---
title: "Another Round"
year: 2020
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/another-round"
fi1m_id: "another-round"
imdb_id: "tt10288566"
tmdb_id: 580175
wikidata_id: "Q69303989"
fi1m_score: 80
critics_score: 72
critics_reviews: 29
published: "2026-09-30T20:06:28.891780+00:00"
updated: "2026-09-30T20:06:29.488446+00:00"
region: "AZ"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Another Round (2020)

Directed by Thomas Vinterberg · 1h 57m · Comedy, Drama

## Identity

Another Round

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/another-round
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** another-round
- **IMDb ID:** tt10288566
- **TMDB ID:** 580175
- **Wikidata ID:** Q69303989
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10288566/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/580175, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q69303989

**Fi1m score: 80** · Critics 72 from 29 reviews

*In a sentence:* Four Danish teachers discover the school day goes better slightly drunk, then set about testing what slightly means

> Thomas Vinterberg’s comedy about four teachers who drink through the working day is warmer, funnier and a good deal sadder than the premise suggests. Mads Mikkelsen carries it, and when Vinterberg finally lets him move, the film comes close to joy.

## Synopsis

Copenhagen. Martin (Mads Mikkelsen) teaches history at an upper secondary school and has stopped trying: his pupils’ parents complain he is not preparing them for exams, and his wife Anika (Maria Bonnevie) works nights and barely sees him. At a fortieth birthday dinner for his colleague Nikolaj (Magnus Millang), Martin, who has been sticking to water, drinks and breaks down in front of his friends. Nikolaj describes a psychiatrist’s theory that human beings are born with a blood alcohol level 0.05 per cent too low. Martin, Nikolaj, PE teacher Tommy (Thomas Bo Larsen) and music teacher Peter (Lars Ranthe) agree to test it: drink to 0.05 during the working day, nothing after eight, nothing at weekends, and write up the results. Martin’s next lesson goes rather differently.

## Review

Thomas Vinterberg’s *Another Round* starts with a birthday and a theory. Four teachers at a Copenhagen secondary school meet to mark Nikolaj’s fortieth at a restaurant that serves the wine in the correct glasses, and Nikolaj (Magnus Millang), who teaches psychology, brings up a Norwegian psychiatrist’s idea that human beings are born with a blood alcohol level 0.05 per cent too low. Top it up, he says, and you become looser, braver, better company. Martin (Mads Mikkelsen) has been on the water all evening and, we gather, switched off for years. He has one glass, then several, and cries at the table. Within a week the four of them are drinking during working hours and calling it research.

It sounds like a sketch stretched to two hours, and for stretches it plays like one, but it is better than that. Mikkelsen plays the sober Martin as a man speaking from another room: shoulders down, voice flat, losing his place in a lesson on Danish kings while the class looks at its phones. The first drunk lesson, delivered after a nip in the school toilets, is a small marvel of timing. We laughed out loud at it, then noticed we were cheering on a teacher who was drunk in front of children and felt slightly odd about that. Vinterberg wants exactly that discomfort and holds it for most of the film.

The other three are cast as carefully. Thomas Bo Larsen’s Tommy, the PE teacher who coaches the smallest boys in the school and goes home to an old dog, is where the film keeps its sadness, and Larsen plays it without asking for anything. Lars Ranthe’s Peter is the music teacher, patient with his choir and with a boy called Sebastian (Albert Rudbeck Lindhardt) who cannot sit an exam without shaking. Millang’s Nikolaj has three small children and a wife who has stopped finding him funny. Maria Bonnevie, as Martin’s wife Anika, has the two or three scenes in which the film says what it is about, and she plays them without raising her voice.

Sturla Brandth Grøvlen shoots handheld and close, mostly in whatever light the rooms have: the staffroom is flat and grey, the restaurant gold, Martin’s kitchen lit by the hob. When the men drink, the camera loosens with them, drifting and swaying rather than cutting away. Anne Østerud and Janus Billeskov Jansen edit the sober stretches slowly and the drunk ones in bursts, and they punctuate the experiment with blood alcohol readings typed on screen, which is funnier than it should be. Sabine Hviid’s production design keeps everything ordinary: flat-pack shelving, a school gym, a corner sofa. Manon Rasmussen and Ellen Lens dress Martin in the tie and cardigan of a man who has stopped looking in the mirror, and let both come off as the weeks go on.

