Like one of those fiendish knots that tighten the more you squirm, director Magnus von Horn’s Cannes competitor The Girl With the Needle builds to a devastating climax, taut as piano wire.
Danish actress Vic Carmen Sonne (Holiday, Godland) offers an understated but multi-layered performance as Karoline, a vulnerable but resilient seamstress living in post-World War I/early-1920s Copenhagen, who is left high and dry when her wealthy lover (Joachim Fjelstrup) gets her knocked up but won’t marry her. That leaves Karoline with only two options: give herself a bathtub abortion with a knitting needle or have the baby and hand it over to Dagmar (Trine Dyrholm), a sinister candy-store owner who runs a backstreet adoption agency.
Shot digitally, in black and white and using a claustrophobic 3:2 ratio by rising cinematographer Michal Dymek (A Real Pain, Eo), the film has the haunted, eerily still poise of antique photographs,...
Danish actress Vic Carmen Sonne (Holiday, Godland) offers an understated but multi-layered performance as Karoline, a vulnerable but resilient seamstress living in post-World War I/early-1920s Copenhagen, who is left high and dry when her wealthy lover (Joachim Fjelstrup) gets her knocked up but won’t marry her. That leaves Karoline with only two options: give herself a bathtub abortion with a knitting needle or have the baby and hand it over to Dagmar (Trine Dyrholm), a sinister candy-store owner who runs a backstreet adoption agency.
Shot digitally, in black and white and using a claustrophobic 3:2 ratio by rising cinematographer Michal Dymek (A Real Pain, Eo), the film has the haunted, eerily still poise of antique photographs,...
- 5/15/2024
- by Leslie Felperin
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
There is a rug-pull moment in Magnus von Horn’s handsome and captivating period yarn that cleaves his drama into “before” and “after.” It is a testament to the rich and assured storytelling on offer in his Cannes competition entry “The Girl with the Needle” that, although the moment seems to come out of nowhere, it instantly makes sense and serves to ratchet up the tension, propelling the story’s evergreen themes into a confrontational new register.
In post-World War I Copenhagen, we drop in with Karoline (Vic Carmen Sonne) as she is being evicted from a pleasant room in a respectable part of town. With her soldier husband Mia, her factory worker wages don’t cover the rent and she has fallen into arrears. The rapacious need of this time is telegraphed as mere minutes after Karoline receives her marching orders, the woman replacing her arrives to look over the room.
In post-World War I Copenhagen, we drop in with Karoline (Vic Carmen Sonne) as she is being evicted from a pleasant room in a respectable part of town. With her soldier husband Mia, her factory worker wages don’t cover the rent and she has fallen into arrears. The rapacious need of this time is telegraphed as mere minutes after Karoline receives her marching orders, the woman replacing her arrives to look over the room.
- 5/15/2024
- by Sophie Monks Kaufman
- Indiewire
Magnus von Horn’s sophomore feature Sweat earned its director a spot in Cannes’ Official Selection in 2020, after his debut, The Here After, played in Directors’ Fortnight in 2015. But the festival of 2020 was canceled in the wake of the Covid pandemic, so von Horn’s place in this year’s Competition, with his third feature The Girl With the Needle, must surely mark the Swedish director’s coming-of-age. The film, starring Vic Carmen Sonne and Trine Dyrholm, riffs on one of Denmark’s most notorious murder cases to weave a poetic and dark fairytale about the people living on the margins in the aftermath of the First World War.
Dyrholm stars as Dagmar Overbye, the Danish serial killer convicted of murdering nine children — but suspected of many more deaths — between 1913 and 1920. One was her own; the others were handed to her by struggling mothers with babies born out of wedlock,...
Dyrholm stars as Dagmar Overbye, the Danish serial killer convicted of murdering nine children — but suspected of many more deaths — between 1913 and 1920. One was her own; the others were handed to her by struggling mothers with babies born out of wedlock,...
- 5/15/2024
- by Joe Utichi
- Deadline Film + TV
Swedish-Polish director Magnus von Horn’s dark period drama “The Girl With the Needle” will compete for the Palme d’Or at the 77th Cannes Film Festival. Variety has been given exclusive access to a first-look clip from the film.
