Pratik Handore
Netflix’s ‘A Beautiful Life’ is a Danish movie directed by Mehdi Avaz. The musical romantic drama follows Elliott, a young fisherman who is a gifted singer. After a high-profile music manager discovers Elliott, he gets an opportunity to showcase his talent. However, Elliott’s traumatic past and reservations about stardom keep him from achieving his true potential. The heartfelt rags-to-riches story is marked with an emotional tone and compelling soundtrack that help viewers resonate with it. Naturally, viewers must be curious to learn more about the inspiration behind ‘A Beautiful Life’ and if it is based on actual events.
The Inspiration Behind A Beautiful Life
No, ‘A Beautiful Life’ is not based on a true story. The film is based on an original screenplay from writer Stefan Jaworski. It tells the fictional story of a young man named Elliott, who works as a fisherman. However, Elliott is a gifted singer and soon enters the musical world when a famous producer discovers him. The movie is not based on the life of any particular real singer from Denmark. Instead, the idea of a fisherman becoming a famous singer is rooted in fiction. However, real-life pop singer Christopher Lund Nissen, commonly known as “Christopher,” plays the role of Elliott in the movie.
In an interview, Christopher clarified that his personal experiences do not inspire the movie. However, the narrative features some parallels to his real life. Christopher was born in Frederiksberg and brought up in Amager, Denmark. Unlike Elliott from the movie, Christopher comes from a different family background as his parents weren’t fishermen and were present during most of his childhood. In contrast, Elliott is an orphan who grows up with the pain of loneliness. Hence, it is evident that Christopher’s life is not the inspiration behind the film. Interestingly, Christopher does have a younger brother named Oliver. In the movie, Elliott’s best friend, whom he considers a brother, is also named Oliver.
Christopher wrote and performed all of the songs in the movie while making his acting debut in the lead role. The singer stated that he discussed the role with director Mehdi Avaz, and the duo decided that his character should not be an imitation of his real life. Instead, it should be something original with shades of his personality. Christopher stated that the need to be authentic about your emotions and feelings in your music is the aspect he shares with his character in the movie. However, the first-time actor struggled with connecting with the more depressing parts of Elliott’s story and had to rely on director Mehdi Avaz for guidance.
In a separate interview, Mehdi Avaz stated that he drew from his difficult upbringing and childhood to add pain to Elliott’s story. As a result, the movie is primarily an exploration of the relationship between pain and success. The film also sheds light on the music industry, and the various demons artists must face to achieve and maintain their fame. The difficult choices and personal sacrifices that Elliott makes represent the same. However, Elliott’s story also has an underlying sadness, as his fear of losing everything drives him.
The movie also explores the themes of romance, friendship, and building meaningful relationships through music. Given the movie’s exploration of the interconnected nature of pain, sadness, and music and a gifted but untrained singer’s rise to stardom, it has drawn comparisons to the 2018 romantic musical film ‘A Star Is Born‘ and its previous iterations. Ultimately, ‘A Beautiful Life’ is not based on a true story. It tells the fictional story of a man’s journey from being bogged down because of the pain caused by his past to using his gift to build a fulfilling life for himself.
Read More: Where Was Netflix’s A Beautiful Life Filmed?
