Review of Copenhagen

Copenhagen (2014)
7/10
15 is Age of Consent
23 May 2015
The age of sexual consent in Denmark is 15. That's why the main female character kept mentioning her upcoming birthday. I had been wondering like other reviewers, why they would make the character 14, thereby adding a sort of pedophile angle to an otherwise interesting film.

Why not just have her be 17? But they had to make her 14,because at 15 the whole underage conflict would no longer exist as a legal question. Although it still would as a moral issue. Enough on that.

I don't know why they chose English actors to play Americans, but this male lead was totally natural and believable. I consider him the star of this movie. The other reviewers are "gaga" over the girl.

But remember that we are viewing her as non-Danish people. We are sucked in by her accent and the scenery. But if we were Danish ourselves, we might just think she is an appealing young thing, without being in awe of her.

Having said that, of course she did a nice job of portraying a precocious girl from a broken home with just the right amount of worldly wisdom and sincere innocence.

Other reviewers have skillfully pinpointed the fact that these guys were emotionally immature while the underage girl is emotionally advanced. Because of that, it makes perfect sense why they would be drawn to her.

The movie highlights a certain prolonged adolescence prevalent in many Western men. It takes some a long time to grow up.

Essentially the movie features a substantial character arc. A selfish, boorish guy learns what it means to truly care about another person, both in terms of his father and his new female friend.

I really wanted to know what he did for a living back home. I didn't need a long description of it, but it would give some much-needed context. I also needed to know about his mom. This background information could have been satisfied in a few brief remarks or one conversation.

Copenhagen looks nice. I don't know enough about Cinematography to judge it here, but there were definitely some nicely framed shots of water and colorful homes.

The music was a key factor for me. There is a scene where our male lead is walking on a beach or something, and there is a dramatic electronic beat steadily gaining volume and steam. I loved that.

Check it out. It's worth watching, despite the creepiness of the age-related sexual tension.
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