Submarino (2010) User Reviews (17)

The coming golden bear, possibly!

[kipale78 · 9/10 · 14 February 2010]

I just had the honour to watch this Danish film at the Berlin Film Festival, and I have the feeling that this could be the winner. I don't want to give anything away, so I will be very general.

What we witness is the compelling story of two brothers divided by life, united by the same tragic event. Both adrift in their sorrow, they run down their self-destructive paths, with little to fight for.

It is no big drama, though. The narration is gentle and respectful, and leaves the audience in the position of not being able to judge the characters for their almost invariably wrong choices, but with a strong feeling of compassion for all of them.

The performances of the whole cast are extremely convincing (including the little boy playing Martin)and Vinterberg's direction - unlike his previous Dogma movies - is at the service of the disturbing realism of the story, working at the same time with a beautiful composition of the scenes (the cinematography, from the very first scenes, helps going straight to the soul). Chapeau.

A special praise has to go to the two actors playing the grown-up brothers. Jakob Cedergren (Nick) in particular makes us see the fragility of his character through his eyes, despite his apparent and imposing physical strength. But the whole cast is really credible all along, both with their physical appearance and their realistic acting.

This movie, with its realistic description of the consequences and the dynamics of substance addiction, destroyed families (what a critic to the Scandinavian society, where alcoholism is a devastating plague) should be screened in every high school.

And, let's say the truth: if you don't find yourself silently weeping in the last prison and church scenes, you most likely have no heart at all. I am fighting with my tears right now, just playing the movie in my mind again.

Ultimately, you may just have to settle for a ray of hope.

[nesfilmreviews · 8/10 · 8 August 2013]

There's a very fine line between probing into human failings and all-out misery. Director Thomas Vinterberg's latest balances itself precariously between the two throughout, wavering between plot elements that seem grounded in its characters' emotional realities and those that are unnecessarily grim. Ultimately however, the movie redeems itself thanks to fine ensemble work and its daring, assured direction.

"Submarino" is the unforgettable story of two brothers, long estranged and haunted by a dark secret buried in their past, who live separate lives in modern day Copenhagen. Nick (Jakob Cedergren), a violent ex-con, tries to help out an old friend, but falls quickly into old habits. Meanwhile, his brother (Peter Plaugborg), raises his son, but is unable to escape his own demons of addiction. Each is on a path to self-destruction, and they must find each other -- before it's too late.

The cast is uniformly strong -- both Cedegren and Plaugborg are solidly believable in their roles. Cedegren's acting, minimal and yet poignant, is especially remarkable. Vinterberg has a genuine respect for his characters and a desire to see them transcend their trappings, and his film, in turn, mostly succeeds where it could so easily have fallen short. When its numerous narrative threads finally converge, the resulting pathos feels genuinely earned and authentic.

Adapted from the novel by Jonas T. Bengtsson, "Submarino" was an official selection at the 2010 Berlin International Film Festival.

Entertaining but depressing stories with two brothers in problematic circumstances

[JvH48 · 9/10 · 1 November 2010]

We see two separate but continuously interleaving stories of two brothers, each trying to cope with their daily lives, overall providing for a pessimistic view on their lives, riddled with drugs, violence, alcohol, bad housing circumstances, but at the same time trying to deal with their responsibilities like caring for a kid. The title of the film says it all: it stands for a method of torture, where someone is kept under water until he nearly drowns.

Though knowing no people living in similar depressing circumstances, casting and acting looked very convincing to me. Apart from that, we saw a sequence of events that kept us wondering what would happen next. All this resulted in a "page turner" experience, fundamental to a good movie.

Alternating between the stories of the two brothers was an extra bonus that made this film entertaining throughout. They each live their own separate lives, under circumstances that are very different but equally troublesome. Their respective paths cross each other in less than a handful of situations. Once you get a fix who the main characters are, this way of structuring two story lines works perfectly.

The film opens with a prologue, wherein two young boys imitate the baptism of a newly born child "just like they do in church". After that, the real story takes off, but I could not connect the dots at the point where the prologue moves on to the actual two story lines. Maybe I was not paying attention enough. I had to wait until the final scene before I understood. Regardless, it did not hinder my appreciation of the film as a whole.

Given all things happening you cannot expect everyone to live happily ever after. Nevertheless, the finale of the movie shows a moving scene under impressive musical tones, where even the toughest role players seem to show some tears. It may be intended by the film makers to leave us with an optimistic feeling after all, with some silver lining around the clouds.

