'Druk' (also known as 'Another Round') is a drama that follows four high school teachers as they undertake a social experiment in examining how the regular consumption of alcohol affects their personal and professional lives.
We find Martin, a history teacher delivering a class where his students appear uninterested as the teacher is conveying the information with little passion and seems detached himself. Later we follow Martin home where his wife and two sons also appear to be distant. One evening Martin gathers with his friends and colleagues from the high school, Tommy, a physical education teacher, Peter, a music teacher and Nikolaj a psychology teacher, to celebrate Nikolaj's 40th birthday. As the evening progresses Martin becomes sad and expresses his thoughts about becoming older and monotonous in his social and professional life. Nikolaj brings up and the group start discussing the Norwegian psychiatrist Finn Skårderud and his theory that humans were born with a deficiency of blood alcohol content of 0.05%, which would enable them to be more relaxed and creative.
The following day Martin puts the theory to the test by taking a shot of vodka before class, and discovers that the theory may have something to it. Later, in discussing it with his friends, the foursome decide to conduct a social experiment of sorts, deciding to consume alcohol to maintain a BAC of 0.05% and to record their findings.
The four teachers soon discover to be more attentive in their approach to teaching, imbuing their classes with more passion for their subjects and delivering the material in a more creative and fascinating manner. Having agreed to maintain their alcohol level at 0.05% BAC and to stop drinking at 8 p.m. the men explore their professional lives with more attention and re-evaluate their personal relationships.
Partaking in the experiment, Martin has reconnected with his sons and wife Anika, going away on canoeing trip. Having found their lives overall more enjoyable, the group decide to increase their BAC to 0.10% to explore the increased alcohol effects on their work and family life. Finding the increased amount of alcohol to have improved their lives, the group then push the experiment to the limit by binge drinking and recording their findings on how the alcohol impacts their bodies and minds.
After the fun night, Nikolaj is confronted by his wife, who is upset at his behaviour, expresses anger and leaves with their children to stay at her father's house. Similarly, Martin wakes from the night of binge drinking to be faced by his family, learning of their concern for him being visibly drunk for some time now. Martin also has a candid discussion with Anika, with her expressing her worry and fear of him descending into alcoholism. Martin retorts by conveying that he feels a distance between them and his suspicions of her infidelity. Confirming his suspicions, Anika states that she has felt a distance for some time and has had an affair. Martin leaves enraged, meeting up with his friends where they proceed to binge drink, after which they decide to abandon the project.
Months later, Martin, Nikolaj and Peter have stopped drinking during the day. Tommy has continued, becoming an alcoholic, resulting in his dismissal from work as he turns up at the school drunk one day. Martin spends time with Tommy, but ultimately Tommy takes his boat out to sea and presumably takes his own life.
The film concludes with the three friends on the day of Tommy's funeral. After the service they go out to dinner, and end up celebrating with the recent school graduates in the streets. The final scene focuses on Martin - drinking with his friends and students, dancing in an increasingly frantic fashion until he jumps into the harbour.
'Druk' presents an intriguing premise in exploring the effects of drinking on a group of friends. Even although the pitch may automatically suggest a dire conclusion to the journey the group decides to embark on, the film manages to deliver numerous light-hearted and hilarious scenes, showcasing the loss of inhibitions in the men that allows them to be more relaxed and fun-loving.
The film sets the scenery - revealing to us the state of each players current position. During the dinner scene we learn of Martin's concerns of becoming a boring and socially closed off person. He is brought to the brink of a breakdown til his friends manage to turn it around by cheering him up, complementing his past achievements and noting that he has a good life. As the study is brought up, Martin seems sceptical, yet actually puts it to the test the following day. Discovering the freedom the experiment has provided for him, he shares his findings with his peers who are keen to find out the effects for themselves.
'Druk' allows us to witness the freedom that each man discovers by maintaining a certain level of intoxication, and presents that exhilaration as a means to rediscover their joy and passion as teachers. The more relaxed mood allows the teachers to imbue their students with a keen drive to learn their respective subjects as they present their subject matter with a newfound sense of wonder.
Whilst inevitably leading the audience to conclude that maintaining a constant level of intoxication can lead to serious problems, 'Druk' presents the Skårderud experiment as a catalyst for the participants to re-evaluate their lives and to identify issues that they may have previously avoided. For Martin, it is addressing his timid demeanour and his current lacklustre approach to life. By consuming alcohol, he loses his inhibitions and is able to, initially, rediscover his passion for teaching. Martin also addresses the antipathy that exists between him and Anika. He becomes more spontaneous and takes the family on a trip where the two are able to capture a moment of joy together. However, still feeling the distance between him and his wife, a discussion about Martins drinking leads to him confronting her about his suspicions of infidelity. Inadvertently, the experiment has caused a shift in tone and approach for Martin, leading him to express his thoughts about his marriage, showing that the experiment has had a more profound impact on his personal life than may have previously been anticipated.
Tommy is another character through which we can explore the individual re-examining his circumstances. Tommy, unfortunately does not cease to consume alcohol during the day, leading to a dependence that costs him his job and eventually leads him to take his own life. Here 'Druk' presents one of the more immediate thoughts that occur when it comes to excessive alcohol consumption, yet manages to present it in an understandable manner. As Tommy was discovered to have a problem, his friends were there to lean on, yet it was apparent that Tommy had decided to go down a different path as the drinking overtook his life.
Additionally, Nikolaj's relationship with his family is also portrayed to have suffered from the men taking the experiment to the extreme, as his binge drinking results in his wife leaving their family home with his children. This causes Nikolaj to conclude that his family is more important than anything, inviting the other men to stop the project.
The cast, comprising of Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Lars Ranthe and Magnus Millang as Martin, Tommy, Peter and Nikolaj respectively, interact with ease and present a picture perfect illustration of a group of friends as they go on this journey together, showcasing the compassion, camaraderie and joy that exists between close friends. Individually each character shines in their scenes, but together they establish a strong and fun energy that creates a great atmosphere and makes the film a joy to watch.
The film is directed by Thomas Vinterberg and written by Vinterberg and Tobias Lindholm. Having previously collaborated, Viterberg and Lindholm have written a well rounded story that goes to lengths in presenting the negative excepts that alcohol can have on a persons life. The creators have not however dragged that message out and gotten bogged down with the depressing and nihilistic approach to substance abuse. The pair manage to create a fun spirit to the film and explore each characters issues that stem from places other than the daily consumption of alcohol. Through presenting a multifaceted story, 'Druk' should be considered an excellent example in discussing substance abuse, as it explores reasons beyond only consuming alcohol for its own sake, rather presenting other issues as the source of.
Altogether, 'Druk' tells a full story of the four teachers and how they rediscover themselves through conducting the drinking project. The film is a joy to experience as we witness the men turn from timid and quiet teachers to passionate and fun-loving individuals. Obviously the film leads to the men discovering the darker side of drinking causing them to quit, yet also presents a deeper exploration of each characters problems unrelated to intoxication. This discovery of issues such as marital problems, lack of passion for ones work and experiencing a general monotony in ones life leads the viewer to understand and explore the mens' lives, whilst at the same time allowing for personal reflection. With a well cast ensemble and great writing, 'Druk' is a joy to watch as it presents a multitude of ideas to contemplate and mixes joviality with deep, dark moments of introspection.
Score: 4/4
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