The Way to Mandalay
A Danish musician's ascent from childhood performer to celebrated solo artist unfolds alongside the personal failures that shadow his success.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- None
- melancholic
- serious
- intimate
- music film night
- danish cinema night
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The film follows John Mogensen from childhood through Four Jacks, solo success, family life, and death.
John's professional success is presented alongside failure as a husband and father and the pressures of his artistic life.
John Mogensen is presented as one of Denmark's greatest musicians, with his career tied to Danish popular culture.
The story covers childhood, the Four Jacks period, late solo success, and the artist's death in 1977.
Films like The Way to Mandalay, and why
A Star Is Born
music biopic centered on artistic ambition, personal instability, and the costs of public success
Ray
emotionally direct musician biography balancing professional triumph with family and relationship strain
La Vie en Rose
european music biopic focused on a gifted artist's volatile rise and complicated private life
Movie Details
- Director
- Ole Bornedal
- Release Date
- 2018-03-08
- Runtime
- 109 min
- Rating
- 6.5 / 10 (13)
Cast
- Rasmus Bjerg
- Helle Fagralid
- Carl-Christian Riestra
- Bebiane Ivalo Kreutzmann
- Harald Kaiser Hermann
- Henrik Noël Olesen
- Rikke Louise Andersson
- Jens Andersen
- Kasper Leisner
- Troels Malling Thaarup
Common questions
- What is The Way to Mandalay about?
- A Danish musician's ascent from childhood performer to celebrated solo artist unfolds alongside the personal failures that shadow his success.
- What is The Way to Mandalay like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Way to Mandalay as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is The Way to Mandalay violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in The Way to Mandalay.
- Which films are like The Way to Mandalay?
- Films with a similar feel include A Star Is Born, Ray, and La Vie en Rose.
- How long is The Way to Mandalay?
- The Way to Mandalay runs 109 minutes.
