The Inheritance (2003)
A young Danish man, Christoffer, lives a life of joy and happiness with his wife Maria in Stockholm. When his father dies his mother insists that Christoffer take over management of the family industry which is in danger of bankruptcy. He is torn between his chosen life and his sense of duty to his family and its past. When he chooses to step in as manager his family life and self-respect languish.
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Very well executed
Strong and Moving!
Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.
The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
I rarely give a 10 rating to a film even when I really enjoy it but this film is the rare exception. The script is perfect, the directing is perfect, the casting is perfect, and the story has profound meaning for the viewer.The film shows how family and business obligations can change people's character and desires. For example, Hollywood is filled with couples whose desires change because of life experiences. It is also true of the business world. Unfortunately that is why divorce is so common in those areas. A couple may start out completely compatible and then one of them has new vistas opened to them.
In my opinion, the story works at least on two levels.There is a socio-political level, on which the apparent message is: "Capitalism tramps on human feelings". This could be (but it is just a possibility) the director's message. Evidence for it is the sympathetic way the old employees and managers are portrayed, who are felled by "rationalisation" of the firm. Conversely, the negative aspect of capitalism is represented by the cold, scheming dowager, who thinks nothing of setting 200 employees on the dole, firing her son-in-law from his decision-making post, disrupting her son's family, all for the benefit of The Firm.The second level is Freudian. A power struggle is under way between the domineering mother (not unlike Meryl Streep's character in The Manchurian Candidate) and the rest of the family. She claims to be the "strong" one, as opposed to all the others, whom she describes as "weak", with the exception of her son. In reality, he is just a puppet in her hands, incapable of cutting the umbilical cord and going against his mother's wishes. Her own strength is, in fact, also a delusion - she would not manage to run the company on her own, so she depends on Christoffer as much as he depends on her. She reaches out as far as Stockholm, where her son mistakenly thinks he has found bliss with his beautiful and caring Swedish actress wife while eschewing the tentacles of family business. But with the excuse of his father's suicide - and here one doubts how big a part she has had in his tragic decision - she drags him back to Copenhagen and installs him at the head of what he had tried to escape. The fact that she insists that he, not his brother-in-law, become the leader is a clear imposition of her will. Another one is the coaxing of Christoffer into forming a relationship with the "family friend", whom he doesn't care about. But she is omnipotent, in his eyes, so in the end he'll have to give in and do what he is told. Breaking away from the wife and baby he loves shatters him, but he will learn in time his mother teaches him if not to despise them, at least to grow indifferent. A great, chilling interpretation by Ghita Mørby/Annelise; Lisa Werlinder is delightfully voluptuous and Ulrich Thomsen is confirming himself a highly talented actor. Per Fly directs an elegant, bitter movie, reminiscent of Ingmar Bergman's cosmic pessimism.
Arven is a superb 'European' film. It is compelling viewing. It deals with a plethora of human issues and choices withoutbeing sentimental or resorting to clichés. It is visually stunning. It is moving. The actors are convincing. We care about the characters. In fact, we really care! And I can only recommend it highly.
I saw this film at the 2003 London Film Festival and was impressed by the way it treated its audience, as adults. So many films are blatantly manipulative, pushing all the right buttons to extract all the appropriate responses. And it seems we are generally quite happy to collude in the process. Not so with this film. We are allowed to find our own way in, so that everyone's response to it will be singular and specific.The performances are unshowy and honest - not so easy when one of the protaganists is a celebrated actress. The clash between desire and duty, a well-worn theme, is given depth and clarity through a truthful, unsentimental and no-frills piece of film making. I'm looking forward to seeing it again.