Susanne Bier’s In a Better World depicts incidents in two different corners of the world – a small rural town in Denmark and a deserted refugee camp in Africa. On one side, the film deals with revenge, war, warlords, hatred, merciless tortures, break up, bullying, and on the other side, the film shows friendship, love, affection, selfless service, non-violence, peace, and reconciliation. Both darkness and sunshine coexist in this world. There is no place with only peace and without violence. There is no human who possesses only love and not hatred. There is no relationship that does not traverse through rough phases. But, in the end, it is dependent on us how we can remove the darkness and bring forward light. It is our responsibility to make this world better every day no matter how much effort we have to put in.
Anton (Mikael Persbrandt), who is a Swedish doctor, lives in a small rural town in Denmark and works at a refugee camp in Africa. He is separated from his estranged wife Marianne (Trine Dyrholm) because of his affair with another woman, and the couple is about to get divorced. He has two sons. The elder son Elias (Markus Rygaard) is regularly bullied at school. A boy Christian (William Nielsen), who has just lost his mother due to cancer, moves in the town with his father Claus (Ulrich Thomsen) to live with his grandmother.
Christian blames his father for lying to him that his mother would beat cancer. He also blames that his father wanted his mother to die. Christian holds a strong grudge against his father for his mother’s death. However, he is admitted to the same school as Elias, and he comes to Elias’ rescue when the latter is bullied by Sofus. Christian beats Sofus with a bicycle pump making him fatally injured. Ultimately, he holds a knife just below Sofus’ throat. Elias and Christian are summoned by the school admin but the knife is not traced as Elias has already hidden it. All three boys are taken into a discussion forum where they shake hands.
Anton’s younger son starts fighting with the son of a car mechanic. When Anton comes in between the boys and stops the fight, the mechanic accuses Anton of hitting his son and slaps him several times in front of the boys. Anton follows the principle of non-violence and does not hit back the car mechanic. Christian does not agree to this principle and plans to teach him a lesson. The story of the film now turns back to the refugee camp in Africa. A notorious warlord “Big Man”, who cuts the bellies of pregnant women, comes to the refugee camp for the treatment of his badly injured leg.
Local people warn Anton about the crimes of the Big Man and urge him not to treat him. Anton, who is a believer in non-violence, decides to provide him treatment disgustedly. Anton orders Big Man to oust his gang with the weapons. The condition of his leg starts getting better. Anton is not able to control himself when a woman succumbs to her injuries caused by Big Man and he asks Anton to hand over the dead body to one of his gang members so that he can rape the dead woman. Anton gets him out of the camp and allows him to be beaten to death by the public.
Now the story is set in Denmark again. Christian starts making a bomb to explode the car of the car mechanic. In spite of having a dilemma initially, Elias supports his decision. They fix the date on a Sunday morning so that no passer-by is hurt. When they burn the fuse wire, two joggers a mother and her young daughter are approaching the location of the bomb. Elias moves forward to warn them and gets injured when the bomb explodes. Elias’ mother Marianne scolds Christian and blames him for killing Elias. After knowing that Elias is no more, Christian contemplates suicide and goes to the top of a silo. Anton traces his location, saves him, and hands him over to his father. Christian is informed that Elias is fine. He meets Elias and also reconciles with his father. Finally, Anton and Marianne resume their marriage.
Susanne Bier tackles multiple important issues like death, grudge, war, warlords, brutality, non-violence, and revenge through In a Better World. No ocean is without waves, no place is without trouble, and no human being is without faults. There is darkness in every corner of the world; Still, efforts should always be put in bringing light. There are multiple war-ravaged places; still, the fight should always be to establish peace. It is not abnormal to hold a grudge against somebody; still, the way forward is love and affection. Anton is an idealist, but he cheated on his wife. Denmark is considered to be a very safe place to live; still, a young student is repeatedly bullied and another student can think of making a bomb.
In a Better World not only shows us the problems but also showcases the enormous possibilities to make this world better every day. The film also shows that everything has a limit. When it is crossed, there will be retaliation. Anton is an idealist and practices non-violence. Still, he allows Big Man to be beaten to death. Had Christian not fight back, Sofus would be bullying Elias every day. The Danish title of the film is Haevnen which means revenge. However, all the actions should be inspired by the philosophy of love, peace, and harmony. The ultimate goal should always be to make a better world.
Susanne Bier’s direction in the film is prominent and not subtle, which may appear as inorganic to some viewers. They may opine that setting the story both in Denmark and Africa may not be required as if the storyline is created forcefully. The incidents in either Denmark or Africa can make a full-length feature film. However, Bier’s efforts in pulling such a broad film must be appreciated. In a Better World also focuses on multiple important issues faced by the modern world. Cinematographer Morten Soborg captured the serene beauty of the rural Danish town and the deserted land of Africa magnificently. All the actors acted pretty well. Markus Rygaard as Elias and William Nielsen as Christian are brilliant throughout the film. In a Better World won the Best Foreign Language Film award at the 68th Golden Globe awards and 83rd Academy Awards.