Another Round, the Danish film starring Mads Mikkelsen and directed by Thomas Vinterberg, has won the best international feature Oscar at the 93rd Academy Awards, which are taking place in Los Angeles.
In the film, Mikkelsen plays a teacher who tries to combat his depression by following a theory that a high blood-alcohol level results in greater personal happiness. The Guardian’s chief film critic Peter Bradshaw called it “persuasive and watchable” in a three-star review.
Another Round is the fourth Danish film to win the best international film Oscar, following Babette’s Feast in 1988, Pelle the Conqueror in 1989, and In a Better World in 2011. Vinterberg’s The Hunt, which also starred Mikkelsen, was nominated in 2014, but did not win.
Another Round was up against a strong field, including Romanian political corruption documentary Collective (directed by Alexander Nanau) and Quo Vadis, Aida?, a study of the Srebrenica massacre from Bosnian director Jasmila Žbanić. However, Another Round was always the strong favourite, having been nominated for a Golden Globe and won the Bafta in the same category.
“Thanks to the Academy,” said Vinterberg, “this is beyond anything I could ever imagine, but it’s something I have imagined since I was five in train stations, at school, in the toilet and I’m here and it’s amazing.”
In an emotional speech, the director thanked his friends, colleagues, family and backers for their bravery “investing in a movie about four depraved white drunk men who teach children to drink”.
He concluded by paying tribute to his daughter, Ida, who died shortly after the shoot began aged 19. “We wanted to make a film that celebrates life,” he said, “and four days into shooting the impossible happened. An accident on a highway took my daughter away. Someone looking at their cellphone. We miss her and we love her.”
Vinterberg continued by explaining he had received an enthusiastic letter from his daughter two months before shooting when she was in Africa and had just read the script: “She loved this and she felt seen by this.”
“We made this to her as her monument. Ida, this is a miracle that just happened and you’re part of this miracle. Maybe you’re pulling some strings somewhere. Anyway, this one is for you.”