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At the start we meet chef Cecilie (Sonja Richter), whose boyfriend Joachim (Nikolaj Lie Kaas) slips her an engagement ring across a table one night at the restaurant where she works.

Their happiness vanishes in a flash on the day that Joachim is slammed in the street by a car driven by Marie (Paprika Steen). The accident leaves him paralyzed, and Marie guilt-riddled. Since her physician husband Niels (Mads Mikkelsen) works at the hospital where Joachim is recuperating, Marie encourages him to help Cecilie deal with the shock. This results in sympathetic talks and walks in the park -- then things get complicated when Niels and Cecilie start to fall for each other.

Nothing big happens in "Open Hearts." It's all about moments made beautifully real by a strong cast and writer-director Susanne Bier's choices. A Dogma 95 film that conforms to the stylistic "vow of chastity" cooked up by a handful of Danish directors (chief among them Lars Von Trier of "Breaking the Waves" and "Dancer in the Dark"), "Hearts" was shot entirely on location in Copenhagen, using hand-held cameras and only natural lighting and ambient sound.

Among the fine actors, Steen is the standout, grounding herself in emotional truth, whether she's kissing Mikkelsen or slapping him. The actress is a Dogma veteran; she played the daughter of actress Birthe Neumann (here playing a stern but sympathetic nurse) in 1998's terrific "The Celebration."

In the end, "Open Hearts" treats all the characters with honor and compassion, even when they're acting dishonorably and selfishly. It's a beautifully human film.