Intense Danish melodrama. Original title: Kærlighedens gerninger
Hanna (Cecilie Lassen) lives in a secluded New Age Christian community on Denmark’s west coast. The everyday routine consists of chores, community, and worship, led by Kirsten. Hanna is a particularly tough case. She has buried trauma and has been physically abused to the point that she cannot have children of her own. During worship services, she prays her way through her past, guided by counseling sessions with Kirsten.
This day marks the arrival of Hanna’s brother, Jakob. Against Hanna’s instincts, Kirsten thinks his presence might help her work through her memories, so Jakob agrees to stay while helping the church build a new building. Jakob’s presence proves to be somewhat problematic. He’s not exactly into God and thinks the church’s rituals are weird.
Now, the way the church heals its members of trauma is through an extreme communal service: members take on roles in the person’s life and allow God to reenact the traumatic events through them. The members are so immersed in the trauma that they become incredibly sensitive to the emotions tied to it. It’s also a controversial practice in that sometimes the re-enactments go a bit too far.
Let’s just say that Hanna and Jakob’s childhood trauma is pretty extreme, and exploring it the church’s way opens a door to the trauma that is difficult to shut. But know that this film is not for everyone. I described it as a horror story, but that’s unfair. This is more of a psychological thriller, just not made the American way. We follow the siblings Hanna and Jakob down this path, and as they seek healing, it becomes very dark, very fast, and their ending may be unsettling to the uninitiated.
Videos. Also included is a nude ritual including various members of the congregation, which I labeled incorrectly as Cecilie-1. The actual videos of Cecilie are #2 and #3