The Worst Film Ever

Simply Perfect

Great Film overall

The acting in this movie is really good.

The script seemed to have been written by a young child, say twelve years old. None of it was believable. It was trying to be a David v Goliath story about a brave kid defying the power of his brutal headmaster and the conspiracy of lies of the school board, but succeeded only in lurching from one preposterous scene to another. SPOILERS! Let me give some examples of its nonsense. The Nazi-type headmaster beats the kid up , practically tearing his ear off. His so loving mother is afraid to complain for fear she may lose her job as school nurse. When she doesn't leave it alone she is sacked by the school doctor (see what I mean by conspiracy). The chairman of the governors tells the headmaster to lie and say he never touched the boy. The chairman's young daughter tells the true story to her parents but is ignored. The vicar is also against the family. The police say it is not their concern!!! even though Danish law at that time outlawed corporal punishment.The school secretary is made 'unavailable' on the day of the hearing (she could have given evidence for the boy). The hippy teacher, up till then a great supporter of the boy, lies because he is afraid of losing his job. The boy's father is left with no witnesses. Then -- believe it or not -- the head has the confidential medical records of the boy's father in his possession and reads them out to the tribunal -- which apparently destroys the father, and the next we know he is back in the mental institution. Having lied just to save his job, the hippy teacher immediately resigns (no, really).MORE SPOILERS The boy repeatedly tells the headmaster in class that he is a liar. With each accusation the head beats him up again in front of his classmates, thus giving himself a fatal heart attack. When the children hear that he is dead, they shout and jump about all over the place whooping with joy. In short, the actions of the characters are inconsistent and unbelievable. It is all very well to wear your heart on your sleeve, but that does not excuse this nonsense of a film!

I saw this movie today and I have to say, it was much much better than I expected it to be about couple of hours before going to see it. Personally I had some prejudice due to the language of it, but it did totally change my idea. The movie was in most cases surprisingly good with the great actor and actress performances. It was a story about a boy who had a dream and who did everything to reach it. This really touched me and as a film, which is based on a true story, it convinced me. A new school, psycho headmaster and a young boy who get known with a new teacher, a bit different one than the others and about fighting for the things even if they doesn't seem to work out. It showed how little things can make huge changes in many things, and how difference can sometimes cause difficult situations. Also I think the actor selections has succeeded perfectly. It really felt like you had been some person watching the episodes as an outsider when they happened. Before I spoil this movie with praises, I have to admit that there were some things and situations that didn't look and feel realistic..like the one where the headmaster of the school beat Frits aka. Martin in front of the class, at the end of the movie. He really got beaten badly, but the only thing that it caused to him, was some blood coming from the nose when comparing that to the first beating in the beginning, when Frits got some stitches..well I guess every movie has it own faults..have to say, that if I someday somewhere find this DVD from the store, it's sure thing, that I take it with me.

Insisting that Martin Luther King's inspirational spirit resides not just in American civil liberties but inside the hearts and minds of people everywhere, Danish helmer Niels Arden Oplev transplants this belief to a 1969 Danish middle school. More specifically, it works its way into the crusade of a young boy named Frits (Janus Dissing Rathke) against his oppressively rigid and churlishly abusive headmaster Svendsen (Bent Mejding). Adapted from a true story, the performances are executed with certain aplomb and a refreshing command over its varied characters keeps it involving. A battle of ideologies between a 13 year-old and a demented disciplinarian gives way to inherent humour but awkward shifts in mood disorients despite keeping it shrewdly cynical in the same vein as a "Dead Poets Society" more than a "Matilda". It treads a familiar path but a continued and precise service to its young protagonist including a personal subplot that rounds off Frits as a young boy becoming a young man, manages to raise the film into a rousing family film with its nose right on the money.

I just picked up the DVD release of this movie while on holiday in Norway where it has been released with English subtitles.The film is beautifully photographed and powerfully acted. The youngster portraying 'Frits' the lead character has an astonishingly open face which mirrors with painful accuracy the tragic events which unfold around him.Early on in the film we see that the father whom Frits loves so much has mental health problems and this is brought up when the brutal headmaster denies assaulting the boy and suggests it was his own father.The climactic scene where Frits refuses to show any respect to the headmaster; simply standing his ground and repeating 'Liar' as he is brutally assaulted in front of his classmates is a scene you are not likely to forget.The films only weak point is the rather clichéd 'Flower Power' teacher who uses every 'friendly teacher' trick in the book. Other than this I feel sure that this is a film you will really enjoy.