Written by von Horn and Line Langebek (“I’ll Come Running”), “The Girl With the Needle” is loosely based on the true story of Dagmar Overbye, a Danish woman who established an underground adoption agency in post-World War I Copenhagen to help poor women dealing with unwanted pregnancies.
Starring Trine Dyrholm, Vic Carmen Sonne and Besir Zeciri (“Wildland”), the film follows Karoline (Sonne), a young factory worker who is struggling to survive on the fringes of society. When she finds herself unemployed, abandoned and pregnant, she meets Dagmar (Dyrholm), a charismatic shopkeeper who helps poor mothers to find foster homes for their unwanted children.
With nowhere else to turn, Karoline...
Written by von Horn and Line Langebek (“I’ll Come Running”), “The Girl With the Needle” is loosely based on the true story of Dagmar Overbye, a Danish woman who established an underground adoption agency in post-World War I Copenhagen to help poor women dealing with unwanted pregnancies.
Starring Trine Dyrholm, Vic Carmen Sonne and Besir Zeciri (“Wildland”), the film follows Karoline (Sonne), a young factory worker who is struggling to survive on the fringes of society. When she finds herself unemployed, abandoned and pregnant, she meets Dagmar (Dyrholm), a charismatic shopkeeper who helps poor mothers to find foster homes for their unwanted children.
With nowhere else to turn, Karoline...
- 5/10/2024
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Denmark-based sales outfit LevelK has boarded Charlotte Sieling’s Way Home, ahead of its presentation in the work-in-progress sessions at Goteborg Film Festival today.
Written by Danish filmmaker Sieling with Nagieb Khaja and Jesper Fink based on Khaja’s original idea, Way Home follows a man smuggled into Syria on a desperate search for his son; the man must sacrifice everything he believes in to be reunited with his child. The film is currently in post-production.
Nikolaj Lie Kaas plays the lead role, and learned Arabic for the part. Lie Kaas recently appeared in Anders Thomas Jensen’s Riders Of Justice...
Written by Danish filmmaker Sieling with Nagieb Khaja and Jesper Fink based on Khaja’s original idea, Way Home follows a man smuggled into Syria on a desperate search for his son; the man must sacrifice everything he believes in to be reunited with his child. The film is currently in post-production.
Nikolaj Lie Kaas plays the lead role, and learned Arabic for the part. Lie Kaas recently appeared in Anders Thomas Jensen’s Riders Of Justice...
- 2/1/2024
- ScreenDaily
Cologne-based The Match Factory has acquired rights to Swedish-Polish helmer Magnus von Horn’s Danish pic “The Girl With the Needle,” billed as a “fairy-tale about a horrible truth.” In the starring roles are Trine Dyrholm, Vic Carmen Sonne and Besir Zeciri (“Wildland”).
First clips of the stylised black-and-white chiller will be unveiled at the Works in Progress at Göteborg’s Nordic Film Market.
“Magnus von Horn is a talent to follow,” said The Match Factory’s head of sales Thania Dimitrakopoulou. “His story of “The Girl with the Needle” hooked us and his choice of cast and narrative style promises a great outcome. We are certain the audiences will relate to this.”
Von Horn’s dark drama is his first foray into period genre, following his 2015 Cannes Directors’ Fortnight calling card “The Here After”, and his 2020 Cannes-selected and international festival hit “Sweat”, a “poised, impressive drama” according to Variety.
First clips of the stylised black-and-white chiller will be unveiled at the Works in Progress at Göteborg’s Nordic Film Market.
“Magnus von Horn is a talent to follow,” said The Match Factory’s head of sales Thania Dimitrakopoulou. “His story of “The Girl with the Needle” hooked us and his choice of cast and narrative style promises a great outcome. We are certain the audiences will relate to this.”
Von Horn’s dark drama is his first foray into period genre, following his 2015 Cannes Directors’ Fortnight calling card “The Here After”, and his 2020 Cannes-selected and international festival hit “Sweat”, a “poised, impressive drama” according to Variety.
- 1/18/2024
- by Annika Pham
- Variety Film + TV
Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s animated documentary won the best documentary, best editing, best score and best sound design prizes.
Flee made history at the Danish Film Academy Robert Awards, which took place on Saturday (February 5) in Copenhagen, as the first documentary to win all four awards it was nominated for, scooping the best documentary, best editing, best score and best sound design prizes.
Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s animated documentary focuses on a man, on the cusp of marriage to his boyfriend, revealing the secrets of his journey from Afghanistan to Denmark as a child refugee. Last week, the title was...
Flee made history at the Danish Film Academy Robert Awards, which took place on Saturday (February 5) in Copenhagen, as the first documentary to win all four awards it was nominated for, scooping the best documentary, best editing, best score and best sound design prizes.
Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s animated documentary focuses on a man, on the cusp of marriage to his boyfriend, revealing the secrets of his journey from Afghanistan to Denmark as a child refugee. Last week, the title was...
- 2/7/2022
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
"Why did you run away like that?" Picturehouse in the UK has revealed an official UK trailer for a Danish dark drama titled Wildland, marking the feature directorial debut of filmmaker Jeanette Nordahl. This first premiered at last year's Berlin Film Festival and also opened in Denmark last year, and is arriving in the UK and US starting in August this year. Ida moves in with her aunt and cousins after the tragic death of her mother in a car accident. The home is filled with love, but outside of the home, the family leads a violent and criminal life. Described as "an enthralling, brooding and utterly gripping thriller that packs a powerful emotional punch." This almost seems like a Danish take on the iconic Australian crime family film Animal Kingdom. Starring Sandra Guldberg Kampp as Ida, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Joachim Fjelstrup, Elliott Crosset Hove, Besir Zeciri, and Carla Philip Røder.
- 6/11/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Film Movement has acquired North American rights to “Wildland,” Jeanette Nordahl’s debut feature starring Sidse Babett Knudsen (“Borgen”) as a mafia ringleader.
The gripping crime drama, which was part of the Berlinale 2020 selection, will next premiere at New York City’s Film Forum, followed by a wide theatrical release and roll out on all digital and home entertainment platforms.
The announcement was made by Michael Rosenberg, president of Film Movement, and Andrea dos Santos for Bac Films Distribution.
Set in the Danish countryside around an old industrialized farming town, “Wildland” follows a 17-year old girl, Ida, who moves in with her aunt and cousins after the tragic death of her mother in a car accident. The home is filled with love, but outside of the home, the family leads a violent and criminal life.
Produced by Snowglobe, the film was written by Ingeborg Topsoe, whose recent credits include Milad Alami’s “The Charmer.
The gripping crime drama, which was part of the Berlinale 2020 selection, will next premiere at New York City’s Film Forum, followed by a wide theatrical release and roll out on all digital and home entertainment platforms.
The announcement was made by Michael Rosenberg, president of Film Movement, and Andrea dos Santos for Bac Films Distribution.
Set in the Danish countryside around an old industrialized farming town, “Wildland” follows a 17-year old girl, Ida, who moves in with her aunt and cousins after the tragic death of her mother in a car accident. The home is filled with love, but outside of the home, the family leads a violent and criminal life.
Produced by Snowglobe, the film was written by Ingeborg Topsoe, whose recent credits include Milad Alami’s “The Charmer.
- 5/11/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
AFI Fest Review: Wildland is a Family Crime Drama with Richly Drawn Characters and Riveting Violence
While much entertainment can be had from stories of successful, high-level crime families, tales of low-level crime syndicates are often far more impactful. Case in point is the ménage of barely serviceable debt collectors in Jeanette Nordahl’s Wildland. Like the Irish gangsters in the recent film Calm with Horses, the family in this Danish drama is close-knit yet positively bursting with secrets. Into this family comes a teenage cousin with no knowledge of how they make their money. The results are, predictably, not going to be pretty.
This teenager is Ida, a shy, thoughtful figure played with wounded grace by Sandra Guldberg Kampp. As Wildland begins, Ida’s mother, a former addict, was recently killed in a car accident. Social services places Ida with her aunt and three male cousins in their countryside home. The family is led by a tough, occasionally domineering matriarch, Bodil, played by The Duke...
This teenager is Ida, a shy, thoughtful figure played with wounded grace by Sandra Guldberg Kampp. As Wildland begins, Ida’s mother, a former addict, was recently killed in a car accident. Social services places Ida with her aunt and three male cousins in their countryside home. The family is led by a tough, occasionally domineering matriarch, Bodil, played by The Duke...
