Inheritance Details

2003

Rated:
60
from 441 members

Starring	Ulrich Thomsen, Lisa Werlinder, Ghita Norby, Karina Skands
Director	Per Fly
Genres	Drama, World Cinema

Inheritance

'The Inheritance' is a gripping drama of a man transformed by power. Christoffer, heir to a vast industrial fortune, has abandoned the family business for an idyllic life with wife Maria, a beautiful stage actress. When his father commits suicide, Christoffer must return to Denmark to face the life he left behind. What he finds is a business on the brink of bankruptcy, a brother-in-law scheming for control and a domineering mother who insists Christoffer take control of the family business. His decision will force him to choose between two colliding worlds, between loyalty to his family and the woman he loves.

Starring	Ulrich Thomsen, Lisa Werlinder, Ghita Norby, Karina Skands, Lars Brygmann
Director	Per Fly
Studio	DRAKES AVENUE PICTURES
Run time	DVD: 1 hr 50 mins
Certificate
Genres	Drama, World Cinema
Language	DVD: Danish
Subtitles	DVD: English
Released	DVD: 06 Jun 2005 Production year: 2003
Format	DVD

Critics' reviews (4) of Inheritance
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The second film in director Per Fly's Danish trilogy that opened with 2000's The Bench, this is a grittily engrossing mix of the plot machinations of a glitzy soap like Dallas and the grainy shooting style of Dogme95. Ulrich Thomsen excels as the prodigal son who passes from reluctant duty to ruthless obsession as he returns from exile in Sweden to run the family firm. However, he so dominates proceedings that both Ghita Norby and Lisa Werlinder are reduced to caricatures as his scheming mother and despairing wife. The corporate shenanigans are also a touch formulaic, but the film is still scripted and played with admirable spirit.
- Radio Times
- Posted 29 Jan 2006
Tautly scripted by director Per Fly and bullishly played.
- Empire
- Posted 29 Jan 2006
Most helpful member's review of Inheritance
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17 out of 17 people found this review helpful

[Highly rated reviewer]

Excellent and not self-indulgent

Compared with a lot of Scandinavian gloom and particularly with the tedious Dogme affectations, this is an excellent and not self-indulgent (though ultimately a LITTLE gloomy) story.

The ubiquitous but always watchable Ulrich Thomsen is the focus, and the general gist of the narrative is his shift from a relatively Bohemian life in Sweden to the conventional competitive materialism of his bourgeouis Danish family once he's required to take over the family business.

It's all conveyed with subtlety, and if it's not the most cheerful of stories it certainly is elegantly-done.
- - Rehan from London
  - Posted 18 Nov 2005 18:33
Most recent members' review of Inheritance
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6 out of 7 people found this review helpful

[Highly rated reviewer]

Scandinavian Angst

There are some parallels with 'Festen' in that in both a middle class Scandinavian family is shattered by the actions of its head. This concentrates upon the fate of the son who had broken away from his industrial heritage and led a completely different life in the city. It is not as complex nor as rich as 'Festen', but the depiction of the way in which the son is drawn back into the life he thought he had left behind is absorbing, and there are one or two quite powerful moments in which the strain shows through the polished exteriors. Interesting.
- - FrankIV
  - Posted 24 Jun 2005 15:42
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