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Now that've seen three of the five 2004 Best Foreign Picture nominees, it makes me even sadder that The Sea Inside actually went on to snatch the trophy. Of course I would have given it to the absolutely briliant Downfall, but even As It Is in Heaven would have been more deserving. Thats not to rag on The Sea Inside which I liked quite a bit too and reviewed earlier in this thread. It's just that the other two films were simply better, more accomplished films.

Truth to be told, I didn't even want to see As It Is in Heaven at first. Its plot of a workaholic genious conductor going back home after many many years of absence to find what has been missing from his life. However as the film because a big sleeper hit in Germany, I became somewhat interested and ended up borrowing the DVD from the library. I must say that I was hugely surprised by this delightful picture! As you might think after reading the plot, it is certainly a somewhat clichéd film, but it's also one of the more inspirational films I have seen in recent years and certainly very much a definition of a feel-good movie! It takes some time to develop (the running time clocks at around 132 minutes), aber after an hour into the movie I was completely immersed into the proceedings and invested into the characters. As for those, some are painted very well (like Daniel and Lena), others like Arne, Erik and Gabriella are more clichés, but the entire cast is just so good that it makes you forget about the shortcomings of the screenplay.

In particular I liked the relastionship betwen Daniel and Lena, especially since it's not as clichéd and by-the-numbers as one might think. Michael Nyqvist delivers a solid leading performance, but Frida Hallgren as Lena can hold her own against him very well. By the film's end, I just had a smile on my face (but don't be mistaken, it doesn't have a typical happy ending!) and enjoyed this film throughly. It's not a masterpiece, but it is a very enjoyable, insightful movie with a great cast ensemble and a good message to boot. I recommend it to anyone who's appreciates foreign films and feel-good films in general.

More people need to see this!