(Denmark, 99 min.)
Dir. Ole Christian Madsen, Writ. Ole Christian Madsen & Anders
Frithiof August
Starring: Anders W. Berthelson, Paprika Steen, Jamie Morton,
Sebastián Estevanez, Adriana Mascialino.
Divorce is usually such a dire affair, is it not? If the
delightful Danish pic Superclásico has
been called the “happiest movie about divorce,” as it was to some extent in the
introduction to Friday’s jam-packed screening at the European Union Film
Festival, then the title is well earned. Superclásico,
Denmark’s Oscar entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2011 Academy Awards
(it made the January shortlist), is an utterly buoyant film. Superclásico is one of the feel good
movies of the year, or any year given how long it took to play here. All good
things come to those who wait, for Superclásico
induces a cheek-to-cheek grin. This film is the kind of experience that is
bound to lift one’s spirits and brighten the day.
It’s especially revitalizing to see a romantic comedy as strong as Superclásico is, since lighter world cinema affairs that generally make their way to theatres across the pond are also slighter films. (E.g., I’m so Excited!) However, this film by Ole Christian Madsen, director of the outstanding 2008 thriller Flame and Citron doesn’t mix lightness with slightness. Superclásico, hindered only by its overlength, might be the warmest, breeziest film about divorce, but it conveys the pain of love and loss with a slice-of-life sensitivity.
The husband and wife at the end of their marriage, in this
case, are Christian (Anders W. Berthelson) and Anna (Paprika Steen). Their
relationship faded out when Anna grew tired of Christian’s homebody lifestyle and
jumped ship to Buenos Aires where she became a soccer agent and fell in love
with a star player named Juan (Sebastián Estevanez). Christian doesn’t accept
Anna’s escape, though, so when Anna requests the divorce papers so that she and
Juan may wed, Christian decides to fly to Argentina and deliver them to her
himself. It’s a last ditch plea to save their marriage—and their family, as he
drags their sixteen-year-old son Oscar (Jamie Morton) along for the trip.
The film is reminiscent of Woody Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona with its
picturesque tale of how a whiff of foreign air can intoxicate a traveller and
make him or her do all sorts of crazy things. (The film’s amusing narration is
equally likely to remind viewers of Allen’s trip to Spain.) Like a good Allen
pic, though, Superclásico is a funny
affair of flawed, neurotic people breaking out of their shells when prompted by
the thrill of escapism and fantasy afforded by travel. It’s a humorous and
dramatic adventure alike, as Superclásico
demands its characters to be grounded even as they take find themselves in
foreign land.
Christian, for one, puts himself into perspective when he
strikes up a friendship with an Argentine vintner at a bar. The man, played by
Miguel Dedovich, pours glass upon glass of the Malbec that Christian professes
to abhor upon arriving in the country. “It’s too heavy,” he grumbles in search of
lighter fare. (Christian is a wine-seller, although his business is in decline.)
The vintner teaches Christian to expand his palate as the two reminisce about
their failed marriages. Christian sees something of himself in the vintner as
the elderly man shares his thoughts on wine and women: not wanting to become an
old man drinking alone in a bar to forget the past, Christian is inspired to
try a new approach to win Anna back.
Superclásico spills
out into multiple storylines as the travellers part ways and, like Vicky and
Cristina, pursue their own romantic endeavours. Christian might not be as
successful with Anna, but new love is found in Argentina when Oscar sets his
eye on the beautiful tour guide named Veronica (Dafne Schiling) while the
family does a little sightseeing. (Naturally, mom and dad are bickering.) Oscar,
ever clad in a big black leather coat despite the pulsing South American sun,
is one of those young people that see life through a viewfinder: he is
constantly taking aim and clicking away as his parents bicker and fail to note
all the good things around them. He only puts his camera down for Veronica and,
like Christian, only truly appreciates the trip to Buenos Aires when he experiences
the town as himself, rather than as a tourist.
The trip to Buenos Aires is like an anti-honeymoon of sorts.
Aside from the budding romance between Oscar and Veronica, the only aroma of
new love emanates from Anna and her heartthrob replacement for Christian.
Christian has only the dregs. (This plays out in a humorous subplot involving
Anna’s freaky maid, played by Adriana Mascialino.)
“I want this to feel right,” Christian tells Anna when he
surprises her upon arrival. Anna replies that divorce never feels right. It’s
the end of a journey that was supposed to last forever.
Christian’s surprise visit has some effect on Anna, though,
for she echoes the same sentiment when she finally assembles her ex and her new
husband to finalize the divorce. “This doesn’t feel right,” she notes, but
Christian throws her words back at her, saying that divorce never feels right.
Superclásico,
however, manages to make the difficult scenario feel right. There’s an amicable
brightness to the picture even though it tells a story of break-ups and
disappointment. Love is both lost and found in the romantic Argentine setting,
for Christian and Anna both experience some old rumblings of that old feeling,
but their time together reignites much of the toxicity that eventually drove
them apart.
The strong performances adroitly handle both the invigorating
escapism of the fun sex farce and the film’s dramatic edge. Paprika Steen is
especially good as Anna, acting in three languages—Danish, Spanish, and English—and
playing it big when the film calls for laughs, but bringing the audience down
to earth when the film sobers up. There’s something in the air when Superclásico plays that’s bound to have
audiences feeling drunk. Whether it’s the warming effect of the warm sunlight,
captured beautifully by Jørgen Johansson, or the relief of the film’s sexy rom
com charm, Superclásico is a well
worth the trip.
Rating: ★★★★ (out of ★★★★★)
Rating: ★★★★ (out of ★★★★★)
Superclásico screened at the European Union Film Festival in Ottawa
on November 15th.
Please visit www.cfi-icf.ca for more info on tickets and
show times.
Superclásico has its Toronto EUFF
screening is Nov. 25th at 6:30 pm.
Click here for more coverage on the 2013 European Union Film Festival.
Click here for more coverage on the 2013 European Union Film Festival.
