Lightdeossk Captivating movie !

Beanbioca As Good As It Gets

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Brenda The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

nando1301-1 I cannot recommend this series highly enough... I found it excellent in every aspect: the writing, directing, photography, acting, the music score. It is deeply moving and brought me to tears in several moments.As a period piece it has no rival; it is head and shoulders above any other historical series in TV. It is certainly of much better artistic quality than The Tudors, Rome, and The Vikings series, for instance. It is actually difficult to compare with anything else ever made for TV.It is a series for adults, treating serious themes seriously, and with powerful messages about the stupidity and horrors of war, and the delusions and vanity of politicians; though it is set in Denmark, Germany and the UK in the 1850's and 1860's, most of it applies to situations in the US and Europe in the beginning of the 21st Century: it is a real masterpiece.I really find it hard to understand why some people gave it a low rating... Perhaps it was too profound, too serious, too disturbing? It's certainly not a popcorn & soda production to help you escape reality: it is more a wake-up call to escape escapism. The war scenes were indeed realistic and horrible as real war is; no adolescent glorification of combat. Indeed, the series denounces the naivety of young people joyfully marching off into war as if it were a picnic, and then being scarred by it forever. As for the alternation between past and present, I did not find it confusing; I found it gave the audience time for reflection and for making the very important connections between past and present, between history and present-day disenchantment, between millennials and a much older generation. I could easily see long debates going on about the messages the series conveys, addressing issues of personal and national identity, the roles of religious and political leaders, the meaning of heroism. You could easily have a whole graduate course organized around these 8 chapters.In the end, I was sad to see it finish; yet it was correctly proportioned from beginning till end. The last chapter was not rushed (which is often the case with made for TV productions) and it left me wishing all series were as good as this one.

paul2001sw-1 In 1864, Denmark launched what seems in retrospect an inexplicable war of national expansion. It ended in ignominious defeat at the hands of Bismark's Prussian army. '1864' attempts to tell the story of this war, and is both a personal tale centred on a number of its protagonists, and perhaps also, a story of the eventual birth of the Denmark we know today, the peaceful modern social democracy that eventually superseded the nationalist pretensions of the 19th century. There's been a lot of Danish drama released internationally in recent years, but it's a small country, and fans of other Danish series will recognise a huge proportion of the cast in this one. But sadly, '1864' does not live up to the standards of 'The Killing' or 'Borgen'. It's slow, ponderous, repetitive, obvious and the attempt to wrap up the 19th century story in a contemporary wrapping further reduces the immediacy of the drama. The budget for battle scenes, meanwhile, seems to have been spent entirely in episode 7, which is impressive in itself, but the rest of the episodes speak of war without actually showing it very much. And we never really understand just how the Danish politicians thought that the war could actually be won. Outside of Denmark, the war of 1864 is a little known quirk of European history; I'd be interested to know more, but in spite of its 8 hour duration, I finished this drama still frustratingly uninformed.

Tweekums This Danish drama opens in the present day as troubled teenager Claudia is forced to visit Severin; an elderly baron; while there she reads to him the diaries of his grandmother Inge who lived through the tumultuous events of the mid-nineteenth century. In the aftermath of 1st Schleswig War spirits are high in Denmark; they were victorious and life seems idyllic; however there are dark clouds on the horizon; Lutheran minister Monrad sees the victory as a sign that the Danes are Gods chosen people and after entering politics intends to integrate the Duchy of Schleswig into Denmark against the will of its German speaking population and likely to lead to another war against the Prussians. In the run up to this impending war we are introduced to some of those it will effect; most notably Inge and two brothers who both love her, Peter and Laust Jensen; the son on the current baron Didrich and returned soldier Johan. As the story progresses we observes these characters and those around them as relationships develop and change and ultimately they head to a disastrous war that not all of them will survive.Before watching this series I confess I hadn't heard of the 2nd Schleswig War so can't really comment on how accurately the events were portrayed; I can however say as a piece of drama it was gripping if occasionally difficult viewing. The episodes before the war starts serve to introduce the protagonists and the politics of the time and by the time the first shot is fired we know full well who the heroes and villains are. The battle scenes, which are possibly the best I've seen in a television production, are dramatic in a way that is gruelling rather than exciting… war is a filthy, bloody business. The cast do a fine job; surprisingly it is the villains who stand out most; Nicolas Bro and Pilou Asbæk are great as Monrad and Didrich two of the least sympathetic characters imaginable; the former a religious zealot whose views wouldn't have been out of place in Nazi Germany and the latter who is a coward and a rapist. That isn't to say the rest of the cast aren't fine too; Marie Tourell Søderberg, as Inge, Jens Sætter-Lassen as Peter, Jakob Oftebro as Laust and Søren Malling as Johan. Some reviewers have been critical of the dialogue but not speaking Danish and relying on the subtitles I didn't notice this myself. Overall I'd recommend this to anybody looking for a historical drama with fairly deep themes; just be warned some of the content will offend some viewers.

Poul Nielsen This movie has been one of the most expected series in Danish television ever. And there are very different opinions about it. Let me try to mention the components that makes this a series you wont forget so easily, and why I think it is a masterpiece. The photography is brilliant, the costumes and makeup are great and the set is amazing. And the music score by Marco Beltrami is over the top. The actors are excellent, both the children, and the rest of the cast. The series is built up, not with a story that end with a climax in each part of the series, but as a long movie, and this is hard for some viewers to understand. For dramatic reasons some incidents and persons are not totally described as they were historically. But the story certainly hit you emotionally. The scenes from the battle is comparable to Omaha Beach in "saving Private Ryan". Think also "Barry Lyndon" and "1900" and you will have some hint on what it is all about. I loved it, and i am curious how Ole Bornedal will cut the series into a Cinema movie.