Film

In a Better World

Name: In a Better World
Genre: Drama
Released: 2010
Cast: Mikael Persbrandt, Trine Dyrholm, Ulrich Thomsen, William Jøhnk Nielsen, Markus Rygaard

Drama

A Danish film about two families whose lives intertwine through their sons' friendship. It's a quiet, unflinching exploration of how violence begets violence, how good intentions can cause harm, and how we fail the people we love most. Mature, meditative, and occasionally devastating—for viewers who want cinema that sits with difficult truths.

TMDb rating

3.6

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you are drawn to quiet, morally tangled dramas where two families' small choices slowly press against each other until nobody can look away from the ethics of what they would do.

Skip it if you want a story that moves briskly or resolves its questions neatly; this one lingers on hard conversations and unresolved tension, and its emotional weight may feel heavy going.

What it asks of you: Plan for a two-hour sit-down with patient pacing, a serious tone that rarely lightens, and steady attention to faces and silences rather than action.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

A Separation2011

A Persian masterpiece about divorce and moral compromise. Like *In a Better World*, it refuses easy answers, instead showing how ordinary people make impossible choices with consequences they can't control.

But Slow-paced and heavy with dread. The film trusts you to stay uncomfortable; it never offers relief or resolution in the way you might want.

The Hunt2012

Another Danish film about how accusation and suspicion poison a community. It shares *In a Better World*'s interest in the gap between what we believe about people and who they actually are.

But Mads Mikkelsen's protagonist is deeply unlikeable at times, and watching his life unravel is genuinely agonizing rather than cathartic.

The Farewell2019

A family drama about competing loyalties and the impossible math of loving people across cultures. It has the same emotional intelligence and refusal to pick sides that makes *In a Better World* so powerful.

But Quiet and observational rather than plot-driven. If you need external conflict or a clear villain, the restraint might feel slow.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from In a Better World

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Celebration1998

Both explore how families harbor secrets, and how one act of confrontation can shatter the careful silence people maintain. Vinterberg shows explosion; Bier shows the long aftermath.

Thomas Vinterberg's *Dogme 95* film about a family dinner that becomes a reckoning. It's raw, handheld cinema about how violence echoes through generations—thematically aligned with *In a Better World* but formally wild and even darkly comic.

But Shot on digital video in the late 90s with visible grain. The handheld camera and overlapping dialogue can feel chaotic; it's the opposite of composed.

Manchester by the Sea2016

Kenneth Lonergan's portrait of grief, duty, and the people we're bound to. It understands that sometimes the most important things happen in silence, just like this film does.

But Relentlessly sad. There's beauty in it, but no uplift. If you need hope, look elsewhere.

Capernaum2018

A Lebanese film about a child born into chaos, seeking accountability in a world that has failed him. It shares *In a Better World*'s moral complexity and refusal to let anyone off easily.

But Punishing to watch. The suffering is real and specific, not softened for an audience. It can feel exploitative if you're not in the right headspace.

Minari2021

Lee Isaac Chung's film about a Korean-American family chasing a dream. Like *In a Better World*, it's about how love and damage live in the same house.

But Understated to the point where it's easy to tune out. Nothing explodes; everything matters anyway.

Winter Light1963

Bergman's bleak examination of faith and failed connection. Both films believe that despair is honest, and that tenderness between people matters most when it's fragile.

But Shot in black and white in the early 60s, it looks and sounds remote. The emotional coldness can feel airless if you're expecting warmth.

Krisha2016

Akhtar Khaun's semi-autobiographical film about a family torn between old ways and new survival. It has the same unsentimental view of how people hurt each other while trying to hold together.

But Formally experimental and shot almost like a documentary. If you need conventional narrative drive, this won't provide it.

The Son2022

Florian Zeller's intimate look at depression, parenthood, and the ways we fail to see suffering in the people closest to us. It understands moral ambiguity the way this film does.

But Claustrophobic and taxing. The camera stays close and the pain is relentless—there's no distance between you and the damage.

Earthlings2005

Both refuse sentimentality about suffering. Both force the viewer to sit with discomfort rather than escape it. Both ask: what do we do when we can't unsee something?

Shaun Monson's documentary about humanity's relationship with animals. It sounds completely different, but it's the same film—an unflinching, non-judgmental look at how violence becomes normalized and how we rationalize harm.

But Graphic and difficult. It doesn't ask for permission or soften its footage. Many people find it unwatchable, and that's intentional.

A Prophet2009

Both films use a central friendship as a lens to examine how people become what they never expected. Both are interested in transformation—how circumstance changes us, often for the worse.

Jacques Audiard's prison film about a young man's education in violence and survival. It's the inverse of *In a Better World*: where Bier shows how decency erodes, Audiard shows how someone adapts to a world where decency is a liability.

But Prison violence is explicit. The atmosphere is claustrophobic and hostile in ways that feel more like a thriller than a character study, even though it's primarily the latter.