I gave "Efter brylluppet (2006)", the original film an 8 star rating, while gave just 1 star to the adapted "After The Wedding (2019) ", and seriously considered the 2019 film a totally unnecessary remake. There were too many unnecessary filler scene after scene in this lousy remake, and also considered the casting job so unfit and inappropriate. None of the four leading characters were good enough, even the future-son-in-law was a bad cast; the father figure didn't feel like a guy in the art business; his wife (reversed by the script to avoid the original), the successful business woman just played the part by talking over the phone non-stop or in her office to give instructions or orders to her assistant to give a false impression of how she was so busily successful; their daughter, gee, what an unlikable and bad actor; then, the charity organization woman, played by Michelle Williams, Jesus, the character was absolutely ridiculed by the lousy script and poor directing:
You were begging money for donation from a business woman in New York to support your money-pit charity in India, you were not in the position to be arrogant, rude, impatient. She didn't owe you nothing, how could you show up in her office like she owed you a lot of money? Your attitude was so arrogant and condescending, and even a bit of angry and impatient, like she's at fault not transferred money in time to your Indian bank, it forced me wasting my time to come over from India.
I don't know whether Ms. Williams had pointed out to the director that this unreasonable and inappropriate manners should not to be her attitude to play, or she didn't care, she just followed the stupid directing and script , and acted like money collector from India, demanding million dollars to be transferred ASAP. Nobody owed you anything, so where that bad attitude came from? You're asking charity donation from a business woman who used to wire money into your Indian bank account, but it didn't mean that she owed you. Your attitude should be very humble or somewhat humiliated, because you were forced to come afar begging people to help feeding the Indian kids.
Furthermore, the filler scene after scene, those totally unnecessary segments were forced into this stupid script like a stuffed turkey on a Thanksgiving dinner table inevitably exposed it to be a lousy film.
But the original "Efter brylluppet (2006)" was such a powerful and emotionally depressing film that even after so many years, it's impressed us so strongly, we still vividly remembered when it ended, we were deeply moved and disturbed. But not the 2019 bomber! It's an absolutely unnecessary appendix.
However, some of the Hollywood remakes adapted from several great European movies turned out to be great, either on par with their originals or, even better:
The Next Three Days (2010) vs. Pour elle/Everything for Her (2008)
Sorcerer (1977) vs. Le salaire de la peur/The salary of fear (1953)
The Upside (2017) vs. Intouchables/Untouchables (2011)
3 ingredients made these American remakes taste so good:
- Hired talented American screenplay writers who knew how to adapt an European flavor into American continental flavor that would certainly stimulate the American movie goers' taste buds.
- Acquired talented American directors to fully understand the adaptations.
- Great casting agencies, seeking out the most appropriate actors to replay and transform the original European roles into pure Americans.
