In a Better World

In a Better World follows Anton, a Danish doctor who divides his time between his home town in Denmark and a refugee camp in an African country at war. His marriage to Marianne has broken down, and their young son Elias is being bullied at school. Elias finds protection when Christian, a new classmate who has recently moved from London with his father after his mother's death, steps in. The two boys form a close friendship, but Christian carries a hard grief that turns into a desire for revenge. When Anton chooses not to retaliate against a man who humiliates him, Elias and Christian take matters into their own hands, setting off a plan that puts lives at risk and forces both families to confront what they owe each other and themselves.

Susanne Bier directed the film, her fourth feature in the chronological run that began with Brothers in 2004 and continued through After the Wedding and Things We Lost in the Fire. Anders Thomas Jensen wrote the screenplay, and Sisse Graym Yorgensen produced it for Zentropa Entertainments. Mikael Persbrandt plays Anton, with Trine Dyrholm as Marianne, Ulrich Thomsen as Claus, and William Jøhnk Nielsen and Markus Rygaard as Christian and Elias. The film had a budget of about 15 million dollars and took roughly 13 million dollars worldwide, a modest return. It holds a rating of 7.1 out of 10 on IMDb and 7.1 out of 10 on TMDB from 475 votes, while critics gave it 7.1 out of 10 across 121 reviews, so audiences and reviewers landed in much the same place.