''It's All About Love'' is a 2003 English-language Danish romance-

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

film written and directed by Thomas Vinterberg. Its narrative can be classified as apocalyptic science fiction, but Vinterberg prefers to call it "a dream". Unlike the director's earlier Danish-language films, ''It's All About Love'' is entirely in English, and stars

Joaquin Phoenix Joaquin Rafael Phoenix ( ; ; born October 28, 1974) is an American actor. Widely described as one of the most preeminent actors of his generation and known for Joaquin Phoenix filmography, his roles as dark, unconventional and eccentric charact ...

Claire Danes Claire Catherine Danes (born April 12, 1979) is an American actress. Prolific in film and television since her teens, she is the recipient of three Primetime Emmy Awards and four Golden Globe Awards. In 2012, ''Time (magazine), Time'' named he ...

and

Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He is known for his intense leading man roles in film. List of awards and nominations received by Sean Penn, His accolades include two Academy Awards, a Golden Gl ...

. The production was led by Denmark's Nimbus Film, but the film was largely an international co-production, with involvement of companies from nine countries. It was very poorly received by film critics.

Plot

In the year 2021, when the earth is devastated by continuous climate changes, with sudden waves of frost (it snows in the middle of summer even in Venice), John, a university lecturer, traveling from Poland to Calgary, stops in New York, to sign divorce papers for his wife Elena. A much beloved figure skating champion, Elena is followed by a very large entourage that takes care of her numerous commitments and all external relations. John is detained one night in order to attend an important performance by Elena. Set to leave the next morning, he finds that not only has Elena not signed the divorce papers but, with very little explanation, she begs John for help. Still in love, he indulges her. John discovers that Elena is the victim of a strange plot hatched by her own entourage. Three clones, perfectly identical to her, were made to replace her. The official explanation is to relieve her of the burden of an activity that is getting more difficult over time, but the fear is that once the clone training is over, the real Elena can be put aside. Amid escapes and returns, the killing of the clones, the betrayal of his own family members, John and Elena go away first by train then on foot towards a safe place to resume a new life together, but in the end, they face the cold storms that are ravaging much of the Earth, and die, embraced. The narration of the finale is entrusted to Marciello, John's brother, who in flight over the planet is one of the last survivors but is also destined to perish as it is not possible to land.

Cast

as John *

as Elena *

as Marciello *

Douglas Henshall Douglas James "Dougie" Henshall (born 19 November 1965) is a Scottish television, film and stage actor. He is best known for his roles as Professor Nick Cutter in the science fiction series ''Primeval (TV series), Primeval'' (2007–2011) and D ...

as Michael * Alun Armstrong as David *

Margo Martindale Margo Martindale (born July 18, 1951) is an American character actress who has appeared on television, film, and stage. In 2011, she won a Primetime Emmy Award and a Critics' Choice Television Award for her recurring role as Mags Bennett on '' ...

as Betsy *

Mark Strong Mark Strong (born Marco Giuseppe Salussolia; 5 August 1963) is a British actor best known for his film roles such as Prince Septimus in '' Stardust'' (2007), Archibald in '' RocknRolla'' (2008), Lord Henry Blackwood in ''Sherlock Holmes'' (200 ...

as Arthur *

Geoffrey Hutchings Geoffrey Hutchings (8 June 1939 – 1 July 2010) was an English stage, film and television actor. Early life and career Hutchings was born in Dorchester, Dorset, England. After attending Hardye's School, he studied French and Physical Educat ...

as Mr. Morrison

Production

The film was written, directed, and produced by Thomas Vinterberg over a period of five years. It was produced through Nimbus Film. At a certain point during production Vinterberg called up

Ingmar Bergman Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film and theatre director and screenwriter. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential film directors of all time, his films have been described as "profoun ...

and asked him to come and help him finish the film, as he felt he could not complete it himself. Vinterberg recalled that: :He roared with laughter and said I had to be out of my mind. There was nothing he was less interested in. And he also said I was an idiot that had not decided fast enough what to do after '' The Celebration (Festen)'', which he, by the way, called a masterpiece. It was a very contended conversation. (From an interview in

Berlingske Tidende ''Berlingske'', previously known as ''Berlingske Tidende'' (, 'Berling's Times'), is a Danish national daily newspaper based in Copenhagen. It is considered a newspaper of record for Denmark. First published on 3 January 1749, ''Berlingske'' is ...

Reception

The film was not very successful, and critics mostly panned it.Rotten Tomatoe
rating
14% positive. For individual reviews, see box on the right.

Richard Roeper Richard E. Roeper (born October 17, 1959) is an American writer. He is a former columnist and film critic for the '' Chicago Sun-Times'', where he wrote for 39 years dating back to 1986 until his departure in 2025. He co-hosted the television s ...

called the film "like Kubrick with a talent-ectomy" and Jack Matthews of the ''

New York Daily News The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Tabloid (newspaper format ...

'' declared that "Surely, Vinterberg was high on some inert gas when he embarked on it". Dennis Lim of the ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Ma ...

'', however found something to like in the film: :''It's All About Love'' is, by any measure, a colossal folly – ridiculed at its Sundance '03 premier, supposedly disowned by its stars (rumor has it Claire Danes burst into tears upon seeing the end result) and jettisoned by original distributor

Focus Focus (: foci or focuses) may refer to: Arts * Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in East Australia Film *Focus (2001 film), ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based on the Arthur Miller novel *Focus (2015 ...

. But this $10 million Danish-British-French-U.S.-Japanese-Swedish-Norwegian-German-Dutch co-production is a film maudit for the ages — rapturous and inexplicable in equal measure.

References

External links

* *
Director interview about film
* {{Thomas Vinterberg 2003 films 2000s science fiction drama films Danish science fiction drama films American romantic drama films Danish romantic drama films Danish thriller films Danish independent films 2003 independent films 2003 romantic drama films Films set in 2021 Films set in the 2020s Films set in the United States Films shot in Denmark Films directed by Thomas Vinterberg Films scored by Zbigniew Preisner Films about cloning Nimbus Film films American dystopian films American independent films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films English-language science fiction drama films English-language independent films English-language romantic drama films