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Taking Chances (2011) movie poster

Characters & Themes

Taking Chances (2011) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

Release, runtime and language
2011 · 86 mins · Dutch
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Directed by
Nicole van Kilsdonk
Starring
Rifka Lodeizen, Johnny de Mol, Ruben van der Meer, Pippa Allen

Kiek is anxious while her father serves in a war zone. Determined to increase the chance that something terrible happens to him, she devises a bizarre plan: she must collect a dead dog and a dead mouse, believing that no one she knows possesses all three—a dead mouse, a dead dog, and a dead father. The odds of such a coincidence are astronomically low.

On this page (6)
  1. 1 Where to watch
  2. 2 Where & when it takes place
  3. 3 Themes & meaning (3)
  4. 4 Character & meaning questions
  5. 5 Movie threads
  6. 6 Every angle
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Setting

Where and When Does Taking Chances Take Place?

The setting of Taking Chances (2011): the year and time period, the places and locations, and how they shape the characters, the mood and the tension of the story.

Time period

2004

The events occur during the Iraq War, with a key moment in April 2004 when a Marine is fatally wounded near Baghdad. The narrative shifts from frontline action to the rituals surrounding death, emphasizing duty, grief, and remembrance. Set in a contemporary post-9/11 context, the story reflects the ongoing cycle of deployment, loss, and memorialization.

Location

Dover Air Force Base, Dubois, Wyoming

The setting centers on a U.S. military burial process, beginning at Dover Air Force Base and moving to a small town in Wyoming. In Dubois, the remains are laid to rest and the funeral and memorial services unfold, highlighting the intimate rituals around losing a comrade. The journey from a military hub to a rural community underscores the personal impact of war on families and the duty of those who carry the remains.

  • 🎖️ Military setting
  • 🇺🇸 American context

Last updated: April 05, 2026 at 16:59

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3 major themes

Taking Chances Meaning: Themes & Message Explained

What is Taking Chances (2011) really about? The emotional, social and philosophical themes the film keeps returning to, its symbolism and the message beneath the surface.

  • Duty and Honor

    The central arc follows a Marine officer choosing a nonstandard duty to honor a fallen comrade, showing how professional obligations can intersect with personal growth. The act of arranging funerals becomes a form of service equal in weight to battlefield action. It highlights that honoring the dead is a vital responsibility within the military ethos.

  • Grief and Healing

    Grief is portrayed through the quiet rituals surrounding funeral rites, offering a path toward acceptance for the narrator and families. The memorials and shared moments at the veterans club provide spaces for healing and connection. The story suggests that processing loss is essential for those who continue to live with the aftermath of war.

  • Memory and Remembrance

    The narrative emphasizes how memories of the fallen soldier endure through stories, personal reflections, and online essays. The author later published a piece about the experience on Blackfive, illustrating how remembrance can extend beyond personal memory to public discourse. Remembrance is presented as an active practice that sustains the living and honors the dead.

Last updated: April 05, 2026 at 16:59

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Character & theme questions

Taking Chances Characters & Meaning: Your Questions Answered

The questions people ask about Taking Chances (2011): who the characters really are, their relationships, what the symbols mean, where it takes place and what the movie is really about. Each answer contains spoilers.

Q1

Where is the movie set?

The story centers on a U.S. military burial process, beginning at Dover Air Force Base and moving to a small town in Dubois, Wyoming. This journey from a major military hub to a rural community underscores the personal impact of war on families and the solemn duty of those who carry the remains.

  • dover air force base
  • dubois wyoming
  • military setting
  • burial
Q2

When does the movie take place?

The events occur during the Iraq War, with a key moment in April 2004 when a Marine is fatally wounded near Baghdad. The story is set in a contemporary post-9/11 context, reflecting the ongoing cycle of deployment, loss, and memorialization that defined that era.

  • iraq war
  • 2004
  • post-9/11
  • military era
Q3

What are the main themes?

The movie explores three interconnected themes: Duty and Honor, which shows how arranging funerals becomes a form of service equal to battlefield action; Grief and Healing, portrayed through quiet rituals that offer a path toward acceptance; and Memory and Remembrance, emphasizing how stories and reflections sustain the living and honor the dead.

  • duty
  • honor
  • grief
  • healing
  • memory
  • remembrance
Q4

What does duty and honor mean in the story?

