Danish screenwriter and director Per Fly's third feature film which he co-wrote with Danish screenwriters Mogens Rukov, Kim Leona and Dorthe Høgh, is the second part of a trilogy about the social classes in Denmark which was preceded by "The Bench" (2000) and succeeded by "Manslaughter" (2005). It premiered in Denmark, was shot on locations in Denmark, Sweden and Portugal and is a Denmark-Sweden-Norway-England co-production which was produced by Danish actor and producer Ib Tardini. It tells the story about a restaurant owner named Christoffer who left his parents' family company four years ago and now lives in an apartment in Stockholm, Sweden with his Swedish fiancée named Maria who is a stage actress and who has been offered a one-year contract at the Royal Dramatic Theatre. Christoffer and Maria is visited by his father named Aksel, but shortly after Aksel has returned to Denmark Christoffer learns that his father has passed away and goes to Copenhagen, Denmark to attend the funeral with his family. There he is told by his mother named Annelise that it is utterly necessary that he comes home and replaces his father's position in their family firm called Borch-Møller Steel.Distinctly and precisely directed by European filmmaker Per Fly, this finely tuned fictional tale which is narrated from multiple viewpoints though mostly from the main character's point of view, draws a remarkably heartrending portrayal of a Danish man who after returning to his childhood home in his homeland and going against the wishes of his future wife by honouring his mother and becoming the director of their company, has to fire one close friend after another for the sake of the family firm. While notable for its distinct, various and naturalistic milieu depictions, sterling cinematography by Danish cinematographer Harald Gunnar Paalgard and production design by production designer Søren Gam, this character-driven and narrative-driven story depicts an internal and majestic study of character about a heir who after being imposed into his father's footsteps becomes alienated from his personal life and a heartless business man who nearly loses his sanity trying to live up to his mother's demands, and contains a great score by composer Halfdan E.This conversational, modestly romantic, atmospheric and incisive drama from the early 2000s which is set mostly in Sweden and Denmark during the late 20th century and where a man is persuaded into taking on a leading position which he is unqualified to handle and made to choose between his mother who favours him over her daughter named Benedikte and the woman he loves, is impelled and reinforced by its brilliant narrative structure, substantial character development, subtle continuity, tangible depiction of an upper-class family with strong traditions and the reverent and involving acting performances by Danish actor Ulrich Thomsen, Danish actor Lars Brygmann, Danish actress Ghita Nørby and Swedish actress Lisa Werlinder. A memorable, sociological and masterfully narrated family saga with a Shakespearian touch which gained numerous film awards and which is one of the greatest Danish films in modern cinema history.

I rarely give a 10 rating to a film even when I really enjoy it but this film is the rare exception. The script is perfect, the directing is perfect, the casting is perfect, and the story has profound meaning for the viewer.The film shows how family and business obligations can change people's character and desires. For example, Hollywood is filled with couples whose desires change because of life experiences. It is also true of the business world. Unfortunately that is why divorce is so common in those areas. A couple may start out completely compatible and then one of them has new vistas opened to them.

The Inheritance is the dramatic tale of Christoffer (Ulrich Thomsen), a successful restauranteur whose father dies, leaving him the family's steelworks in his will. Christoffer and his young wife Maria (Lisa Werlinder) are torn away from the city as Christoffer begins the difficult task of pulling the steelworks out of a financial slump. It is a burden that will ultimately lead to years of pent up frustration exploding in a dizzy and spellbinding fury that will decide what path Christoffer chooses to take.The Inheritance is filmed in the rough, gritty, digital style seen before in Open Water, the grainy print complimenting the industrial symbolism that has melted comfortably into the story line. Christoffer is seen through windows in moments of reflection, the glass acting almost as a barrier between Christoffer's repression of feeling and his desire to explode, which he eventually does - shattering a glass coffee table and screaming. The glass mirrors Christoffer's personality, two characters, at different times during the film, label him "as cold as ice". His deadened character is set well against the muted colours that make up the metallic mise-en-scene.The film is straining for realism throughout. The characters exchange dialogue that suffers for its honesty, especially in the scene in which Christoffer confronts his wife over her cheating on him: the words are boringly familiar, cliché beyond being bearable, and the film suffers for it. This does not remove any credit from the actors, Ulrich Thomsen and Ghita Nørby (as Christoffer's iron willed mother) in particular, who give realistic and where appropriate, emotionally driven performances. The quality of the acting is allowed to ferment by the director's decision to shoot using two cameras during the scenes, both of which were filming through a long focal lens, meaning that the cameras did not need to be up close to the actors. This freedom allows improvisation to reign unrestricted, and the film both succeeds and suffers for the numbingly boring realism that this creates.Numbing, dull and bland The Inheritance certainly is, but it meanders towards an explosive climax that leaves you stunned and unable to look away. The pace then returns to its normal slow drag, and the film fades away, leaving you feeling tired and empty, but certainly impacted upon. It is a film that could not have been improved, yet its story, setting, pace and realism all contribute to make this a very difficult film to watch. Rating: 3/5

Sounded like an interesting premise and when I noticed that "Inheritance" received an "8" from over 400 votes, thought it would be worthwhile.I thought wrong. Sometimes I just don't understand why people enjoy mediocre films. Am I a snob or are people really that starved for entertainment that they like anything that isn't pure garbage? Well, I digress but that is because IMDb requires ten lines of text to submit a review and I just came on to edit a few words of my original review. OK..that should be enough padding to get re-submitted. Now, where were we????Ladies and germs,the truth is this film played more like a soap opera than anything else. It wasn't terrible, just not terribly interesting. The "natural lighting" utilized here turned out to be extremely annoying in the interior shots and the script was meandering. Difficult to recommend. 5/10