7/9/2007 1:04 PM
posted awhile ago
The Inheritance
Inheritances are usually good things such as values, a good reputation or wealth inherited from one generation to the next. However, this inheritance is the last thing anyone would want. This Danish film is a scathing criticism of how social pressures and the drive to succeed can taint and destroy even the kindest and happiest of people. The film opens with the main character happy and content with owning and running a restaurant while his pretty wife acts on the stage. They make love every night and live only for each other. However, his idyllic life is shatttered when his father commits suicide, forcing him to take over the family steel conglomerate to save it from financial collapse. What he doesn't realize is that this job will demand so much of him that he will have to choose between his wife and being loyal to the family. Being the responsible eldest, he chooses his family and loses his wife, his son and his idyllic life to become a shell of a man, a mere shadow of his former self, devoid of any emotion, care and compassion. Relentlessly depicting the dark side of capitalism, the film shows how easily one can lose himself and his decency all in the name of "business." This film is a definite morality play that is extrememly relevant to a world that values wealth and possessions over love and affection, for, though he provides a lavish life for his wife, she knows that's not what life's about and leaves him to wallow in his self-made misery. Definitely not an upper, the film is still vital, especially to foreign film buffs who will find this Denmark film to be a gem worthy of Criterionizing.
Desired Extras: - Interviews with Director and Cast
- Original trailers (I always like seeing how they try to market such films)
- Critic Essays
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