- 10/24/2020
- by Christopher Schobert
- The Film Stage
After the sudden death of her mother, an introverted teenager is taken in by an estranged female relative, who turns out to be the matriarch of a dangerous criminal family. If the essential logline of Danish director Jeanette Nordahl’s quietly tense debut “Wildland” sounds more than a little familiar, perhaps the same thought occurred to those who titled it for the international market: Though it goes by “Kød & Blod (Flesh and Blood)” at home, its English-language moniker is all but a synonym for David Michôd’s similarly premised “Animal Kingdom.” That’s not a bad film to resemble in any capacity, though Nordahl’s study of a frail adolescent psyche plunged into a corrupt household has its own sense of ticking dread.
That’s thanks in large part to a key difference from the 2010 film: the protagonist is a girl, 17-year-old Ida, whose desires and vulnerabilities shift the stakes of this hothouse drama.
That’s thanks in large part to a key difference from the 2010 film: the protagonist is a girl, 17-year-old Ida, whose desires and vulnerabilities shift the stakes of this hothouse drama.
- 2/21/2020
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
French sales/distribution company Bac Films and Danish production banner Snowglobe have unveiled the trailer of “Wildland,” Jeanette Nordahl’s female-driven crime thriller which is set to world premiere at the 70th Berlin Film Festival in the Panorama section.
Starring Sidse Babett Knudsen (“Borgen”) as a mafia ringleader and introducing Sandra Guldberg Kampp, “Wildland” was written by Ingeborg Topsøe (“The Charmer”) and explores the themes of family, loyalty and the cycle of violence, addiction and corruption.
Set in a Danish countryside around an old industrialized farming town, “Wildland” follows a 17-year old girl, Ida, who moves in with her aunt and cousins after the tragic death of her mother in a car accident. The home is filled with love, but outside of the home, the family leads a violent and criminal life.
Babett Knudsen stars in the film opposite Joachim Fjelstrup (“Itsi Bitsi”), Elliott Crosset Hove
(“Winter Brothers”) and Besir Zeciri...
Starring Sidse Babett Knudsen (“Borgen”) as a mafia ringleader and introducing Sandra Guldberg Kampp, “Wildland” was written by Ingeborg Topsøe (“The Charmer”) and explores the themes of family, loyalty and the cycle of violence, addiction and corruption.
Set in a Danish countryside around an old industrialized farming town, “Wildland” follows a 17-year old girl, Ida, who moves in with her aunt and cousins after the tragic death of her mother in a car accident. The home is filled with love, but outside of the home, the family leads a violent and criminal life.
Babett Knudsen stars in the film opposite Joachim Fjelstrup (“Itsi Bitsi”), Elliott Crosset Hove
(“Winter Brothers”) and Besir Zeciri...
- 1/13/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Bac Films is joining forces with up-and-coming Danish production banner Snowglobe on “Wildland,” a female-driven crime thriller toplining “Borgen” star Sidse Babett Knudsen as a mafia ringleader.
The movie will mark the feature debut of Jeanette Nordahl.
Bac Films has acquired international sales and French distribution rights on the film.
Set in a Danish countryside around an old industrialized farming town, “Wildland” follows a 17-year old girl, Ida, who moves in with her aunt and cousins after the tragic death of her mother in a car accident. The home is filled with love, but outside of the home, the family leads a violent and criminal life.
The film was written by Ingeborg Topsoe, whose recent credits include Milad Alami’s critically acclaimed “The Charmer.”
“‘Wildland’ is a story about the destructive power of family love. It is a female-driven film with mafia elements, where both the head of the family and the protagonist are women,...
The movie will mark the feature debut of Jeanette Nordahl.
Bac Films has acquired international sales and French distribution rights on the film.
Set in a Danish countryside around an old industrialized farming town, “Wildland” follows a 17-year old girl, Ida, who moves in with her aunt and cousins after the tragic death of her mother in a car accident. The home is filled with love, but outside of the home, the family leads a violent and criminal life.
The film was written by Ingeborg Topsoe, whose recent credits include Milad Alami’s critically acclaimed “The Charmer.”
“‘Wildland’ is a story about the destructive power of family love. It is a female-driven film with mafia elements, where both the head of the family and the protagonist are women,...
- 5/7/2018
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
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