The chronically suicidal Wilbur, and his good-hearted big brother, Harbour, are in their thirties when, their father dies and leaves them with nothing but a worn down second-hand bookshop in... Read allThe chronically suicidal Wilbur, and his good-hearted big brother, Harbour, are in their thirties when, their father dies and leaves them with nothing but a worn down second-hand bookshop in Glasgow.The chronically suicidal Wilbur, and his good-hearted big brother, Harbour, are in their thirties when, their father dies and leaves them with nothing but a worn down second-hand bookshop in Glasgow.
- Awards
- 10 wins & 21 nominations
- Claire
- (as Mhairi Steenbock)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaOne of a more or less successful series of foreign language film made by Danish filmmakers using Danish money, after the success of Danish language films around the world. Others include Breaking the Waves (1996), Dancer in the Dark (2000), It's All About Love (2003), I Am Dina (2002), Dogville (2003), Skagerrak (2003) and The King Is Alive (2000).
- Quotes
Harbour: Wilbur. When you were dead... what was it like?
Wilbur: Harbour, you've got a hangover. You're not going to die.
Harbour: Of course not. I know that. But what was it like?
Wilbur: What do you mean?
Harbour: Is there anything there? Is there some kind of huge white light?
Wilbur: It's as dull as ditchwater. There's nothing. Just blackness and utter silence. It's a bit like being in Wales.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Det store lærred: Wilbur begår selvmord (2002)
- SoundtracksAuld Lang Syne
(uncredited)
(when Wilbur tries to cook the duck)
Wilbur (Jamie Sives) wants to die, kind of. So every now and then he tries to commit suicide. You know: Pills, wrist slitting, hanging that sort of thing.
He has nothing that ties him to life, but a brother named Harbour.
The brother (Adrian Rawlins) owns a book store, which was left to him by his father. He's a friendly, charming and responsible man, who's flirting with one of two regular costumers, a girl name Alice.
Alice (Shirley Henderson) is a lonely woman, who works as cleaning personal in a hospital, in order to support her daughter Mary (Lisa McKinlay).
Well. Girl meets book store owner, and they fall in love or whatever. So they get married. Meanwhile Wilbur continues his obsession with trying to end himself. The thing about Wilbur is, that he has sex-appeal which is quite... well... appealing. And don't think that Alice hasn't noticed.
Which creates the dilemma, doesn't it? Do we want the older, responsible, nice, kind, calm brother, or his sexual beast of an opposite, Wilbur?
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My review
Set in beautiful, but depressing Scotland, Lone Scherfig (The director of Dogma 8: Italiensk for begyndere) has made a small film about love. The story itself is pretty average, but the way this film treats suicide, and the absurdity of wanting to finish life, makes it worth watching. The film is made with subtle humor, tenderness and love.
Well acted this one is. I liked the characters. It is well filmed, also. Almost every scene takes place in the bed, in the bathroom, in the book store, or the hospital. All places, that cry out desperate decadence. You can actually sence death in the scenery, which is no coincidence. A major theme of this film is death and - as a direct consequence - life.
What is not so good about this film is, that it is about virtually nothing. There is almost no development, and unlike films of who are kindred in pace (Virgin Suicides, The Ice Storm) the story is way too structured, and too narrow to just watch and experience. There is a point this film is trying to make, which is a shame. A bit less narrative could have done a film, which is about so little, very good.
Still it is a good film. Very good. I am beginning to use 5 as average. 10 as perfect and 1 as complete rubbish. And giving that, I will give "Wilbur wants to die/Wilbur begår selvmord" 8. A lot of thought and care has gone into this little film, and it does show. From good cinematografy and a good script, to a well polished, melancholic score, this film is worth viewing. It won't kill you, even if you will.
8 of 10.
- Peter Elefant
- Nov 19, 2002
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official site
- Sprache
- Also known as
- Dos hermanos
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $4,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $235,294
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $13,747
- Mar 14, 2004
- Gross worldwide
- $1,873,482
- Runtime1 hour 49 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
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