The Danes chose the comedy “Superclásico” by Ole Christian Madsen to participate in the Oscar competition in the category “Best Foreign Film” in 2012. Denmark's film did not bring an Oscar, but this does not detract from its merits. This is a lively, funny and warm story, filmed with soul and a sense of proportion, not burdened by either an annoying Hollywood happy ending or contrived arthouse complexity.

Liquor store owner Christian (Anders W. Bertelsen) is in complete disarray: his wife, sports manager Anna (Paprika Steen), left for a football player and moved to Buenos Aires, leaving Christian alone with their 16-year-old son. Christian completely lost heart, stopped working in the store and slowly went broke, finishing off his reserves of noble wines alone. But at the last line, he suddenly comes to his senses and flies with his son to Argentina to find out from Anna why she was not satisfied with their family life. The answers to all his unasked questions suddenly appear before him with all clarity: Anna lives in a huge mansion with a young football player Juan Diaz (Sebastian Estevanes), who is a star in his homeland and everyone’s favorite. In addition, it turns out that Anna is going to marry him, and there can be no talk of reuniting with her ex; Christian only needs to sign the divorce papers. But in Buenos Aires, Christian seems to come to life, finding himself in different stories: he is robbed on the street, he meets a producer of excellent wine in a bar, he has a sudden affair with a maid, a former tango dancer. And finally, he has to fight over his son Oscar (Jamie Morton) - the boy slept with an Argentine girl who has a strict father. There seems to be a happy ending behind every storyline: either Anna will change her mind, or everything will work out for Christian with the maid Fernanda, or, in the end, Christian will save the business by exporting excellent malbec from Argentina, and will break the legs of the arrogant football player. But director Madsen skillfully avoids all the banal endings that the plot suggests, and the film only benefits from this, gaining depth and wisdom.

Tatyana Aleshicheva

"Superclasico" – Weekend – Kommersant