The Danish Girl

The worst possible way to capture the biography of an unconventional person is to make it precisely this conventional and conservative. The slow cinematography, the haunting music, and the precise actors are dragged in a soul-destroying way through two hours without any drama and you guess the plot despite having no idea about the person in question until now. Somehow you guess that the wife had to go through the hardest dilemma, but her inner struggle is done with one tear on a bench in the rain - it’s very cheesy, just like the rest of the film. (07.02.2016)

Beyond the ethereal acting performances, the movie didn’t really surprise me with anything. And it wasn’t supposed to. I don’t understand the topic and it’s hard for me even get into it a little bit. On the other hand, I admit that Eddie Redmayne is an incredible actor; just as incredible as Alicia Vikander is beautiful. And since I like European movies, I appreciated actors such as Matthias Schoenaerts and Sebastian Koch, who have taken the quality to the absolute top. (15.02.2016)

Tom Hooper has failed to hang on to the status of a clear favorite. After the accessible The King's Speech and all the overflowing emotions of Les Misérables, yet another story is told of a man requiring a sympathetic posture to understand him. Yet this time it fails because it is told all too clumsily. It lacks lightness and, above all, the element of surprise, as every plot twist can be seen long in advance. Often, it doesn't matter, because Alicia Vikander plays like her life depends on it and Eddie Redmayne fascinates with every (albeit again perhaps too specific and almost disruptive) gesture. As a whole, however, The Danish Girl speaks a language that doesn't tell me anything new. (03.02.2016)

Es ist schön, dass ein transsexuelles Wesen die Festivalbesucher nach Kopenhagen, Paris und Dresden in den 1920er Jahren entführen kann und sie nicht einmal protestieren. Die Hauptrollen sind göttlich, und am Bühnenbild hatte ich keine Zweifel, aber toll sind auch die Nebenrollen (Sebastian Koch als Magnus Hirschfeld) und vor allem die Betonung des Werks von Gerda Wegener, bei der ich nicht weiß, ob ich Jugendstil oder Art Déco bevorzuge. (02.02.2016)

Art, is breaking down, pushing and creating genre boundaries, not following them exactly. Alicia Vikander understood this, the creator(s) of this film didn’t. (20.02.2016)

Tom Hooper's craftsmanship cannot be denied, everything is exactly in its place, every scene has its meaning, the cinematography works perfectly in relation to the characters and the actors get the most out of their performances. Eddie Redmayne is traditionally convincing and likeable, Alicia Vikander is phenomenal. But as far as any message or dramatic value is concerned, apart from the theme itself, there is nothing to write home about. Above all, the film doesn't feel very much like a true life story, the action doesn't reach the required emotional heights, and although the driving force is supposed to be primarily a depiction of the fateful love and affection between the two protagonists, it fails to extend their feelings beyond the expressions and inflections of the actors. Overall, it’s a bit underdeveloped, in small details and individual components, but definitely engaging and pretty good. 70% (06.04.2016)

Eddie und Alicia, Alicia und Eddie, Eddie und Alicia, Alicia und Eddie. Ich werde wohl nur von den Schauspielern sprechen, denn The Danish Girl ist vor allem ein schauspielerisches Defilee zweier junger Supertalente. Alicia ist einmal schön und reizend, einmal hat sie eine sexy Stimme und ist in jeder ihrer Rollen überzeugend, stark und bezaubernd. In The Danish Girl bringt sie ihre bisher beste Leistung. Eddie verdient gern auch das zweite Jahr hintereinander einen Oscar. Klar, die Akademie konnte das nicht zulassen, sie gab den Preis lieber dem ewigen Anwärter für seine Verdienste. Eddie hat meines Erachtens das Potenzial, mit dem schauspielerischen Giganten Daniel Day-Lewis wenn nicht gleichzuziehen, dann doch an ihn heranzukommen. Seine zwei Oscar-Leistungen sprechen eine eigene Sprache. Der Dritte im Bunde, der toll spielte, ist der beunruhigende Belgier Schoenarts, der sich jedoch diesmal in einer sehr sympathischen Rolle vorstellte und keine einzige negative Emotion auslöste. Ich muss hervorheben, dass mein Herz hüpfte angesichts meiner europäischen Lieblingsmetropolen - Kopenhagen und Paris. Bisher das größte Filmerlebnis dieses Jahres. (13.08.2016)

Two stars for the performances. Other than that, I have nothing positive to say about the film. It's another one of those rainbow attempts at scoring an easy Oscar. It’s just so cheap. Just pick a "controversial" subject and instead of writing a quality script, pour in a bucket of sentimentality to achieve the desired effect. The film didn't work for me, it was draggy and boring and evoked virtually no emotion in me except for disgust after the closing credits when I realized I had wasted two hours of my life. I'd also like to note that when a film is billed as a biopic, it should be based on facts. I don't understand why the script deprived the poor guy of two more surgeries and a year of life. (23.08.2016)

"The Danish Girl" definitely did not disappoint in terms of acting, and above all Eddie Redmayne continues to prove what a great actor he is and how he can embody a character in such a way that you forget about Redmayne and only perceive the character. Alicia Vikander is not only beautiful, but also great. She is pleasing to the eye, no doubt about that. The life story itself is interesting, but the execution feels somewhat standard, expected, without enthusiasm from Hooper's side. (24.01.2016)

I know next to nothing about this issue and since I'm not some enthusiastic liberal, I didn't really feel like watching this movie. Paradoxically, I found the story intriguing, the acting performances were also great, but the two hours were simply too long. The way Tom Hooper filmed it just plain irritated me – awfully tedious, ridiculously long, and incredibly tacky. The music (I don’t understand how Desplat could have created such a brilliant soundtrack to The Grand Budapest Hotel and now this) in combination with the plot roused the feelings of genuine antipathy in me. That one Oscar for Vikander was well-deserved, but otherwise I have zero desire to watch this movie again. (06.03.2016)

Das war also eine gehörige Portion Emotionen, die perfekt in zwei Stunden untergebracht waren. Ich wurde von dem dänischen Mädchen regelrecht aufgesogen und habe jede Minute des Films genossen. Bravouröse schauspielerische Leistungen, ein hervorragendes Drehbuch, aber auch das Umfeld. Ich habe schon lange keinen Film mehr gesehen, bei dem ich so viele Emotionen, Verzweiflung, Traurigkeit, Leidenschaft und Freude empfunden habe. Ich kann es nicht anders als mit der vollen Anzahl an Sternen bewerten. Für jemanden, der auf emotionale Dramen steht, ist The Danish Girl eine absolut exquisite Angelegenheit. (16.01.2016)