Last night I watched this movie and though it wasn’t thriller, psychology or crime I still wanted to watch it for 3 main reasons. First it was said that it is based on some true historical events (though later I realized most of the parts were fiction). Second, one of my favorite actors, Mads Mikkelsen, the Danish actor, was playing the main character, Captain Ludvig Kahlen. And third, I was told by some friends who know me well that I may enjoy watching this movie.

The movie was in German language so I had to watch it with subtitle and it is story of a captain (veteran) who fought in battles for 25 years and now after retirement, he tries to achieve a title, make fortune and be seen and noticed by the king. The movie shows how a man with a goal tries to achieve his dreams and reach an honorable title after years of sacrifices and how still in pursuing that goal he has to give up on many, even those whom he tried to get close to. A man who wants to go from rags to riches.

It shows the difficult choices one person has to make to get to what he desired for years and how different people come to his life and leave along that journey, each one or group with their own agenda and how such events can influence his path to his goal. At this point of my personal life, I felt so much similar to the character and to be honest I sympathized with him. 

His struggle to give fruits to the combination of his mother’s teachings and his own life experiences from battlefield mixed with the touch of sense of humanity and righteousness where the roads splits into two paths and he has to choose one and sacrifice the other, was beautifully portraited and felt.

At the end despite all the odds, years of efforts and whatever he archived along the way, he makes a final decision. That final decision was stuck me most and brough me to this question; “is it all worth it?”

The ending scenes of the movie, with that music and landscape sunset scene, was so obvious that the director and screenwriter tried their best to create a happy ending for the movie, however the pain of the sacrifices were too high to make the scene believable.

“Hardly a thing, goes by plan!”