Interview with Oscar-winning filmmaker Susanne Bier

On NPR's Fresh Air today, Terry Gross interviewed Danish film director Susanne Bier, whose film "In a Better World" won best foreign-language film at both the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes.

The discussion not only focused on Bier's award-winning film, but also covered topics including her acceptance speeches and the "vow of chastity" of the Dogme 95 movement, founded by Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg:

I believe in rules. I believe in artistic limitations, and I always have. I've always thought that setting out a set of rules before you start, and then being completely consistent with them, is the only way to make a really good film. These particular [Dogme] rules are austerity rules. They force you to deal with the storyline and the characters, and that's it. And I thought it was a real challenge in a positive way. There was a number of good films coming out from this set of rules.

And the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film Goes to ...

In a Better World, directed by Susanne Bier.

European Cinema and the Golden Globes

Last night the Golden Globe Awards were presented and the five films nominated for best foreign-language film were all from Europe: Biutiful (a Mexico-Spain co-production), The Concert (France), The Edge (Russia, and presumably not a film about the U2 guitarist!), I am Love (Italy), and In a Better World (Denmark).  Susanne Bier's In a Better World won but all the films sound like they're worth taking a look at. I'm definitely interested in seeing Bier's film after seeing her well-done Oscar-nominated 2006 film After the Wedding.

Absinthe Recommends

Absinthe recommends the Arts and Ideas podcast from the BBC. Recently the German filmmaker Wim Wenders was interviewed and spoke about his return to Europe after living in the U.S. for many years. The novels Day In Day Out by Terezia Mora (translated by Michael Henry Heim) and The Book of Words by Jenny Erpenbeck (translated by Susan Bernofsky). Irving Singer writes about Ingmar Bergman in Ingmar Bergman, Cinematic Philosopher. Check out the winner of the Foreign-language Academy Award The Lives of Others, directed by Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck and the Danish film After the Wedding, directed by Susanne Bier.