Hey, it's Laura back with another review on the Gatsby app, so I recently got around to watching “Another Round”, currently streaming on Hulu. Let's open up the app and take a look, so it’s a 2020 Danish film, yes there's subtitles, (but it's worth it) it's got a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, 91% audience score, IMDb gives it 7.8, it has a MetaScore of 80, and an overall rating of A- on the Gatsby app. Labeled as a comedy-drama, it definitely made me laugh and cry. The summary on the app says: Four high school teachers launch a drinking experiment, upholding a constant low level of intoxication.

So, this film interested me quite a bit before I even saw it. I do like a drink here or there and was interested to find out if this was actually based on a real-life theory, as it is in the movie. At a 40th birthday, one of his friends starts to talk about the work of a psychiatrist, who proposed the theory that the human body is naturally 0.05 percent deficient in alcohol. It is from this point, the 4 teacher friends decide to test out the theory – could life be better this way? I did find out sadly this theory was not an actual real-life thing. But hey-ho.

The film opens with many shots of kids getting drunk, losing control, its high energy, great music and I’ll be honest, it looks kinda fun. We then meet the 4 teachers, all working alongside each other in a school where these kids shown at the start of the film are likely attending. The first part of the film then becomes pretty low energy, lacking in color, in vibrancy, in life as we see the mundanity of these teachers' worlds before they start their experiment. We focus predominantly on Martin, played by the striking Mads Mikkelsen, who is struggling the most, not just in his boring and repetitive history classes, where even the kids are worried about their futures, but also in his home life and relationship, as he barely sees his wife. He’s pretty much having a midlife crisis I would say. And while yes, this part of the film is slow and dreary, the acting is superb, the cinematography and the wobbly camera here and there also is great in depicting the tone and it sets us up perfectly for the change that is about to come.

As the teachers begin to test the theory, sticking to strict guidelines, no drinking after 8pm or the weekends and only mildly upholding a level of slight intoxication. They start to see massive improvements in not only their teaching ability, as all become more engaging to their pupils, but also in their home lives, as Martin starts to open up more to his wife and children. They start having fun and behaving like their pupils, this mid part of the film is just perfect, the ultimate feel-good ride. But we know this can’t last forever before something goes wrong, surely a film can’t be seen to be giving the green light to drinking while on the job. We soon understand the experiment is to cover for the personal pain they’re all feeling. But they’ve got to complete it before they start to understand what that means for them. Absinthe soon becomes involved and anyone that’s drunk absinthe knows that’s a recipe for disaster. (I KNOW!!) What follows the highs and the giggles of being “buzzy” drunk, falling over with your mates when clearly you’re far too old to be doing this kind of stuff, is of course the lows. I really do love how a film can make you laugh your head off one second and cry your eyes out in a flash. These are my types of films.

This is an absolutely remarkable film, I can’t stress how much I enjoyed it. Acting is just superb, with probably my favorite role from Mads Mikkelsen and hands down my favorite end scene in a long while. It’s a real feel-good film, hilarious in places infused with slices of tragedy. Ultimately, it's an understanding of the path of repetitive normality that all adults must learn to navigate through in their own ways, in order to find some light and appreciation of life.

I have already recommended this movie to so many close friends, especially those partial to a sip of the good stuff, but I know there’s a few more on the app I can tell too.

I’m also now gonna add it into my recently watched list, and I may even watch it again. I enjoyed it so much.

Make sure to keep checking Gatsby app for all your latest viewing considerations, there’s a ton of great information on there that will make your decisions a lot easier. Please like and comment if you have any questions, we’re always happy to help. See ya next time!