Anders Thomas Jensen's Oscar-winning "Valgaften" ("Election Night" in English) is about prejudices and how people will often vote based on these. Well, sure enough it came true. The current president of the US ran an entire campaign pandering to everyone's prejudices, and now those sorts of people are making inroads in Europe's governments. Could this in fact be the end of civilization as we know it? I haven't seen any of the other movies that got nominated for Best Live Action Short Film that year. They'd be hard-pressed to make as good a point as this one made. It might not be the greatest short of all time, but I recommend it as a warning of what can happen when people's base instincts manifest themselves. Worth seeing.

A young man named Peter enters a bar and finds a morose friend drinking in the presence of a barman. He has sent 2000 blanket to Albania and he enthusiastically avers this to his friend, who takes it indifferently. In the next few shots, Peter and his friend argue over the latter's refusal to drink anything Mexican and Peter doesn't stop here – he even accuses the barman for 'initiating' racism by keeping such customers. His friend says that the barman has voted for the socialists, and this reminds Peter that he himself has forgotten to vote. The chap frantically calls for a cab to take him to the booth, and encounters an acrimonious driver (who looks Mexican) who can't stop railing blacks, Turks and Arabs. After a heated exchange, he gets out and takes another cab, this time with an opinionated German who seemingly believes in white supremacy. The third driver seems alright (he is an Arab) until he notices a joint previously selling kebabs being replaced by a sushi store. Peter finds it far easier to run it down to the booth without listening to all the racist remarks, not directed at him but at a different race. He reaches the place just to be stopped by a lady (who is black) disallowing him from entering. In an effort to change her mind, Peter tells her he is voting for 'her people'. The tables turn on him as not only is he called a racist, but he is also punched by a white man who uses a derogatory word while 'defending' the lady. Finally, the worn down man reenters the bar to quaff up a Carlsberg instead of the Mexican drink.Election Night isn't anywhere as great as the delightful Lunch Date or the wicked Black Rider. It doesn't have two themes running concurrently as in Lunch Date where we assume we are watching a movie about racism only to be smacked in the head at the end or in Black Rider where the title itself can be interpreted in two ways. It's more simple and straightforward, but there is enough humor to make it a worthwhile short. I do wish it were about a minute or two longer and the scenes with the cab drivers more extended. Good moments: the song choice (it starts with Ella Fitzgerald), some crisp dialogs and some humor. Bloopers (though I usually don't mention them): during the scene in the first cab, while we see the camera panning the driver's face and also see the back of the rear view mirror, we can't see Peter sitting behind even though he is clearly in the center space in the shots including both the characters.We live in a very funny world: on own hand, my father thinks says the whole of Pakistan should be eradicated from earth while on the other he can't help watching an Indian comedy show that mainly features Pakistanis! So I know there's nothing in Election Night that seems ridiculous. But it didn't have anything outstanding either. My Rating: 6.3 out of 10

I enjoyed Election Night the first time I saw it and laughed out loud at times. It is a film I recommend to people and that I have watched again. However, a sober re-viewing of this film made my laughter stick in my throat. It is a provocative piece, with a message that perhaps the filmmakers themselves did not intend, and for that reason I recommend viewing, but do not endorse the message in Election Night.An Aid Agency worker, Peter, leaves a bar to try and reach the polling station to vote. His castigation of his friend and the barman in the opening scene reveal his humanitarian, multicultural leanings. His condemnation of racists is clear and concise.What follows is his quest to vote in the election, and like all quest tales, the valiant hero faces a series of ever-more difficult challenges to achieve his goal. Utlimately, as befits a tale based on a protagonist out to accomplish a mission, the final test is to identify and overcome a weakness in his own character. For Peter, it is the revelation that he is just as capable of racist sentiments as the next man. And this is where the film starts to veer off-course. Peter is punished for his weakness by a punch in the nose, delivered by a character who reveals the complexity of attitudes to race by his confused comments. I do not doubt that the reasons for taking the narrative in this direction are to do with fulfilling the structural demands of cinematic storytelling, and are not the result of the filmmakers wish to make an anti-liberal statement.However, the effect is one and the same. Humbled, defeated, Peter returns to the bar and symbolically, through his apathetic lies and rejection of foreign beer, 'converts' to the other side. Sure, this pathetic wretch toasting his Danishness at the end is funny, but it means the end note of the film is, 'Don't try to be tolerant, it isn't worth it and the recipients don't appreciate it anyway.'I don't think this is reading too much into the film. The co-opting of Peter to the racist side at the end means the film endorses (I am sure unintentionally) the views of Peter's bar friend at the beginning - that attempting to understand and sympathize with other cultures and peoples just isn't worth the bother. This is a film well worth watching, especially in culture studies classes as a primer for discussion. But try to think, as you watch, who you are laughing with, and who you are laughing at. And at what point do you cross the line?

The Oscar-winning Danish short-film of Kim Magnusson and Anders Thomas Jensen is their third short-film to be nominated to an Oscar. It is, as always, an ironic film about a very heavy subject. The Danish mentality is the keyword in this fantastic short-film. Don´t miss it for anything in the world.