Directing: B+
Acting: B+
Writing: B+
Cinematography: B-
Editing: A-

Talk about ethical gray areas. It’s nearly impossible to imagine Another Round being made as the same movie by an American director, about American characters. Every culture has its own rather specific history with alcohol, after all, and this film’s original title in Danish was Druk, which essentially translates to Drunk, or if you plug it into Google Translate, it comes up as Binge Drinking. And here in the States, changing the title to Another Round feels a little like sanitizing the subject matter.

The basic concept is this: four middle aged men, all friends who are teachers at a high school, take it upon themselves to become both researchers and subjects in an alcohol-related “experiment”: Norwegian psychiatrist Finn Skårderud theorized that having a constant level of alcohol in your system—specifically, a Blood Alcohol Concentration of 0.05%—leaves you more creative and relaxed. These four men, discussing it over a 40th birthday dinner, decide they will put the theory to the test. Martin (Mads Mikkelsen), the primary protagonist of the film, is hesitant at first, but realizing his life is very much in a rut, ultimately decides to go along.

They create certain rules. Perhaps most amazingly, they drink only during the day, leaving themselves time in the evenings to sober up in order to be “refreshed” the next day—which means starting in the mornings and maintaining their 0.05% BAC right through their work days. At a high school.

This being an international feature, one of the many interesting things to consider here is the differing attitude toward alcohol consumption from one society to another. In Demmark the legal BAC limit for drinking and driving is 0.05%, as compared to 0.08% in the United States—and yet, in Denmark the legal drinking age is 16. (This does get nuanced; they can purchase beer or wine at 16, but must be 18 to drink in restaurants and bars, or to purchase liquor—still lower than the U.S. age of 21.) Another Round doesn’t get into the weeds about this stuff, given it’s made for a Danish audience already well familiar. But these are important distinctions for international audiences, particularly those from the United States, as is the average overall alcohol consumption in Denmark, which does get some reference in the script. Martin’s wife, at one point, says to him, “I couldn’t care less if you drink with your friends. This entire country drinks like maniacs anyway.”

And this seems to be essentially what director and co-writer Thomas Vinterberg seems to be getting at, although his film is never particularly judgmental about alcohol consumption. The basic message seems to be “everything in moderation,” and the idea of moderation is where this “social experiment” goes off the rails. It takes some time to get there, though, and curiously, Another Round is bookended by opening and ending sequences that feature excessive public drinking, in both cases presented as joyous, jubilant occasions.

Granted, the opening sequence features a minor incident of drinking school kids going a bit too far, raising concerns among the high school faculty. The immediate consensus among the staff, in response to any ideas of limiting the binge drinking, much of which is tied very deeply with local tradition, basically amounts to “good luck with that.” And shortly thereafter, the aforementioned four friends make their decision to conduct this social experiment. What effects might there be on their professional and social lives? We get occasional title cards with short notes from a prospective “research paper,” along with regular updates on where exactly their BAC level is. They are so mindful of the details and control of this experiment—which inevitably gets sloppy, whether they want it to or not—that they buy home breathalizer gadgets, so they can take regular readings on themselves.

Where a story like this goes is very much dependent on context, however, and the fact that these characters are all written as high school teachers is likely no accident. This creates a kind of risk that would not be present at other jobs, such as the possibility of students getting their hands on their teachers’ alcohol, in some cases by accident, in others on purpose. One of the teachers not only suggests a stressed out kid take a couple of shots to calm himself before a test, but he even provides it. Another Round never depicts any consequences for this, or even makes any kind of judgment call about it. There’s something you won’t see in American films.

That said, Another Round absolutely does take all four of these characters into a space of consequences, just as a result of indefinite day drinking, with varying degrees of severity. “Professional and social negative effects,” as the verbiage in the ongoing “paper” puts it. Marriages are put to the test, and one of them slips over the threshold into alcoholism. What I like about this movie’s approach is that it doesn’t bother being declarative in any way that applies to all people: this doesn’t turn everyone into an alcoholic, but rather, perhaps, unveils those who are more susceptible to that path.

The pacing of Another Round is slower than we are generally used to in the U.S., but I found the editing to be exactly as it should be; the only technical aspect I found occasionally distracting was the exclusively handheld cinematography. If you find the concept itself compelling, then I would consider it worth watching—the complicating factor there being that it’s not on any streaming service but only available at the moment to purchase on VOD; I paid $6.99 to watch it on Prime Video, and although I would not have considered it worth any more than that, I think it’s a fair price. It’s easy to imagine that other opinions on that will vary.

From an American perspective, it’s the cultural differences, as well as where cultural norms parallel, that make this movie more compelling. There’s also the ever-present contextualization of the pandemic: Another Round proved to be a cinema sensation in its native Denmark, even with theaters at 50% capacity. It had its biggest domestic box office its opening weekend in seven years, but how much of that was just because of how few other new movies there were to choose from at the time? I was very impressed by this film, but there is no universe in which it would be a runaway success in the States. This is why recommending it in the U.S. feels like it might need certain caveats. If you’re someone who enjoys foreign films, who doesn’t mind reading subtitles, who doesn’t need the plot to unfold at breakneck speed, then it’s worth a look.

*Mads and friends: about to get maintenance drunk.*

Overall: B+