Movies

SYNOPSIS

Veteran police officer Andreas is happily married to the beautiful Anne, who has just given birth to their first child. The only cloud on Andreas's otherwise untroubled horizon is his partner, Simon, who is having enormous trouble adjusting to his divorce and whose drinking binges are becoming alarmingly frequent. Andreas's comfortable life is then thrown into sharp relief when a domestic disturbance brings him back in contact with an abusive junkie named Tristan, whose girlfriend Sanne has also just given birth — but in contrast to Andreas's and Anne's doted-on child, Tristan's and Sanne's infant son is neglected, often lying in its own filth for hours. When things unexpectedly fall apart at home, Andreas is faced with a troubling and contradictory choice.

Susanne Bier

Susanne Bier is one of the most prominent Danish film directors of today. Bier’s Oscar nominated After the Wedding and the US-produced Things We Lost in the Fire, starring Halle Berry and Benicio Del Toro, were both hits at the domestic box office. Her feature film debut, the Swedish-Danish coproduction Freud Leaving Home was recipient of international plaudits, as was her Danish-Swedish-Portuguese Family Matters. Her next Swedish film Like It Never was Before was recipient of the Critic's Award at Montreal. Following her Danish feature The One and Only, a critics' favourite, and bringing in nearly a million admissions in Denmark alone, her reputation as an established filmmaker excelled. Back in Sweden Bier directed the tearjerker Once in a Lifetime and two box office hits followed: the Dogme film Open Hearts, selected for San Sebastian, Sundance, and Toronto where it received Special Mention; and Brothers, recipient of the Audience Award at Sundance and Best Acting awards at San Sebastian.

Filmography

2014       En chance til / Second Chance, A

2012       Den skaldede frisør / All You Need is Love

2010       In A Better World

2007       Thing We Lost in Fire

2006       Efter brylluppet / After the Wedding
2004       Brødre / Brothers
2000       Livet är en schlager / Once in a Lifetime

1999       Den eneste ene / One and Only, The

1997       Sekten

1995       Pensionat Oskar / Like It Never Was Before

1994       Det bli'r I familien / Family Matters

1992       Brev til Jonas

1991       Freud flyttar hemifrån / Freud Leaving Home

Festivals

2014       Toronto, San Sebastian

Awards

2014       San Sebastian - SIGNIS Award (Susanne Bier)

Critique

Boasting one of the finest casts in recent Danish cinema and magnificently held together by Coster-Waldau's commanding lead performance, A Second Chance is emotionally devastating from start to finish.

Steve Gravestock, Toronto Film Festival