Applause
Applaus
Denmark, 2009, 86 Minute Running Time
Genre/Subjects: Drama, Foreign, Social Issues, Women's Issues
Programs: Contemporary World Cinema, Films in Competition
Language: Danish English Sub-Titles
Thea Barfoed is a fiercely charismatic, alcoholic actress trying to change her life and reconnect with the children she lost custody of in her divorce. Her ex-husband – now married to a woman conspicuously different from Thea – is enchanted by his ex-wife’s determination, fueled by what seems to be a real desire to make amends. But old habits die hard, and soon Thea has returned to her old ways of addiction and self-destruction.
Not only does Applause echo the cinema verité style of John Cassavetes, but Thea is specifically reminiscent of Gena Rowlands’s character in A Woman Under the Influence. The part was specially written, however, for Dogme 95 darling Paprika Steen (The Celebration, SDFF 21; The Idiots), and the script contains just enough humor and warmth to allow her a measure of sympathy from the audience, who admires her efforts and somewhat forgives her lapses. Meanwhile, first-time narrative director Martin Pieter Zandvliet brings his own style to the production, rooted in his years as a documentary filmmaker. Having filmed Steen’s tour de force performances as Martha in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf during its run at the Copenhagen Theatre, he uses the footage to show how Thea’s onstage persona permeates her offstage being, thus bringing a deeper authenticity to the film.
DIRECTOR: Martin Pieter Zandvliet
Producer: Mikael Chr. Rieks
Editor: Per Sandholt
Screenwriter: Andres Frithiof August, Martin Pieter Zandvliet
Cinematographer: Jesper TØffner
Principal Cast: Paprika Steen, Michael Falch, Sara-Marie Maltha, Shanti Roney, Otto Leonardo Steen Rieks, Noel Koch-SØfeldt, Malou Reymann, Uffe RØrbæk, Nanna Tange, Annette RØnning, Michael Kastrupsen, Lars Brygmann
Official Film Website
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