WORLDS APART World Cinema

The Danish contender for the Best Foreign-language Film Academy Award, WORLDS APART is director Niels Arden Oplev’s follow-up film to the acclaimed WE SHALL OVERCOME. Based on a newspaper story Oplev read about a girl expelled from the Jehovah’s Witnesses, the film tells the story of Sara, a pretty, sheltered 17-year-old girl who, with her community members, goes from door lo door to preach about Judgment Day and eternal salvation. But when Sara meets the worldly Teis, she is confronted with her most difficult choice in life. Teis is not a Jehovah’s Witness, yet their love grows through stolen, secret meetings. Sara is torn between her conscience, faith and passion, forced to make a choice between her own desires and that of her family. “Do you love God more than you love me?” Sara asks her father, sharply phrasing the central drama. WORLDS APART takes up those issues thoughtfully, inspiring deep debate and never judging any of its characters. As Sara, Rosalinde Mynsler gives a magical, sensitive portrayal of a quiet girl who, traveling the path to self-awareness, makes a subtle metamorphosis.