Stylish but barely mediocre overall

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Once again, a film carried home by Persbrandt.He just gets better with age.A rather banal story with plenty of pathos survives on his strength.It is quite Brando-ish you FEEL him.The rest -unfortunately- is just rather ignorable predictably hogwash...

I was waiting for this movie since I watched (with considerable delay) 'Perfect Sense' and became a Kim Fupz Aakeson's fan for life. Finding the present film has not been an easy task by the way.It's a very interesting movie, I think that most people will like it and if you are affected by any self destructive tendencies (like myself) or ever felt the pressure of artistic creation, I'm sure that you will appreciate it even more.It describes in a perfect way the making of thoughts (and of decisions, as my pal Laurukas from Lithuania cleverly states) and builds up believable and interesting characters whose fate you will really care for in the end.I'm sorry for the music and for the songs which frankly are awful (not to mention Mikael Persbrandt singing performances…) but believe me, they do not affect the overall result.

I'm not the expert in cinema criticism but this movie deserves to be reviewed and recommended. The story is not original; by every minute of the movie you can already guess what is happening next. Story basically portrays a world famous singer Tom, who lived life as he wishes not as someone else would have wished him to live. Drugs, marriages, fame, art, money, kid - it's his luggage. He comes home to record an album and he is forced to meet his estranged daughter. From this moment when you see a small boy with her, the absence of any relations between them and the bleeding nose of young woman you get – she is junkie, something will happen and kid will stay with Tom. And so it is, the woman leaves her luggage to a person who doesn't see the world around, he creates it. Music is his world and there is no place for humans or feelings.The only creature without luggage is Noa, the little boy who has questions and gets very blunt answers. The scenes where Tom and Noa have small conversations about mother, about drugs, about Noa's future are hard to watch. The man has no idea how to lie or to make truth sound better. The boy collects his luggage within few weeks with Tom and is almost left to live life without anyone behind his back. But yeah, there's a tiny happy end. The movie is very cold, with very few sentimental moments. It's torturing as you are forced to watch how main character is dealing with decision he has to make – to live as he used to or to let in Noa in his life. You literally can imagine what is the face of agony of decision because Mikael Persbrandt's acting makes you believe every bit of it. His performance makes this familiar story a truly impressive movie.The movie also contains a great soundtrack and very sincere performances by Mikael Persbrandt and Trine Dyrholm. Their duo perfoms ballads in the studio and they are just mesmerizing. You can find these songs in the new album of young musician Tina Dico.