Best movie of this year hands down!

i must have seen a different film!!

Good movie but grossly overrated

Excellent adaptation.

I really wanted to love this movie, as I love Anders Jensen's writing and all his directorial projects, but I felt let down by 'Wilbur'. Despite the great performances, I just couldn't connect with any of the characters. Wilbur's desperate need to end his life just didn't feel real to me, just faintly comedic. And, similarly, Harbour's illness just didn't strike me as the tragedy I felt it should. The editing seemed sloppy and the story rushed, with the effect that the narrative seemed jumpy and confusing. I couldn't help but wonder whether the film suffered from being very Danish in tone, but being delivered by a British cast. The humour seemed lost on them, just as the sadness seemed unconvincing. A pity as it seemed as if the original script was very interesting.

Somehow this movie manages to combine themes of suicide, terminal illness, ultimate betrayal, and more suicide into a touching, sensitive and uplifting experience. Of course, other more positive themes exist: the healing power of love, the possibility of change, extreme personal magnetism, compassion, acceptance and forgiveness. Don't be put off if the first 30 minutes or so seem disjointed and even boring. Everything comes together in due time. The theme of brotherly love is so powerfully represented, it is awe-inspiring. Towards the end, some of the subtle and nuanced communication is absolutely brilliant in its execution. Somewhat bittersweet, but more sweet than bitter. Beautiful.

I liked this film but I would've liked it much more if the dialog had been kicked up a few decibels and the musical score had been nearly killed off. I watched on DVD, so fortunately, I had the option of pressing hard on volume up during the dialog and pressing hard and fast on volume down and sometimes even mute during the music. Not that the score was distasteful at all, in fact, I thought it was good and very appropriate for the film. It was just that the volume itself was inappropriate. Perhaps the sound editor was afraid moviegoers would drift off asleep and s/he felt it dutiful to blast the sound out to ensure viewers wakeful alertness. At any rate, movie-good, sound editing-bad, very bad.

I've given this movie a five based purely on the strength of the performances and competent editing, pacing, shot composition, etc. I admired Lone Scherfig (the director's) previous film, Italian For Beginners, and respect her abilities, and while parts of the film were enjoyable enough, the last half left a bad taste in my mouth.I found the characters of Wilbur and Alice (though I liked the actors) to be so self centered and morally bankrupt that on hindsight I wish that Wilbur had done himself in in the first scene, or the fourth scene, or the seventh scene...whatever. I don't always need to like characters, and perhaps since this was sold as a "black comedy" what I was expecting from the film was skewed. There are comic moments, but this is no comedy. I know a sort of moral ambiguity is a distinct characteristic of Danish cinema, and am actually a fan of Lars Von Trier's work and films that push conventional ideas of human relationships, but this particular turn of events was just distasteful to me. I kind of felt duped. Maybe I'll warm to the film with time, but that's my take. Wilbur was a complete tool. That's what I came away from this movie with. But once again, kudos to the actors and direction. Loved the film-making, disliked the film.