The central arc follows a Marine officer choosing a nonstandard duty to honor a fallen comrade, demonstrating how professional obligations can intersect with personal growth. The act of arranging funerals becomes a vital responsibility within the military ethos, showing that honoring the dead is service of equal weight to combat.

  • military duty
  • honor
  • fallen soldier
  • service
Q5

How does the movie portray grief?

Grief is portrayed through the quiet rituals surrounding funeral rites, offering a path toward acceptance for the narrator and families. The memorials and shared moments at the veterans club provide spaces for healing and connection, suggesting that processing loss is essential for those living with the aftermath of war.

  • grief
  • funeral
  • veterans
  • healing
  • loss
Q6

What is the tone of the movie?

The film maintains a melancholic tone throughout, with emotional weight rather than action driving the narrative. The slow pacing allows for contemplation of heavy themes like military sacrifice and grief. The story moves from envy to understanding, creating a bittersweet ending where the protagonist finds meaning in a solemn duty.

  • melancholic tone
  • emotional weight
  • grief
  • bittersweet
Q7

What is the movie about at its core?

At its core, the movie is about a Marine's emotional journey fromenvy to understanding as he fulfills the solemn duty of transporting a fallen comrade's remains from Dover Air Force Base to Wyoming. The narrative focuses on the rituals surrounding death, emphasizing duty, grief, and remembrance rather than battlefield action.

  • marine
  • burial
  • death
  • duty
  • remembrance
Q8

How is remembrance portrayed in the movie?

The narrative emphasizes how memories of the fallen soldier endure through stories, personal reflections, and online essays. The author later published a piece about the experience on Blackfive, illustrating how remembrance can extend beyond personal memory to public discourse, presented as an active practice that sustains the living.

  • remembrance
  • memory
  • stories
  • tribute

Movie threads

More Movies Like Taking Chances, by Mood & Story

Curated lists built around what makes Taking Chances tick: the same mood, the same kind of story or the same emotional payoff. Each list explains why these movies belong together.

Solemn military honor stories like Taking Chances

Quiet, respectful stories about the heavy duty of bringing soldiers home. Explore movies similar to Taking Chances that focus on the respectful duty of honoring fallen soldiers. These solemn dramas share a heavy emotional weight, melancholic tone, and explore themes of grief, sacrifice, and military funeral rites.

  • somber
  • honorable
  • grieving
  • reflective
  • melancholic
  • solemn
  • Tone: melancholic, solemn, respectful
  • Pacing: slow, deliberate, contemplative
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative follows a character, often a soldier or a family member, on a physical and emotional journey centered on a death. The conflict is internal, dealing with grief, duty, and the search for meaning amidst loss. The plot is straightforward, prioritizing emotional depth and character reflection over complex twists, and often culminates in a bittersweet moment of understanding or closure.

Why they belong together: These films are grouped by their shared focus on military death and its aftermath, a consistently melancholic and respectful tone, and a slow, contemplative pacing that allows the audience to sit with the heavy themes. They prioritize emotional authenticity and honor over action or spectacle.

Movies about children coping with grief like Taking Chances

Stories where a child's unique perspective reveals the profound pain of loss. Discover films similar to Taking Chances that focus on a child's unique and poignant perspective on grief and loss. These heavy dramas explore how young protagonists process trauma through ritual and belief, creating a bittersweet and emotionally resonant experience.

  • somber
  • grieving
  • poignant
  • heartbreaking
  • reflective
  • melancholic
  • Tone: melancholic, bittersweet, poignant
  • Pacing: slow, reflective
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative is driven by a child's point of view, where their misunderstanding of a tragic event leads to a specific, often superstitious, plan of action. The emotional core is the contrast between the child's sincere belief and the audience's understanding of the painful reality. The journey is one of slow realization and the difficult process of accepting a harsh truth.

Why they belong together: This thread connects movies through a shared narrative device: a child protagonist grappling with adult-sized grief through a framework of magical thinking or ritual. They share a heavy emotional weight, a straightforward narrative complexity that centers the child's perspective, and a tone that is deeply melancholic and bittersweet.

Every angle

Taking Chances (2011) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

Everything about Taking Chances in one place: what happens in the plot summary, the timeline in chronological order, the characters and meaning and a spoiler-free summary. What's After the Movie adds the cast, box office and post-credit scenes.

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