Applause
Applause
| 25 September 2009 (USA)
Applause Trailers

When the critically acclaimed, tough and coming of age actress Thea Barfoed ends her rehab, she confronts a hard choice. During her heavy drinking period she divorced and lost custody of her two boys. Now she wants them to be a part of her life again.

Reviews
Neive Bellamy Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.
Frances Chung Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
Abegail Noëlle While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.
Jerrie It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...
falli101 APPLAUSE is without a doubt one of the best films I've seen this year! It's so nice to see that there are still filmmakers out there who are more focused on telling a heartfelt human story than showing giant explosions.Paprika Steen, who plays Thea, is fantastic and completely believable. While watching this film, you are somehow magically transported into her shoes and don't just see the world from her point of view, but feel her emotions and her pain. You see her struggle and really feel for her.Unlike most foreign films, after it begins to really pick up speed, you don't even notice that it's in another language. You become so immersed in the story, you forget that you're even reading the subtitles.
llarusso Paprika Steen gives an amazing performance as a successful actress (Thea Barfoed ) who is trying to put her demons behind her and get back her children. As the movie unfolds and Thea's personality is revealed, we can see the conflicts and problems that led to her losing her children in the first place. I really liked how the movie cleverly uses a real stage play that Thea is starring in, as a comment on her life and personality. Her time on stage and backstage as the star is interwoven and contrasted with her encounters with her children and "real life". And I was really impressed with Paprika Steen in the lead role. I cannot say I found the character of Thea entirely sympathetic but I could not look away. I was mesmerized by the moving portrait of this very flawed but magnetic personality trying to deal with her own failings. Ms. Steen's performance is not to be missed.
lavender504 Applause is a such a great movie! I got the chance to see it at a film festival and was impressed with Paprika Steen's performance. It's the type of movie that definitely keeps an audience engaged. It is an absolute "must-see." As an indie film lover, I haven't come across a film recently that is able to capture an audience with such powerful emotions throughout. It relates to many people in everyday life and Paprika is such a strong actress. I keep wondering why I haven't seen her in more films. This movie leaves you with a sense of empathy if you didn't have it before and gives you a chance to look at people's lives in a different perspective, since no one knows exactly what someone else may be going through in their personal lives. Paprika's ability to convey her character Thea was perfect. Her ability to sway an audience is phenomenal. I give the film two thumbs up and can't wait to see it again!
rainkomuling I saw Applause from Hamptons International Film Festival. Mother-child concerns are the main story in Appause. Thea has strong career but she is an alcoholic and a divorced women who lost custody of her kids. Thea loves her kids, she tries to stay on the wagon. She tried to get the custody at first, she gave up in the end. How great the character of the mother is. She loves her kids so much, she really wants to stay with them, and her kids love her also, she realizes that she is not able to stay with them. That's the most difficult decision her character has to make. I like the ending, because there is no clear answer to her situation. Thea keeps trying and gets the custody of her kids, but I don't think she can always be a good mom. To stop drinking for an alcoholic is a very long and difficult process, and whenever she drinks and gets drunk, the kids are gonna have a hard time. I love this movie because the character of the mom is great, and she knows herself, and the ending sparked my imagination: can she stay sober successfully, or will she just give up and turn back to be an alcoholic?