Another Round

As a 50-something man who worked in television for thirty-odd years, I wondered what all the fuss was about. So these gents have only just discovered what we've all known for aeons - a modicum of alcohol, administered responsibly and frequently enhances cerebral efficiency. No S**t Sherlock... Well, in this case these Danish teachers decide that their careers - and lives in general - are in need of a little pepping up, so they embark on an ostensibly "scientific" programme to measure enhanced (?) performance against increased blood alcohol levels. What ensues is a thoroughly enjoyable watch with a truly on-form Mads Mikkelsen and his colleagues pushing their new found challenge to the limits - challenging and compromising just about every relationship - both personal and professional - in their search for an improved life/career. As with most successful drama, the effects of their frankly reckless behaviour are exaggerated from time to time and the underlying dangers of their new-found philiopsphy are not ignored (well, not entirely, anyway) but this is essentially a feel good film that does touch on the effects of alcoholism and of addiction more generally, but is still a jolly enjoyable watch that allowed me to (s)wallow in a pre-kale smoothie nostalgia that facilitated a collegiate and collaborative way of working that has now, largely, gone the way of the dodo or zoom. I am certain that many in the medical profession will have many, many good reasons why this film may be irresponsible or guilty of glorifying alcohol, but it worked for me - and I think the last few scenes on the harbour are as joyous a piece of cinema as I've seen in a very long while. Skol!!

<em>'Another Round'</em> is good.

The plot is a little predictable and its message ends up being pretty standard, with it very much being the performances that elevate this flick up for me. I found the characters cringey a few times as they act like teenagers rather than fully grown adults around alcohol, though I can appreciate what the film was going for. What wasn't cringe, however, was Mads' dancing - chapeau!

I've watched a lot of Mads Mikkelsen and a fair bit of Thomas Bo Larsen lately and found them to be highly reliable performers and here is thankfully no different, I really enjoyed them as actors throughout this 2020 release. The others merit props too, namely Magnus Millang and Lars Ranthe.

(CASTELLANO)
Una celebración triste sobre beber para no estar apagado

Me gustó bastante. No la vi como una película sobre “el alcohol es malo”, sino como una historia sobre hombres de mediana edad que se sienten apagados, rutinarios y fuera de sitio, y que encuentran en la bebida una excusa peligrosa para volver a creerse vivos.

La idea del experimento tiene algo absurdo y muy humano: cuatro profesores deciden mantener un nivel de alcohol en sangre para comprobar si así funcionan mejor. Al principio casi parece que la teoría tiene sentido. Martin se suelta, conecta más con los alumnos, recupera energía y deja de parecer un hombre derrotado antes de tiempo. Ahí está la trampa: si algo te hace sentir mejor de inmediato, es fácil confundir alivio con solución.

La película es inteligente porque no se queda en la comedia de borrachera. Poco a poco el “yo controlo” empieza a hacer aguas. Suben la dosis, justifican excepciones, se creen más lúcidos de lo que están y dejan de ver sus propios errores. Me llamó mucho la atención que los alumnos noten que el profesor no se entera y hace cosas mal antes de que él sea capaz de admitirlo.

Yo he bebido mucho en algunos momentos, pero nunca he sentido la necesidad de beber para funcionar. Por eso me cuesta entender a quien entra en esa dependencia. Beber no es lo mismo que necesitar beber. Una cosa es pasarse una noche y otra convertir una sustancia en muleta emocional para dar clase, relacionarte, atreverte o soportar tu propia vida.

Es parecido a los que dicen “yo controlo” con cualquier droga mientras ya la están usando para sentirse capaces. El autoengaño es siempre el mismo: creer que mandas tú cuando cada vez necesitas más para conseguir el mismo efecto. Vinterberg lo muestra sin sermonear. No coloca carteles de “esto está mal”; deja que veas el deslizamiento.

Mads Mikkelsen está magnífico. Tiene esa mezcla de cansancio, elegancia, tristeza y dignidad rota que hace que Martin nunca parezca un simple borracho ridículo. Es un profesor apagado, un marido desconectado, un hombre que ha perdido la chispa y de pronto cree haber encontrado una puerta de salida. Lo bonito y lo triste es que durante un tiempo parece verdad.

También me gustó el grupo de profesores. No son santos ni caricaturas. Cada uno entra en el experimento desde una carencia distinta: aburrimiento, miedo, frustración, soledad, sensación de fracaso. Por eso la película funciona mejor cuando habla de ellos como hombres perdidos que cuando se centra solo en la bebida. El alcohol no crea el vacío; lo ilumina, lo disfraza y luego lo agranda.

La parte de los alumnos tiene peso. Cuando el profesor ayuda al chico tímido a soltarse y aprobar, la película evita una lectura cómoda. No todo lo que nace de ese experimento es inmediatamente negativo. Hay momentos en los que la bebida parece abrir una puerta a la confianza, a la comunicación y al afecto. Y precisamente por eso es más peligrosa: porque no es una mentira total, sino una verdad parcial que acaba devorándolo todo.

