn Skårderud: that people are born with a blood alcohol shortfall of 0.05%, and that keeping that level up would make them more creative, relaxed and socially brave. Half as a joke and half as a lifeline, they decide to test it on themselves as a "scientific experiment," drinking during the working day.

At first the results look good. Lessons come alive and the men feel young again. But as they push the experiment further, Thomas Vinterberg's film becomes an honest, funny and painful study of friendship, middle age and the fine line between feeling alive and falling apart.

Another Round is neither a temperance lecture nor a celebration of drinking. Critics note that the film does not pass moral judgement. It asks what it takes to feel fully alive and admits that the same thing that frees us can also destroy us. Alcohol is the device. The real subject is the loss of vitality in middle age and the urge to get back the recklessness, love and courage of youth.

Vinterberg's daughter Ida died in a car accident four days into filming. After that, the project changed into what he called an "ode to life" and "her monument." The film ends in grief and joy together: life is fragile and short, so it should be cherished and fully lived, even knowing its dangers.

A celebration of life: Many critics see the ending as a joyful affirmation. The film does not pass moral judgement and instead shows life as something to be cherished as it is. Martin's dance is pure liberation.

Vinterberg made Another Round after Festen and The Hunt. It looks honestly at Denmark's drinking culture, which the film shows among both teenagers and adults. The production was shaped by tragedy: Ida Vinterberg's death early in filming turned the film into what the director called an ode to life.

It won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, and Vinterberg's acceptance speech dedicating the award to his daughter was one of the most moving moments of that ceremony. Mikkelsen's final dance was widely praised as one of the most spectacular movie scenes of its year. It spread across social media, and Scarlet Pleasure's "What a Life" became a drinking anthem in Denmark.

The film's international success led to reports of an English-language remake starring Leonardo DiCaprio, which some commentators questioned. Philosophically, the film draws on Kierkegaard and on real psychiatric speculation (Finn Skårderud) and uses them to explore existential questions about vitality, anxiety and the meaning of a lived life.

Audiences rated the film highly (about 7.7/10 on IMDb), and it was widely admired on Letterboxd. Viewers praised Mads Mikkelsen's performance above all, especially the final dance, which many called their favourite movie moment of the year. They also praised the balance between comedy and tragedy, the warm chemistry among the four friends, and the film's emotional honesty, which the story of Ida Vinterberg deepened for many.

The main criticism and controversy was about its attitude to alcohol. Some viewers felt the film glamorises drinking or is too ambivalent about it. Others praised it for refusing to moralise. Some thought the premise was predictable in its rise-and-fall structure.

Overall verdict: a humane, life-affirming and bittersweet film, widely regarded as one of Vinterberg's best and confirmed by its Oscar win.