Sadly Over-hyped

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

As an actor myself, you see films where you just don't care about the obstacles and challenges of the characters'. With Copenhagen, one of those little gems you find every so often on Netflix (NZ in this case), I was emotionally invested in all the main characters'. Self discovery in abundance here, particularly with Will (Gethin Anthony), who succumbs to the charms of 14 year old 'Effy', touchingly portrayed by Frederikke Dahl Hansen. I'm sure she has a bright career ahead of her. Poignant moments' of familial connection (or lack of) draws the viewer in against the picturesque backdrop of Denmark. A real discovery to find the principal males', Will and Jeremy (Sebastian Armesto) are both English. I am so glad I stumbled across this beautiful piece of film-making. It is a piece of hope, regret and ultimately, a reminder of how life is too short and that sometimes, it takes someone else to open our eyes to the possibilities.

I had high hopes and expectations when I first found this film on here, that I watched on the very same day (which I never do). My expectations were so high that I was convinced this film wouldn't meet them but boy, I was wrong.The city of Copenhagen turned out to be the best setting for this romantic film. It was refreshing to see a movie filmed somewhere other than the usual filming locations and this one made me appreciate Denmark a little bit more.The directing, the casting, the cinematography and the music, all add up and lead to the most majestic experience you could ever gain by watching a film. It made me want to travel abroad and date a foreigner, learn about their culture and gave me a very feeling of wanderlust.It's true that, in the beginning, I thought Frederikke Dahl Hansen was not a great actress, but that proved to be just the way her character is supposed to act because she feels kind of guilty, kind of naive as a 14 year old. Gethin Anthony was very sexy and very romantic at the same time, in his own ex-douche bag way but both actors delivered a wonderful performance.I also liked the fact that this film features a big age gap, let alone an age gap between an adult and a teenager. Needless to say, dating an underage person is a controversial topic but this film handled it very well.10/10 though I wish I could give it more. It's a must see.

not surprising. but beautiful in a special manner. a simple story about search of origins and a meeting. and the admirable performance of Frederikke Dahl Hansen, the interesting portrait of foreign lost in different space by Gethin Anthony. romance. and delicate build of questions. because it is a film, like many others from same genre, about the small details. about need of other, about past, about clash between two different ways to discover the truth. and the great thing, maybe the challenge, is the option to present, with different nuances, the same story, exploring roots, imposing solutions and crisis and confuse feelings from contemporary every day situations. that film who discover shadows. with grace. and high precision. romance. but only as skin. the heart is more interesting.

***warning, possible spoilers*** this movie should be studied in film classes: you watch it, enjoy it, but don't really realize the effectiveness of the writer and director until later. Here is what happens: 1. An analogy best explains this film: we have all probably seen a video of a master with his dog. Sitting in front of the dog is the most delectable treat imaginable to the dog. The dog does nothing even though every fiber of its being wants to gobble up that treat. It is waiting for its masters command. The Masters here are the writer and director, the dog is the male lead. The girl is the treat (and not in a prurient sense). She says she will be 15 (the age of consent) "in a few days". He wants to pounce (But not in a sexual sense even though there is obvious physical attraction). 2. The age difference is not for shock value. It is a very effective plot device relating to 1 above. 3. They are alone in a hotel room, both drunk (largely at his insistence). She is the aggressor. The reality is he cannot believe she is only 14 and repeatedly says that throughout the movie. She tries to seduce him, taking off her blouse and kissing him which he appears to accept. 4. The "masters" do not outright state that they did not sleep together but instead, more effectively, make that clear by: they both wake up in bed fully clothed (she must have put her top back on) in sharp contrast to his other many dalliances where he graphically wakes up with a naked partner; just prior to this he turns down an offer that most males his age dream about – two beautiful drunk girls try to drag him back to their hotel for a threesome. Instead of going with the women, he is much more concerned about having hurt the girl's feelings and rushes out of the bar, leaving the women, to try to call the girl and apologize for acting like a jerk. So, the attraction is not about sex per se. there is much more to his feelings for the girl and he is clearly conflicted. He does not sleep with her.5. There is more to him than meets the eye: he is in Denmark to find his grandfather and understand why he was abandoned by his father. The girl, with a great heart and overlooking the fact that he is superficially an insensitive jerk sees something deeper in him and embraces the cause of him finding his past and takes it upon herself to help him. 6. The girl, is far more substantial and mature than the women he has been sleeping with (who is really older, the girl or his earlier partners?). She too, has a troubled family but is very close to her mother and wants to help him resolve that part of his life. 7. In one effective scene, he simply glances down a street and sees a father briefly interacting with his son (short and effective). 8. The most effective scene in the movie: she takes him to a museum. She brings him to a dark corner where there is a bust. She tells him she has never brought anyone there before. She stands next to the bust. It is an exact image of the girl. She tells him she is really hundreds of years old and he says the bust is 1500 years old. This scene is a metaphor for what the movie accomplishes. After 1500 years, here she (who posed for the bust) is here again, resurrected, with the human traits that allowed us to survive over those 1500 years: the yearning for family, love, and a striving for happiness even in an imperfect world. In other hands this might seem corny, here it is movie-making genius.