The film’s weakness is that it knows where it is going and so do we. Once 0.05 becomes 0.10 and then a night nobody can account for, the story takes the shape of most films about drinking, and some critics have called it a cautionary tale in a party hat. We half agree. Nikolaj and Peter thin out as Martin fills in, and the script by Vinterberg and Tobias Lindholm never seriously tests the theory it began with; it is a pretext, and the film knows it. But Vinterberg declines to tell us how much is too much, and the Kierkegaard quotation on the poster, asking what youth and love are, is closer to his question than anything about units per week.

Vinterberg has worked with Mikkelsen and Larsen before, and this is the gentlest film he has made with either. The fury of *Festen* (1998) and the dread of [*The Hunt*](https://film.one/film/the-hunt) (2012) have been traded for something nearer affection. Mikkelsen trained as a dancer before he acted, and Vinterberg knows it, and what he does with that in the final minutes we will not describe. We can say that we came out lighter than a film holding this much grief had any right to leave us, and that the lift comes from Mikkelsen’s body rather than from anything in the script.

It runs 117 minutes, carries a 12A, and is in Danish with subtitles. Watch it with someone you have been drinking with for twenty years. Do not watch it with a glass in your hand, or do, and see how far in you get before you put it down.

*Fi1m score 80, published 30 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics warm to Another Round, and the praise gathers in two places. The first is Mads Mikkelsen, whose performance as Martin is repeatedly called subtle and expressive, carrying the film to a closing sequence even the doubters admire. The second is balance: the reviews credit Thomas Vinterberg with moving between comedy and melancholy without letting the film become either a celebration of drinking or a lecture against it. Thomas Bo Larsen’s Tommy draws a smaller share of the admiration.

The reservations cluster on what the film thinks about its own premise. The Guardian finds it provocative but unsure what it wants to say about alcohol; the sharper dissents go further: Variety calls it muddled, sliding from a bold experiment into a familiar cautionary drama, and Deadline feels it settles for a conventional ending without testing its central theory. The spread is wide, from five-star raves to outright dismissals, though nearly everyone, whatever their verdict, likes the dancing.

## Straight answers

**Is Another Round worth watching?**

*Another Round* is worth watching for anyone who wants a comedy about drinking that turns out to be about grief, and we scored it 80. Mads Mikkelsen carries it as a history teacher who has switched off for years, and the film is warmer and sadder than the premise suggests. It is in Danish with subtitles and runs 117 minutes.

**How long is Another Round, and what is it rated?**

*Another Round* runs 1h 57m. It is a comedy and drama film.

**Where can I watch Another Round in Azerbaijan?**

*Another Round* is not on any streaming or rental service in Azerbaijan at the moment. It is available in 35 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily.

**How violent or frightening is Another Round, and is it suitable for children?**

*Another Round* carries a 12A and is not a violent or frightening film; its discomfort comes from watching four teachers drink through the working day in front of their pupils. There is heavy drinking throughout, including a night nobody can account for, and a good deal of sadness beneath the jokes. It suits older teenagers and adults rather than younger children.

**How does Another Round compare to The Celebration?**

*Another Round* is the gentler film: Thomas Vinterberg trades the fury of [*The Celebration*](https://film.one/film/the-celebration) for something nearer affection, and Thomas Bo Larsen appears in both. *The Celebration* is the more frightening and less forgiving, a family birthday dinner that turns to chaos; *Another Round* is funnier and sadder and ends closer to joy. Choose the earlier film for dread, the later one for warmth.

**What should I watch after Another Round?**

After *Another Round*, try [*Festen*](https://film.one/film/the-celebration) (1998, Fi1m 85): Vinterberg’s family dinner from hell, with Thomas Bo Larsen and far less forgiveness. Then [*Withnail and I*](https://film.one/film/withnail-and-i) (1987, Fi1m 88): Two unemployed actors drink their way through a Cumbrian weekend and a friendship; and [*Toni Erdmann*](https://film.one/film/toni-erdmann) (2016, Fi1m 86): A German father embarrasses his daughter back to life; long, odd, quietly devastating.

