Open Hearts
{{Short description|2002 film}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{Infobox film
|name = Open Hearts
|image = Openhearts.jpg
|caption = Danish Movie Poster
|director = Susanne Bier
|producer = Vibeke Windeløv
|writer = Anders Thomas Jensen
|starring = Mads Mikkelsen
Nikolaj Lie Kaas
Sonja Richter
Paprika Steen
|music = {{ill|Jesper Winge Leisner|da}}
|cinematography = {{ill|Morten Søborg|de}}
|editing = {{ill|Pernille Bech Christensen|da||de}}
|distributor = Nordisk Film
|released = {{Film date|2002}}
|runtime = 113 minutes
|country = Denmark
|language = Danish
}}
Open Hearts ({{langx|da|Elsker dig for evigt}}) is a 2002 Danish drama film directed by Susanne Bier using the minimalist filmmaking techniques of the Dogme 95 manifesto. It stars Mads Mikkelsen, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Sonja Richter and Paprika Steen. Also referred to as Dogme #28, Open Hearts relates the story of two couples whose lives are traumatized by a car crash and adultery.
Open Hearts received a 93% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes movie review website.{{cite web|title=Open Hearts|website=Rotten Tomatoes|publisher=Fandango Media|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/open_hearts/|accessdate=22 July 2021}} Susanne Bier received the International Critics Award at the 2002 Toronto International Film Festival "for the fact that it proves that dogma has come of age and matured into a potent cinematic language that skillfully captures the freeing of real emotions that extreme trauma creates within the lives of the characters in her film."{{cite web|title=Awards for Elsker dig for evigt (2002) |publisher=IMDb |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0315543/awards|accessdate=22 July 2021}} The film won both the Bodil and Robert awards for Best Danish Film in 2003.{{cite book|last=Piil|first=Morten|authorlink=Morten Piil|title=Gyldendals danske filmguide|publisher=Gyldendal|publication-place=Copenhagen, Denmark|year=2008|edition=3rd|isbn=978-87-02-06669-2|oclc=474736058|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=caRYl94i7xUC|lang=da|pages=132–}}
Plot
An engaged couple is torn apart after the man is paralyzed in an accident and the woman falls in love with the husband of the woman who caused the accident. Joachim, a young man, is made a tetraplegic and hospitalized indefinitely by a car crash after being hit by Marie. Marie's husband Niels is a doctor at the hospital, and he falls for Joachim's fiancee Cecilie, and they have an affair. Niels then leaves his wife, teenage daughter and two young boys for Cecilie, who abandons Joachim.{{cite web|title=Elsker dig for evigt|publisher=Det Danske Filminstitut|url=https://www.dfi.dk/en/viden-om-film/filmdatabasen/film/elsker-dig-evigt|accessdate=22 July 2021}}
Cast
{{Cast listing|
- Sonja Richter as Cecilie
- Nikolaj Lie Kaas as Joachim
- Mads Mikkelsen as Niels
- Paprika Steen as Marie
- {{ill|Stine Bjerregaard|da||de}} as Stine
- Birthe Neumann as Hanne
- Niels Olsen as Finn
- Ulf Pilgaard as Thomsen
- {{ill|Ronnie Hiort Lorenzen|af||da}} as Gustav
- Pelle Bang Sørensen as Emil
- {{ill|Anders Nyborg|da||de}} as Robert
- Ida Dwinger as Sanne
- Philip Zandén as Tommy
- {{ill|Michel Castenholt|af||da}} as Salesperson in Ilva
- {{ill|Birgitte Prins|da}} as Doctor
- {{ill|Susanne Juhasz|af||da}} as Cashier
- {{ill|Hans Henrik Clemensen|af||da}} as Cook
- {{ill|Jens Basse Dam|sv}} as Waiter
- {{ill|Hanne Windfeld|da}} as Nurse 1
- {{ill|Tina Gylling Mortensen|af||da||no}} as Nurse 2
}}
Soundtrack
{{Infobox album
| name = Open Hearts
| type = Soundtrack
| artist = Anggun
| cover = Open Hearts album.jpg
| released = 2002
| recorded = 2002
| genre = Urban pop, electronica
| length =
| label = Columbia, Sony Music
| producer = Niels Brinck, Jesper Winge Leisner
| prev_title = Chrysalis
| prev_year = 2000
| next_title = Luminescence
| next_year = 2005
| misc = {{Singles
| name = Open Hearts
| type = Soundtrack
| single1 = Open Your Heart
| single1date = 2002
| single2 = I Wanna Hurt You
| single2date = 2005
}}
}}
The soundtrack for the film was recorded by Indonesian-French singer Anggun. The album was released by Columbia Records and Sony Music International in many countries worldwide during 2002 to 2003. It became Anggun's second and final album to be released in the United States, following Snow on the Sahara in 1998. The soundtrack features nine songs written and produced by Jesper Winge Leisner and Niels Brinck, three of which co-written by Anggun.
