''A Thousand Times Good Night'' () is an Irish-Norwegian produced English language 2013 drama film directed by
Erik Poppe
Erik Poppe (born 24 June 1960) is a Norwegian film director, producer and screenwriter.
Poppe is regarded as one of Scandinavia's most experienced and compelling film directors recognized for his work with actors and multi-pronged narrative ...
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
Nikolaj William Coster-Waldau (; born 27 July 1970) is a Danish actor. He graduated from the Danish National School of Performing Arts in Copenhagen in 1993, and had his breakthrough role in Denmark with the film ''Nightwatch (1994 film), Night ...
Rebecca is a photo journalist obsessed with reporting in dangerous war zones. Documenting a group of female suicide bombers in
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
, she accompanies one of them to
Kabul
Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...
, where the premature detonation of the bomb severely injures her.
While recuperating at her home in
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, Rebecca is confronted by her husband Marcus and her daughter Steph, who force her to choose between covering war zones, or her family. She chooses her family.
Steph is intrigued by her mother's photographs and interested in humanitarian work in Africa, so Rebecca proposes a photography trip with her daughter to a refugee camp in
Kenya
Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
. Marcus agrees, assuming that the trip will be safe.
Instead, the camp is attacked by an armed group that begins murdering people in their tents. Rebecca sends her daughter to safety but stays in the camp to document the attack.
Upon their return, Steph and Rebecca don't tell her father, but he finds out. He angrily throws Rebecca out and doesn't allow her to see the girls. Just before getting on a plane for Kabul, Rebecca gets a voicemail reminder from Steph about her presentation at school on their trip. With it, she lets her mother know she understands the importance of her work.
Rebecca does not board the plane and goes to the presentation. That night, Rebecca is allowed to tuck the girls in. The next day, she's again in Kabul, documenting the outfitting of another suicide bomber; this time a young girl. It affects her much more than the previous time. She breaks down and the camera fades to black.
Production
Autobiographical elements in the film come from Poppe's work as a photojournalist in the 1980s, covering conflicts in Central America, the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia. Most of the film was shot in Ireland and
Morocco
Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
. Funding was provided by the
Irish Film Board Not to be confused with Northern Ireland Screen.
Fís Éireann / Screen Ireland, formerly known as Bord Scannán na hÉireann or the Irish Film Board, is Republic of Ireland, Ireland's state development agency for the Irish film, television an ...
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' called the film an "affecting drama made more poignant by honest-feeling autobiographical elements" and praised Binoche's "complex performance" as "deserving particular attention." '' Variety'' called the film a "gripping tale of a dedicated photojournalist torn between passionate involvement with her work and commitment to her worried family." The magazine went on to say, "Deftly sidestepping both melodrama and family-values messaging, Poppe imbues the film with enormous emotional resonance, brilliantly grounded by his leading lady...."
The ''
Montreal Gazette
''The Gazette'', also known as the ''Montreal Gazette'', is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper which is owned by Postmedia Network. It is published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
It is the only English-language daily newspape ...
'' criticized the film, writing that it was "hobbled by a rather scattershot script" that spouts "platitudes about journalistic duty and media complacency in the face of war," and that the film "engages in some very conventional family melodrama."
Awards
The film won the Special Grand Prix of the jury at the 2013