### Reviews we read (29)

- **Radio Times**, Emma Simmonds (5/5): Simmonds calls the comedy drama conceptually irresistible. She singles out its premise of teachers experimenting with controlled inebriation as especially compelling. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-oirwcm/another-round/)
- **Empire**, Ian Freer (90/100, inferred): Freer finds the film funny, rich and clear-eyed, praising its nuanced movement between comedy and melancholy. He especially singles out Mads Mikkelsen’s performance and transcendent final moments. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/another-round/)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Justin Chang (90/100, inferred): Chang finds the film a persuasive, joyous and melancholic midlife-crisis comedy that treats drinking as both escape and a risky route to renewed purpose. He singles out Mads Mikkelsen’s emotionally subtle, physically exuberant performance and the film’s musical energy for praise. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2020-12-03/another-round-review-mads-mikkelsen)
- **IndieWire**, Eric Kohn (B+): Kohn finds the film furious and sad but ultimately hopeful, praising the potency of Vinterberg and Mikkelsen’s collaboration. He singles out Mikkelsen’s layered performance and climactic dance as especially compelling. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/another-round-review-mads-mikkelsen-1234585946/)
- **Little White Lies**, Ella Kemp (3/4/4): Kemp finds the film far more than a gaudy comedy, balancing its rousing fun with a sobering warning about holding onto what matters. She particularly praises Thomas Bo Larsen’s heartbreaking performance as Tommy. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/another-round)
- **Sight and Sound**, BFI (80/100, inferred): The critic finds the film joyful, melancholic and wise, praising its rueful warmth and nuanced portrayal of male friendship. Its ambivalent take on drinking and midlife gives the story life beyond a simple cautionary tale. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/another-round-thomas-vinterberg-mads-mikkelsen-drinking-buddies-mid-life-alcohol)
- **The AV Club**, A.A. Dowd (B): Dowd finds the film refreshingly balanced, neither celebrating drinking without consequence nor reducing it to a cautionary tale. He particularly praises Mads Mikkelsen’s subtle performance, which gives the story’s emotional arc texture beyond cliché. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/mads-mikkelsen-gets-smashed-on-life-and-booze-in-the-1845795829)
- **Slant Magazine**, Chuck Bowen (3/4): The review finds the film poignant and effective, while noting that its satire of alcohol culture could have been developed further. It especially praises Mads Mikkelsen’s deeply lived-in performance and the camera’s clear-eyed attention to drinking’s allure and damage. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review-another-round-honestly-and-poignantly-grapples-with-alcohols-pull/)
- **Screen Daily**, Fionnuala Halligan (70/100, inferred): Halligan describes the film as compelling but sobering. The accessible page does not reveal what she singles out for praise or complaint. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/another-round-toronto-review/5152871.article)
- **The i Paper**, Christina Newland (70/100, inferred): Newland finds the film compellingly ambivalent about drinking rather than a simple cautionary tale or celebration. She especially praises Vinterberg’s decision to leave viewers to decide how much is too much. [Read](https://inews.co.uk/culture/another-round-review-an-intoxicating-trip-through-a-mid-life-crisis-1081387)
- **The New Yorker**, Anthony Lane (70/100, inferred): Lane finds Another Round absorbing and compelling, though its drinking comedy is difficult to watch and its focus sometimes wavers between the ensemble and Martin. He especially praises Mads Mikkelsen’s expressive performance, which draws the viewer into Martin’s melancholy. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/12/21/planned-alcoholism-in-another-round-and-weaponized-camp-in-the-prom)
- **RogerEbert.com** (65/100, inferred): The page did not load, so the critic’s verdict cannot be determined. No specific praise or complaint is available from the accessible text. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/another-round-movie-review-2020)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Stephen Dalton (65/100, inferred): Dalton finds the film an appealing, engaging ensemble piece, though its treatment of alcohol feels conventional and not especially profound. He particularly praises Mads Mikkelsen’s nimble dancing and the film’s bright, irreverent visual style. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/another-round-druk-film-review-tiff-2020-4059321/)
- **The New York Times** (64/100, inferred): The page is identified as a review of the matching film, but its text is inaccessible. I cannot determine the critic’s verdict or what they singled out for praise or complaint. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/03/movies/another-round-review.html)
