A bold and fascinating Danish film, Families Like Ours posits that Denmark, afflicted by rising seas, closes itself down, with the population rapidly fleeing as refugees all over Europe. Especially intriguing because it asks what the refugee experience might be like for upper middle-class Europeans, the movie centers around one extended family. The central male figure and his young family attempts to secure a future in France, his ex-wife ends up in Rumania, the young daughter flees in an illegal private boat, a government official and his husband cope with criminal trauma … it is all an appealing stew of stories that promises, at the outset of the seven episodes, to really test the film’s concept. Regrettably, the acting is make-work, the script, especially the dialogue, lacks crispness and dramatic tension, and key set-piece scenes do not impress, so that the end result of Families Like Ours is modest, beguiling entertainment with little memorable punch.
Book, movie/show, and album reviews
