Wilbur wants to kill himself (UK/Denmark, 2002)

This Glasgowian movie was done by a mostly Danish crew. There is indeed a Wilbur in it who keeps trying to kill himself, but he always arranges it in a way that he would be saved, usually by his brother, Harbour. This sounds dreadful but he is the comic relief in the movie. The brothers inherited a classy little used bookstore from their recently departed father that barely makes any business. A woman walks into their lives, who ends up marrying Harbour. She is an off-beat character, who makes a living by cleaning operating rooms. She is not doing a very good job at it, because keeps falling asleep; so she gets fired. She also has a very mature 9 year old daughter. Other characters include an enigmatic psychiatrist, wit a thick Danish accent, an irritating nurse who keep changing her hairstyle hoping to attract the attention of suicidal men … The essence of the flick for me is that “normalcy” lies not in the usual confines. Wilbur is the most reliable person because his reactions are always honest and to the point. Once he gets some responsibility he finds his way to become a fully capable person. The viewer would expect him, with his suicidal tendencies to be the crazy one, but in many ways he is saner, than the people outside his therapy group session. Similarly the psychiatrist is a good one, because he knows when to shut up and offer a shot of bourbon to the patient, and not because of the knowledge he might have gained in medical school. It’s a rather lovable, funny movie.

• IMDB
• DVD (@Amazon)