- **Time Out**, Stephen A Russell (3/5): The review presents the film as a tragicomic story of teachers acting out. It singles out Mads Mikkelsen as magnetic. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/another-round)
- **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (50/100, inferred): Bradshaw finds the film provocative but uncertain about what it wants to say about drinking. He praises the persuasive performances, especially Mads Mikkelsen’s, while noting that drunkenness eventually looks ruinous. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/sep/13/another-round-review-mads-mikkelsen-anchors-boozy-tragicomedy)
- **Variety**, Owen Gleiberman (20/100, inferred): Gleiberman finds the film frustrating and muddled, criticizing its shift from a provocative drinking experiment into a familiar cautionary melodrama. He praises Mads Mikkelsen’s final jazz ballet scene as having the life force the rest of the movie lacks. [Read](https://variety.com/2020/film/reviews/another-round-review-mads-mikkelsen-thomas-vinterberg-1234768666/)
- **The Skinny**, Anahit Behrooz (★★★★★): The review finds the film compassionate and warmly funny, an evocative portrait of everyday life. It praises the intimate direction and emotionally astute performances for giving the teachers’ friendship depth. [Read](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/another-round)
- **Paste**, Andy Crump (9.4/10): Crump finds the film surprisingly joyful and perceptive about how drinking can mask deeper troubles. He especially praises Mads Mikkelsen’s balance of regret and exhilaration, culminating in a dazzling dance-like burst. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/mads-mikkelsen/another-round-review)
- **Polygon**, Karen Han (90/100, inferred): Karen Han praises Another Round as a fresh, affecting take on midlife crisis, with a cathartic but not simply happy ending. She singles out Mads Mikkelsen’s subtle, expressive performance as the film’s greatest strength. [Read](https://www.polygon.com/2020/9/18/21446007/another-round-review-mads-mikkelsen-thomas-vinterberg-tiff-2020/)
- **Consequence**, Blake Goble (85/100, inferred): Goble finds the film intoxicating, funny, and self-aware, praising its defiant balance of comedy and heartbreak. He singles out Mads Mikkelsen’s warm, nuanced performance as the film’s driving force. [Read](https://consequence.net/2020/12/film-review-another-round/)
- **The Wrap** (80/100, inferred): The critic finds the film thoughtful, incisive and empathetic, balancing humor with a clear-eyed view of substance abuse. They particularly praise Mads Mikkelsen’s subtle performance and the finale’s brilliant, bittersweet closing sequence. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/another-round-film-review-mads-mikkelsen/)
- **Eye for Film**, Amber Wilkinson (75/100, inferred): Wilkinson finds the film absorbing and admirably balanced in its treatment of friendship and alcohol. She particularly praises the cinematography’s loose, observant style and the performances’ thoughtful energy. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/another-round-2020-film-review-by-amber-wilkinson)
- **NME** (75/100, inferred): The review finds the film an engaging, funny and ultimately sobering watch, though its resolution may feel slow. It particularly praises the chaotic drinking scenes and Thomas Bo Larsen’s portrayal of Tommy. [Read](https://www.nme.com/reviews/film-reviews/another-round-review-booze-fuelled-comedy-about-the-dangers-of-excess-2984103)
- **Collider**, Thomas Butt (70/100, inferred): Butt finds the film an engaging, bittersweet examination of binge drinking that resists easy conclusions. He especially praises Mads Mikkelsen’s performance and the final dance sequence’s ability to convey both exhilaration and grief. [Read](https://collider.com/another-round-movie/)
- **The Ringer**, Adam Nayman (70/100, inferred): Nayman finds the film an effective, bittersweet portrait of men chasing the freedom of youth, though its emotional button-pushing sometimes feels excessive. He especially praises Mads Mikkelsen’s graceful, compelling lead performance, which carries the film to its triumphant finale. [Read](https://www.theringer.com/2020/12/09/movies/mads-mikkelsen-another-round-review)
- **The Playlist** (65/100, inferred): The page is identified as a TIFF review, but its text is blocked. The critic’s verdict and any specific praise or complaint cannot be determined. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/another-round-tiff-review-20200916/)
- **Deadline**, Todd McCarthy (35/100, inferred): McCarthy finds the film’s promising exploration of drinking ultimately settles for a conventional conclusion. He praises Mads Mikkelsen’s exuberant dance sequence, but feels the film does not sufficiently explore its central theory. [Read](https://deadline.com/2020/12/another-round-film-review-mads-mikkelsen-thomas-vinterberg-denmark-1234636156/)
- **HeyUGuys** (35/100, inferred): The critic finds the film engaging but structurally flimsy, with an ineffective upbeat conclusion. They praise the realism and strong performances in its scenes of drunkenness. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/another-round-review/)