Pain

[TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews · 10/10 · 2 April 2010]

I have not read the novel, and barely knew that this was based upon one. This film is like a splinter in your heart, from the first frame to the last. It is pushed to the limit of what we can handle of authentic misery. The social realism, so unrelenting, such rich detail to it, and none of it strains credulity. I was interested in this from when I first heard of it, and when I found out it was by Thomas Vinterberg, the man behind Festen and Dear Wendy, I knew I would watch this. He does wonders with the editing and the cinematography, creating a bleak and mundane(not to be confused with ugly or boring) feel to the visuals, matching the lives of the people we are witnessing and their environment. The camera stays "in the background", letting what we see speak for itself. This has impeccable writing, the events, the dialog(and its delivery), the crowning little touches, it's all excellent. In the end, what truly makes this work beyond belief is the amazing acting from everyone(who are all perfectly cast, as well), and that definitely also goes for the children(who, might I add, are charming and sweet kids, too, including the baby; seriously, can't you count on one hand the infants in movies that are *genuinely* cute? This is one of the only ones, in over a century of the medium), who deliver some of the most astonishing performances seen from ones around that age. Honestly, there is perhaps one single(and entirely understandable) moment that isn't completely convincing, but everything that comes before or since is. In spite of all that we see them do, we sympathize with the credible and well-developed characters. There is a lot of disturbing content, a bit of violence, some sexuality and infrequent strong language in this. I recommend this to anyone mature enough for the subject matter, at least if you can handle it. 10/10

A must see film

[Dgbibook · 10/10 · 20 September 2014]

I have just watched this film from SBS Australian network, I was glued to the screen and wanted to give my gratitude to the writer and producer, this to me was a film that is dateless as we see life that effects and infects from the time that we enter this world

It's a reflection of life itself as we start out so pure but within life somehow we are exposed to a potential stream of danger and propaganda

I grabbed my son and hugged him very tight as I will try to prevent him from such an experience

Well done Mr Thomas Vinterberg your film was incredible and powerful, yes it did leave me sad but sad in a good way

Very kind regards DGB

It's all about Misery

[moi_kamiar · 15 February 2010]

Still involved in his preoccupations with collapse of family foundation and its bonds (as evident also in his fantastic Dogme 1, FESTEN), Vinterberg comes back to Berlin with a film which is not about love at all, but about misery in general. SUBMARINO is the story of lack of love, family and commitment which is reflected in addiction, despair and murder. Looking through a glass darkly at the depressed people in times of depression, it gains its strength from the constraint approach to the subject matter. In his usual personal visions (of course, without a trembling camera after his Dogme propaganda and anti-bourgeoisie pretense), Vinterberg finds his way through a way far from any sentimentality. Grey overtones in each shot marks the world he's going to portray – a world in which everyone has forgotten all about fear and trembling. However it seems too naturalistic, SUBMARINO is able to make a survey into the lives of miserable men of the third millennium, not as a tearjerker, but as a veritable mirror

results of dysfunctional alcoholic parenting

[filmalamosa · 7/10 · 9 January 2012]

Am not a big fan of depressing socially relevant dramas--however if you are you will love Submarino.

The film shows how destructive alcoholic parents can be. We follow two boys who are neglected by an alcoholic mother.

Most of the film is devoted to following these two boys now in their 30s for a short time. They have separately developed dysfunctional lives themselves.

The oldest boy can be violent and has served time for it. The younger brother is a heroin addict with a young son.

A side plot was lifted from Mice and Men by Steinbeck--a socially isolated inept man murders a girl. It is done quite convincingly. Watch it to see.

Intriguing, engaging, emotional, thoughtful drama

[grantss · 9/10 · 20 September 2014]

An incredibly intriguing, engaging, emotional and thoughtful drama from Denmark. Intriguing because there is a mystery about the sequence of events. You see the movie from one brother's perspective, initially, and there's a question mark over the whereabouts of the other brother. Then you see the other brothers story, starting a few weeks earlier, and everything starts to fall into place. A very clever plot device.

Engaging and emotional because you feel for the characters. They might not be the most angelic of people, but they are people worth caring about. You are drawn into their characters and relationships, and keep fearing for the worst.

Thoughtful because of how the movie depicts life at its rawest and people at their mot vulnerable, in a very sensitive and intelligent manner.

Not perfect though. The film is a bit rough around the edges. There are some minor character inconsistencies and some small sub- plots are inflated all out of proportion.

Solid performances all round, including one of the better performances you'll see from a child: Gustav Fischer Kjærulff as MArtin.

Great script and direction from Thomas Vinterberg, who I'm sure we'll hear a lot more of in the future. He has already directed one English-language/US-based movie, Dear Wendy, so will not be totally foreign to US audiences. His follow-up to Submarino, The Hunt, received a Best Foreign Film Oscar nomination in 2014, and has pushed him further into the limelight. He is bound for great things.

Danish drama about a two brothers and their struggles.

[deloudelouvain · 7/10 · 16 January 2023]

I don't get why they called this movie Submarino. I must have missed something or maybe I'm just too stupid to understand the pun. That said, it doesn't really matter as long as the movie is entertaining and that it was for sure. It's a Danish drama, about two brothers that grew up in a highly dysfunctional family, with an alcoholic mother that can only bothered by her next drink. The story is told in two parts, each part seen by the other brother. It isn't a happy movie, the desperation is overwhelming, but it's realistic, certainly for people living in big cities where these kind of things happen on a daily basis. I didn't know any of the actors but they all did a very good job playing their characters. Their acting made this movie worth watching.

