The Art of Crying

Henry wants to kill himself, or at least he says he does nearly every night. While Henry's fed up wife takes sleeping pills to drown out the pathetic blubbering, 11-year-old Allan cannot ignore his father's incessant tears. Allan idolizes Henry, the local milkman, and longs to alleviate his pain. After futile attempts to stop the crying, Allan naively begs for help from his 14-year-old sister Sanne, who somehow always manages to perk up her father. When Sanne refuses to “help” again, Allan takes the matter into his own hands. Soon after, Allan discovers that his father finds solace in bestowing heartrending eulogies that garner the townspeople's respect. To prolong his father's newfound joy, Allan tries anything to keep the funerals coming, and people in this small isolated community start dropping like flies. In Peter Schønau Fog's THE ART OF CRYING, wide-eyed Allan narrates this chillingly black comedy, giving a unique perspective on the dysfunctional habits of his early 1970s Danish family. (In Danish with English subtitles) – E.J.B