El contraste entre la celebración de los aprobados y la muerte de uno de los profesores me pareció muy fuerte. La película corta de golpe la euforia y te recuerda que el juego tenía consecuencias. El detalle del chico de gafas dejando una flor en la tumba me gustó mucho: ese profesor, con todos sus problemas, había conseguido ayudar a alguien.

La película me parece especialmente buena porque no condena ni celebra del todo. Mira el alcohol como algo que puede desinhibir, unir, alegrar y dar coraje, pero también como algo que destruye si se convierte en sostén. No es puritana, pero tampoco ingenua. Entiende el placer y entiende el peligro.

El final con Mikkelsen bailando es precioso porque no borra lo ocurrido. No es “todo está bien”; es un instante de vida, de cuerpo, de alegría posible después del golpe. Martin no queda resuelto, pero por un momento vuelve a moverse como alguien que todavía puede sentir.

Al final, me queda como una película muy buena, triste y vitalista al mismo tiempo. Habla del alcohol, sí, pero sobre todo de crisis, amistad, rutina, pérdida de ilusión y esa tentación de buscar fuera una versión mejor de uno mismo. Me pareció honesta, muy bien interpretada y más compleja de lo que podía parecer. Una ronda que empieza como juego y termina dejando un poso bastante serio.

(ENGLISH)
A sad celebration of drinking to avoid feeling extinguished

I liked it quite a lot. I did not see it as a film about “alcohol is bad”, but as a story about middle-aged men who feel extinguished, trapped in routine and out of place, and who find in drinking a dangerous excuse to feel alive again.

The experiment is both absurd and very human: four teachers decide to keep a certain blood alcohol level to see if they function better. At first the theory almost seems to make sense. Martin loosens up, connects more with his students, recovers energy and stops looking like a man defeated before his time. That is the trap: if something makes you feel better immediately, it is easy to confuse relief with a solution.

The film is smart because it does not remain a drunken comedy. Little by little, “I’m in control” begins to collapse. They increase the dose, justify exceptions, believe they are more lucid than they are and stop seeing their own mistakes. What struck me was that the students notice the teacher is lost and doing things wrong before he can admit it.

I have drunk a lot at certain times, but I have never felt the need to drink in order to function. That is why it is hard for me to understand someone who enters that dependence. Drinking is not the same as needing to drink. One thing is to overdo it one night; another is to turn a substance into an emotional crutch to teach, relate to others, dare or endure your own life.

It is similar to people who say “I’m in control” with any drug while they are already using it to feel capable. The self-deception is always the same: believing you are in charge when you need more and more to get the same effect. Vinterberg shows it without preaching. He does not put up signs saying “this is wrong”; he lets you see the slide.

Mads Mikkelsen is magnificent. He has that mixture of exhaustion, elegance, sadness and broken dignity that means Martin never seems like just a ridiculous drunk. He is a dimmed teacher, a disconnected husband, a man who has lost his spark and suddenly thinks he has found an exit door. The beautiful and sad thing is that for a while it seems true.

I also liked the group of teachers. They are neither saints nor caricatures. Each one enters the experiment from a different lack: boredom, fear, frustration, loneliness, a sense of failure. That is why the film works best when it treats them as lost men rather than focusing only on the drinking. Alcohol does not create the void; it lights it up, disguises it and then makes it bigger.

The students’ side has weight. When the teacher helps the shy boy loosen up and pass, the film avoids an easy reading. Not everything that comes from the experiment is immediately negative. There are moments when drinking seems to open a door to confidence, communication and affection. And that is exactly why it is more dangerous: because it is not a total lie, but a partial truth that ends up devouring everything.

The contrast between celebrating the students’ success and the death of one of the teachers felt very strong. The film cuts the euphoria at once and reminds you that the game had consequences. I really liked the detail of the boy with glasses leaving a flower on the grave: that teacher, with all his problems, had managed to help someone.

The film seems especially good to me because it neither fully condemns nor fully celebrates. It looks at alcohol as something that can loosen people, unite them, cheer them and give them courage, but also as something that destroys when it becomes support. It is not puritanical, but it is not naive either. It understands the pleasure and the danger.

The ending with Mikkelsen dancing is beautiful because it does not erase what happened. It is not “everything is fine”; it is an instant of life, of body, of possible joy after the blow. Martin is not solved, but for a moment he moves again like someone who can still feel.

In the end, for me it remains a very good film, sad and vital at the same time. It talks about alcohol, yes, but above all about crisis, friendship, routine, loss of enthusiasm and that temptation to search outside yourself for a better version of who you are. It felt honest, very well acted and more complex than it might have seemed. A round that begins as a game and ends up leaving quite a serious aftertaste.