Utterly bleak

[laduqesa · 8/10 · 8 March 2023]

This was a difficult hour and fifty minutes. All the lives shown were hopeless ones in varying situations of despair and desperation. Nick and his brother (who is never named) struggle with the guilt of the loss of their baby brother whom they looked after for their alcoholic mother. The guilt has twisted their lives and ruined them. Nick is violent and his brother a junkie.

The film shows the quotidian travails of these people matter of factly. It's not asking for sympathy or involvement - these are unpleasant people despite their dreadful pasts. Horrors happen but we are not horrified - the film manages to keep us at arm's length.

I was surprised to find myself weeping at the end. The actors, writer and director had done their jobs and touched me profoundly without my having known it.

Classic Danish-male high-variance redemption hybrid

[stef70000 · 8/10 · 20 April 2021]

Vinterberg has a great grip on playing out human drama. Even though the circumstances are extreme and might feel a tiny bit too much, I never felt the emotions displayed are overplayed or inauthentic. The subtleties of the main actors were very nicely used to convey dread as well as sympathy with the two brothers. All in all it felt like a roller-coaster of redemption-feelings, since with every chapter closed, yielding the actual redemption, another backside opened, inducing jarring unfinishedness, unansweredness, and despair.

Harsh reality in a danish masterpiece

[gharbinour · 10/10 · 12 December 2019]

This is an intense Danish film, one of the best I've seen in a while. I love Dogma and especially Vinterberg, who is my favorite director involved in this cinematic movement. Don't get me wrong, I love Lars Von Trier too, but I prefer Vinterberg, I think he's a better storyteller. Submarino is an adaptation of a Bengtsson's book. It tells the story of two brothers who grew up with a bad mother in poverty and have to cope with the aftermath of a childhood trauma. Trauma is like a tumor, it grows inside you, and if you don't get rid of it, it takes over you and eventually kills you. This is exactly what the film is about. To avoid becoming a casualty of your own self, you have to deal with what's eating you alive. The characters try so hard to overcome their past and move on with their lives, but somehow, they constantly fail. The lead character is drawn to violence whereas his brother is addicted to drugs and becomes an irresponsible parent like his mother was. In a way, I think this film is very similar to Requiem for a Dream, it has the same fatalistic tone. Submarino is also the most accurate film I've ever seen about what a bad childhood can do to people. Vinterberg's style is raw and linear. The cinematography is dark and grainy with some remarkable chiaroscuro shots. The two lead actors are terribly convincing, especially Jakob Cedergren (Terribly Happy and Sorrow and Joy) who has a lot of charisma in his role. The film is well written. The characters are human and complex, their journey into self-destruction is never exaggerated and the ending of the film is beautifully tragic. I think it's a hidden gem and probably the best Vinterberg film since Festen.

Haunting , beautiful, tragic

[bspwkbg · 10/10 · 17 July 2021]

Totally went in not expecting anything , but went out sad and moved, what else can one say? You don't get moved and feel for the characters often, not because one doesn't, but because when there's a sea of beautiful content on screen, some like this stands out. It pulls you in the minute you see the characters, unannounced, outta the blue, leaving you devastated in a way you want. It's a shame I didn't watch this sooner , but ultimately I'm better for it.

a film that is filled with blood, urine, saliva and etc.

[pmz10001 · 9/10 · 13 September 2021]

Submarino is a 2010 film by thomas vinterberg. Submarino, is a type of torture. A coarse is filled with blood, urine, saliva and so on. They put a person's head here and leave him breathless. After a while, when the need to breathe is at its peak, the mouth opens and the mixture is swallowed. In the same film, the name was used as a metaphor. The protagonists of the film drown in their lives dominated by violence, alcoholism, drugs and sex. That is, in this case it is not easy to breathe.

So effective. The reasons listed above have plagued them under very heavy responsibilities since childhood. The brothers were so far apart. Although they live in the same city, they are close. Their smiles when they see each other in prison, nick's complete exhaustion, the lack of such a value of freedom for him are the most impressive aspects of the film.

Recycling of self destruction

[philharmonic-850-395923 · 10/10 · 10 December 2020]

Yet another outstanding, sincere, raw masterpiece of Scandinavian cinema.

Unrealistically grim realism from the land of milk & honey

[kuampapwder · 10/10 · 22 October 2020]

Good flim. just one question. Was it lazy writing or do folks actually say 'OK' that much in Denmark?

-peas y'all-

More of a 7.4 than a 8

[endworlds · 8/10 · 31 August 2021]

There's this cyan filter over the entire movie, that is poignant, I suppose, but I would much more appropriately describe it as "disgusting". There is also no reason why the movie is called "Submarino", other than to confuse film catalogers who have also seen Submarine (also 2010)