Silent Heart

Silent Heart
Silent Heart
	Theatrical poster
	Stille hjerte
Directed by	Bille August
Written by	Christian Torpe [da]
Produced by	Jesper Morthorst
Starring	Ghita Nørby; Morten Grunwald; Paprika Steen; Jens Albinus; Danica Curcic; Pilou Asbæk;
Cinematography	Dirk Brüel
Edited by	Anne Østerud; Janus Billeskov Jansen [da]
Music by	Annette Focks
Production; company	SF Film
Distributed by	Level K (Scandinavia);
Release dates	20 September 2014 (Spain); 13 November 2014 (Denmark);
Running time	98 minutes
Country	Denmark
Language	Danish
Budget	DKK 13 mio

Silent Heart (Danish: Stille hjerte, Quiet heart) is a 2014 Danish drama film directed by Bille August, and starring Ghita Nørby, Morten Grunwald, Paprika Steen, and Jens Albinus. The film was nominated for the 2015 Nordic Council Film Prize.

Plot

A family of three generations gather over a weekend to say goodbye to Esther who suffers from an incurable disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and with the help of her husband Poul has chosen to pursue euthanasia when the weekend is over. But as the end approaches, the mother's decision becomes more and more difficult to handle for the daughters Heidi and Sanne, and old conflicts come to the surface.

Cast

Ghita Nørby as Esther
Morten Grunwald as Poul
Paprika Steen as Heidi
Danica Curcic as Sanne
Jens Albinus as Michael
Pilou Asbæk as Dennis
Vigga Bro [da] as Lisbeth
Oskar Sælan Halskov as Jonathan

Themes

The topic of August's film is euthanasia. The film is a family drama about three generations coming together over a weekend to say goodbye to their wife, mother, mother in law, grandmother and friend.

Release

The film premièred 20 September 2014 at the San Sebastián International Film Festival where it received a 20 minutes standing ovation.^[1] It was released theatrically in Denmark 13 November 2014.^[2]

Reception

Film critic Morten Piil in Filmmagasinet Ekko [da] gave the film 5 out of 6 stars and wrote: "All in all, Silent Heart is Bille August's most complete film since The Best Intentions."^[3] Jonathan Holland for The Hollywood Reporter wrote positively from San Sebastián that "After the disappointing Night Train to Lisbon, Heart signals a return to form for the former Oscar-winner Bille August, who here explores with practised ease and an alertness the emotional truth of the dynamics of an ordinarily neurotic family in an extraordinary situation. Accessible without being easy, and played to perfection by a superbly directed cast, Heart looks set to beat at festivals and in the European arthouse."^[4]

Jay Weissberg for Variety on the other hand wrote that "Silent Heart is a standard-issue tearjerker about a dying matriarch gathering her family around on the weekend she plans to off herself. The only surprise is when the script goes from merely stereotyped to spectacularly silly with a late revelation that would feel idiotic even in a farfetched 1940s meller."^[5]