After the Wedding Plot

After the Wedding (Efter brylluppet) is a Danish movie released in 2006. The film is directed by Susanne Bier and stars Mads Mikkelsen and Sidse Babett Knudsen. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but lost out to The Lives of Others.

The film had its North American premiere as a gala at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival, and is scheduled to open in limited release in New York City on 2007-03-30 and in Los Angeles on 2007-04-06.

The UK release was Friday 9 March 2007.

Jacob Petersen manages an Indian orphanage. With a small staff, he works as hard as he can to keep the orphanage afloat. The project has been in danger of collapse for eight years and now faces bankruptcy. A Danish corporation offers a substantial donation to maintain the orphanage, but Jacob is told that he must return to Denmark (where he grew up) to receive the funds. Apparently the CEO of the corporation wishes to shake Jacob's hand.

Jacob travels to Copenhagen and checks into a luxurious suite at a five-star hotel, paid for by the corporation: quite a contrast from his living conditions in India.

When Jacob meets with Jørgen (the CEO of the corporation), Jørgen says he is still considering which project to fund. This surprises Jacob, who had understood that the decision was already made.

Since Jørgen's daughter Anna is to marry on the next day, he invites Jacob to the wedding. Coincidentally, Jacob meets his former girlfriend Helene there. She was the love of his life and went to India with him, but when he was unfaithful with her best friend, she left him and went back to Denmark. She is now the wife of Jørgen.

During Anna's speech at the marriage festivities, Jacob learns she is not the biological daughter of Jørgen. His suspicion that she might be his is confirmed by Helene the next day. Jacob is angry to have learned of his daughter only after two decades. Helene claims that they had tried to track him down in India but were unsuccessful. She is compelled to tell Anna of Jacob now; the two meet and get along rather well.

Despite all these issues, Jacob does meet Jørgen again over the funding of his Indian orphanage. Jørgen offers to create a foundation in Jacob's and Anna's name and fund it with a large sum of money. One of the conditions of the contract, however, would be that Jacob move to Denmark. Jacob initially finds himself unable to comply, because back in India waits eight-year-old Pramod, whom he has been raising since birth. He also does not want to be bought by Jørgen. When Jacob storms out, Jørgen explains to him his real motivation: Jørgen is terminally ill and will soon die. He has brought Jacob to Denmark so he can care for Anna, Helene and Jørgen's little twin sons. Jacob is so angered, however, that he hastily leaves for his hotel room. When Anna turns up there crying her eyes out because her newlywed has been unfaithful, Jacob realizes that he should be there for his daughter and that he can help tens of thousands of Indian orphans that way, as well. He signs the contract with Jørgen.

Jørgen dies. On Jacob's next visit to India, construction work at the orphanage is well under way. Jacob asks Pramod whether he would like to come to Denmark with him, but partly because Jacob used to rail against rich people, Pramod decides to stay in his home country.