Another Round (Danish: Druk, “binge drinking”) is a comedy-drama directed by Thomas Vinterberg, from a screenplay by Vinterberg and Tobias Lindholm. Another Round is an international co-production between Denmark, the Netherlands, and Sweden. After the film finally became available, I watched and decided Another Round was definitely not my cup of tea. It bears too much resemblance to grown men playing the part of teenagers doing extremely stupid and dangerous teenage things.
Teachers Martin (Mads Mikkelsen), Tommy (Thomas Bo Larsen), Peter (Lars Ranthe), and Nikolaj (Magnus Millang) are colleagues as well as friends at a gymnasium in Copenhagen. All four struggle with unmotivated students and felt that their lives had become boring and stale. At a dinner celebrating Nikolaj’s 40th birthday, the group begins to discuss psychiatrist Finn Skårderud, who has theorized that having a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.05 makes you more creative and relaxed. While the group dismisses the theory, Martin, who is depressed due to marital concerns, is intrigued and decides to put the theory to the test and starts drinking at work. The rest of the group eventually decides to join him, considering the ordeal an experiment to test Skårderud’s theory. They agree to a set of rules: their BAC should never be below 0.05 and they should not drink after 8:00pm.
Within a short period of time, all four members of the group find both their work and private lives more enjoyable. Martin, in particular, is delighted as he finally manages to reconnect with his wife Anika (Maria Bonnevie) and children. Agreeing that the experiment should be taken further, the group increases the daily BAC limit to 0.10. Still finding their lives improved, the group decides to attempt binge drinking to observe how their bodies and minds respond. The group has a fun night, but after coming home drunk, both Martin and Nikolaj are confronted by their families. Martin’s family expresses their worries that he is descending into alcoholism, revealing that he has been visibly drunk for weeks. After a heated argument during which Martin’s wife admits to infidelity, Martin leaves her. The group abandons the experiment.
Teachers drinking during the day is risky, to say the least. I would think other teachers, colleagues, and students could probably smell you coming. Increasing your BAC to 0.10 would probably impact your driving skills as well as your reasoning skills. While one out of the four became an alcoholic, the other three appeared to be in the throws of all the effects of an over-indulger, so what’s the point. Perspective is everything. Since Another Round was in a foreign language, I watch with English subtitles turned on. I suspect the subtitles took a little away from my overall experience, as keeping up with the verbiage was not easy. The plot came to a logical conclusion, which I was not very happy with but on the upside, I found Another Round to be entertaining. It was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film and is streaming on Prime Video — Check It Out!
[ANOTHER ROUND is Oscar-nominated at the 93rd Academy Awards for Best Director, and Best International Feature Film — Totaling 2 Nominations]
CAROL's WORLDS 