Submarino

In his sixth feature film, director Thomas Vinterberg returns to his directing origins – uncompromising realism and an interest in dysfunctional family relationships. Based on the novel by young Danish writer Jonas T. Bengtsson, the story focuses on two brothers who were marked in childhood by an alcoholic mother and feelings of guilt over a tragic event they were involved in. Now adults, they live in the bleak world of Copenhagen’s suburbs among lost souls trying to keep their heads above water (the film’s title refers to a kind of torture in which the victim’s head is held under water to the point of drowning). Fresh out of prison, Nick tries to survive with the help of beer and weightlifting, compensating for his sense of loss by caring for the outsiders around him. The only one he can’t reach is his younger brother, who, after the death of his wife, is the lone caretaker of his little boy Martin. Will the brothers find their way back to each other before it’s too late?