The album received positive reception from music critics. William Ruhlmann from AllMusic rated it three out five stars, writing that Anggun "matches the propulsive, synthesized musical tracks with breathy, emotive vocals that never lose the beat for all their dramatic appeal."William Ruhlmann (2003). [http://www.allmusic.com/album/open-hearts-r629672/ Open Hearts]. AllMusic. Retrieved 23 January 2012. The album's lead single, "Open Your Heart", charted at number 51 on the Norwegian Singles Chart and was nominated for Best Song at the 2003 Robert Awards. "Counting Down" served as a radio-only single in Indonesia and promotional single in Denmark, while "I Wanna Hurt You" was released as 12" vinyl single in Italy.
Track listing
{{Tracklist
|title1 = Counting Down
|writer1 = {{hlist|Jesper Winge Leisner|Niels Brinck}}
|length1 = 3:45
|title2 = Open Your Heart
|writer2 = {{hlist|Anggun|Leisner|Brinck}}
|length2 = 3:27
|title3 = Little Things
|writer3 = {{hlist|Leisner|Brinck}}
|length3 = 4:29
|title4 = Blue Satellite
|writer4 = {{hlist|Leisner|Brinck}}
|length4 = 3:44
|title5 = The End of a Story
|writer5 = {{hlist|Anggun|Leisner|Brinck}}
|length5 = 4:42
|title6 = I'm Your Mirror
|writer6 = {{hlist|Leisner|Brinck}}
|length6 = 3:42
|title7 = Pray
|writer7 = {{hlist|Anggun|Leisner|Brinck}}
|length7 = 4:16
|title8 = I Wanna Hurt You
|writer8 = {{hlist|Leisner|Brinck}}
|length8 = 3:35
|title9 = Naked Sleep
|writer9 = {{hlist|Leisner|Brinck}}
|length9 = 4:20
|title10 = I Wanna Hurt You
|note10 = Niels Brinck club mix
|writer10 = {{hlist|Leisner|Brinck}}
|title11 = Open Your Heart
|note11 = a capella edit
|writer11 = {{hlist|Anggun|Leisner|Brinck}}
}}
Critical reception
The film holds a score of 93% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes with the average score of 7.3/10, based on 58 reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Pulsing with honesty, [Open Hearts] lays bare the rawness of human emotion with a story made all the more believable thanks to its gritty, low-budget approach." On Metacritic, the film holds a score of 77 out of 100, based on 22 reviews from professional critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/open-hearts |title=Open Hearts Reviews|website=Metacritic|publisher=CBS Interactive|accessdate=22 July 2021}}
Nick Schager of Slant Magazine said that "Susanne Biers crafts her familiar story with equal doses of austerity and sympathy".{{cite magazine|url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/open-hearts/|last=Schager|first=Nick|title=Review: Open Hearts|magazine=Slant Magazine|date=14 February 2003}}
According to Elbert Ventura of PopMatters the film's scenario is "soapy and bedridden", adding that "Open Hearts is perhaps too studiously open-ended, a misstep we'll take considering the movie's refreshing magnanimity".{{cite web|url=https://www.popmatters.com/open-hearts-2496254370.html|last=Ventura|first=Elbert|title=Open Hearts (Elsker dig for evigt) (2002)|website=PopMatters|date=13 March 2003}}
Cancelled remake
In 2006, Zach Braff was reported to direct, write, and produce an English-language remake of the film following his debut of Garden State. Paramount Pictures won the rights to produce and distribute in a bidding war between Fox Searchlight Pictures and The Weinstein Company.{{cite web |url= http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/film/brief_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002114665|title= Braff opens 'Hearts' for Paramount|date= March 2, 2006|access-date= August 15, 2022|first1= Tatiana|last1= Siegel|first2= Borys|last2= Kit|work= The Hollywood Reporter|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060319185505/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/film/brief_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002114665|archive-date= March 19, 2006}} Sean Penn was set to co-star with Braff in the film, but the film collapsed due to scheduling conflicts and budget issues. Despite this, Braff still hopes to one day make the film.{{cite web |url= https://www.indiewire.com/2011/04/sean-penn-was-set-to-star-in-zach-braffs-open-hearts-before-it-fell-apart-at-the-last-minute-119082/|title= Sean Penn Was Set To Star In Zach Braff’s ‘Open Hearts’ Before It Fell Apart At The Last Minute|date= April 21, 2011|access-date= August 15, 2022|first= Kevin|last= Jagernauth|work= IndieWire}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|0315543}}
- {{DFDb title|elsker-dig-evigt}}
- {{Danskefilm|TYPE=f|1060}}
{{Susanne Bier}}
{{Anders Thomas Jensen}}
{{Anggun}}
{{Bodil Award for Best Danish Film}}
{{Danish submission for Academy Awards}}
{{Robert Award for Best Danish Film}}
Category:Best Danish Film Bodil Award winners
Category:Best Danish Film Robert Award winners
Category:Danish independent films
Category:Films directed by Susanne Bier