## Details

- **Director:** Thomas Vinterberg
- **Director:** Thomas Vinterberg
- **Writer:** Thomas Vinterberg, Tobias Lindholm
- **Cinematography:** Sturla Brandth Grøvlen
- **Editor:** Janus Billeskov Jansen, Anne Østerud
- **Production design:** Sabine Hviid
- **Costume design:** Ellen Lens, Manon Rasmussen
- **Producer:** Sisse Graum Jørgensen, Kasper Dissing
- **Cast:** Mads Mikkelsen as Martin; Thomas Bo Larsen as Tommy; Magnus Millang as Nikolaj; Lars Ranthe as Peter; Maria Bonnevie as Anika; Helene Reingaard Neumann as Amalie; Susse Wold as Rektor; Magnus Sjørup as Jonas
- **Runtime:** 1h 57m
- **First release (Canada):** 12 September 2020
- **Genres:** Comedy, Drama
- **Budget:** $5 million
- **Box office:** $22 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlwAgvn1e5E

## Where to watch in Azerbaijan

Not streaming, renting or buying in Azerbaijan at the last check.

Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, HK, ID, IE, IN, IT, JP, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PH, PL, PT, SE, SG, UA, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Gaudí Award for Best European Film 2022: Gaudí Award for Best European Film (won)
- Goya Award for Best European Film 2022: Goya Award for Best European Film (won)
- Academy Awards 2021: Best Director (nominated); Best International Feature Film (won)
- Amanda Award for Best Foreign Feature Film 2021: Amanda Award for Best Foreign Feature Film (won)
- BAFTA Film Awards 2021: Best Film Not in the English Language (won)
- International Submission to the Academy Awards 2021: International Submission to the Academy Awards (nominated)
- LUX European Audience Film Award 2021: LUX European Audience Film Award (nominated)
- Medal from the Circle of Cinematographic Writers for the best foreign film 2021: Medal from the Circle of Cinematographic Writers for the best foreign film (won)
- European Film Award for Best Actor 2020: European Film Award for Best Actor (won)
- European Film Award for Best Director 2020: European Film Award for Best Director (won)
- European Film Award for Best Film 2020: European Film Award for Best Film (won)
- European Film Award for Best Screenwriter 2020: European Film Award for Best Screenwriter (won)
- European University Film Award 2020: European University Film Award (nominated)
- Silver Shell for Best Actor 2020: Silver Shell for Best Actor (won)

## If you liked this

- *Festen* (1998), Fi1m 85: Vinterberg’s family dinner from hell, with Thomas Bo Larsen and far less forgiveness — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-celebration.md)
- *Husbands* (1970): Cassavetes sends three grieving men on a bender; longer, rougher, just as honest
- *Withnail and I* (1987), Fi1m 88: Two unemployed actors drink their way through a Cumbrian weekend and a friendship — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/withnail-and-i.md)
- *Toni Erdmann* (2016), Fi1m 86: A German father embarrasses his daughter back to life; long, odd, quietly devastating — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/toni-erdmann.md)
- *Sideways* (2004), Fi1m 86: Middle-aged men, a wine trip, and the same question of what the drinking is for — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/sideways.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/another-round