OPINION Another Another Round?
Some thoughts on the announcement of an English-language remake of the Danish film Another Round.
Not even 24 hours after it won the Oscar for Best International Feature Film, it was announced that Thomas Vinterberg’s Another Round was the latest non-US movie to have an English-language remake in the works, specifically with Leonardo DiCaprio set to produce and possibly star in the project.
Vinterberg, who’s used to his works being adapted in different languages (there are stage productions based on Festen and The Hunt), was not opposed to the idea, especially since he will have no active involvement in the making of the film and looks forward to seeing someone else’s take on the material. A reasonable stance, since not all remakes are automatically horrible, but nonetheless a slightly problematic one in this case.
Originally set to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival last May, Another Round was then part of the Toronto International Film Festival’s lineup and had its proper physical festival premiere at San Sebastián, where it received the Best Actor award (shared by all four male leads). It’s a dramatic comedy about a group of high school teachers who decide to test a theory stating that a constant blood alcohol level of 0.05 makes you more creative and relaxed.
The film has gained fame mainly for its climactic dance sequence (also featured on one of the official posters), where Martin (Mads Mikkelsen) joins in on the fun as his students celebrate their graduation. It’s a joyous, life-affirming scene – and one that would make no sense in an American context. It works specifically in Denmark, where underage drinking is not only tolerated but actually allowed (depending on the kind of beverage, 16-year olds can legally purchase alcohol). In the US, where the drinking age is 21, it could only be retained if the students were aged up to college level.
Beyond that hurdle, there is another aspect, one that Vinterberg didn’t touch upon for understandable reasons: Another Round is a deeply, even painfully personal film, and that quality would almost definitely be absent in the remake. The movie is dedicated to the director’s daughter Ida, who originally pushed for the project to be made (Vinterberg had previously written the story as a play) and contributed with stories about the drinking culture within her own age group (she was 19 at the time).
Ida was originally set to play Martin’s daughter, but died in a car accident four days into filming, before any of her scenes had been shot. This led to some major changes to the project, which gained a more optimistic tone in an effort to be a celebration of life. In addition to dedicating the film to her, Vinterberg also shot much of the school-centric material in her actual classroom, with her real-life classmates.
Of course, chances are the basic concept will form a loose framework for a more US-specific adaptation, something that can actually work as opposed to the plan of remaking another recent Danish hit, The Guilty (a thriller where all the supporting actors are heard over the phone while the main character sits at a desk answering emergency calls), which practically demands a shot-for-shot redo in order to function.
In that case, it could be an interesting reinterpretation, and I will reserve judgment until there are more details about the project (and I will admit I did laugh when Vinterberg’s main comment was to enquire about DiCaprio’s dancing skills). And yet, the overall trend of remakes based on successful European films (and Nordic ones in particular) suggests a more straightforward approach. In which case, we really don’t need yet another round.