document: Movie Review - '' `` In A Better World '' '' - Considering the number of ethical dilemmas raised in the Danish melodrama In A Better World , I wish I could say I 'd been left with more questions rattling around in my head than '' `` What on earth were the Oscar voters thinking ? '' '' Taking home the trophy for Best Foreign Language Film will certainly help Susanne Bier 's earnest treatise on the evil cycle of violence and retribution find an audience at art houses . And there 's a lot to be said for a well-acted , attractively shot drama that has its heart so firmly in the right place . But after a few queasy moments at its midpoint , the trajectory of In a Better World becomes so relentlessly platitudinous that an audience that ought to feel seriously rattled will be settling back , feeling comfortably reassured . That 's not true early on , as Bier cuts between Anton -LRB- Mikael Persbrandt -RRB- , a humanitarian Danish doctor dealing with the aftereffects of tribal violence in an unspecified African nation , and his put-upon adolescent son Elias -LRB- Markus Rygaard -RRB- , who 's at home and being tormented in his father 's absence by a school bully . Elias finds an ally when Christian -LRB- William Johnk Nielsen -RRB- joins the class - a well-spoken , polite kid whose anger at his mother 's recent death -LRB- from cancer -RRB- needs an outlet . Christian 's philosophy about dealing with bullies , which is basically that if you hit back hard enough the first time , you wo n't need to hit back again , is n't one that school authorities would likely approve . But it changes the dynamics of Elias ' life pretty quickly . It also has predictably dire repercussions when the boys decide to apply it to other conflicts . Papa Anton , meanwhile , is confronted with ethical dilemmas of his own when Big Man , a brutal local warlord whose savagery keeps Anton 's operating table full , comes in with a life-threatening wound . From there Bier whips absent parents , pipe bombs , the Hippocratic oath , marital infidelity , impotent authority figures and other ingredients into a potent melodramatic brew that poses but does n't answer such questions as whether violence is sometimes necessary or always a poisoner of souls , and whether turning the other cheek establishes moral authority or destabilizes social order . Contrasting warm African golds with chilly Danish greens , the director matches striking visuals with overtly melodramatic situations - children with access to rooftops and fireworks to get your protective juices flowing , predators so unsubtle their comeuppance seems a foregone conclusion . Bier creates some genuinely disturbing moments - a scene in which Anton allows a bullying father to strike him again and again in front of the kids , a harrowing exchange with Big Man as the thug begins to heal - but resolves them in ways that allow the audience , if not her protagonists , to shrug off moral consequences . There 's sufficient craft that you go along with the twists , even as Bier is wrapping things up with a neatly tied bow . But in a better world , In a Better World would be a better movie .
doc_bio_tags: O O O O O O O O B O O O B O O O O O O O O B O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O B O O B O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O B O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O B O O B B I O O O B O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O B O B I I O O O O O B O O O O O O O B O O O O O B B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B B O O O O B O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O B B O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O B O O O B O O O O O O O B O B O O O O O O B O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O B O O O O O O
extractive_keyphrases: matches basically authorities putupon unspecified ways violence feeling chilly begins moments conflicts anton questions comeuppance harrowing markus hit parents allow recent oath hippocratic lifethreatening relentlessly world language protagonists operating table full children considering susanne pretty quickly consequences african nation disturbing man danish earnest wellacted
abstractive_keyphrases: anton's order contrasting christian's danish greens better world