Barbara (1997) User Reviews (7)

An immortal story of romance impressively performed in a scenic setting

[nilaus · 6/10 · 11 February 2001]

A faithful adaption to the screen of Jørgen Frantz-Jacobsen's internationally acclaimed novel. Anneke van der Lippe performs admirably well in the lead role although she is up against the formidable odds of having to represent one of the most fabled literary portrayals of a woman in the history of Danish (and Faroese) literature. Jesper Christensen also gives an impressive performance as Johan Hendrik Heyde - the justice - who has retired from active participation in the game of love, but nevertheless seems to understand best the inherent paradoxes with which romance abounds.

The movie features many touching and humorous scenes as well as magnificent scenery filmed on location.

Although published in 1939, the book behind the movie was recently chosen to be among the best 25 Danish novels of the last century in a nationwide poll carried out by the two leading Danish newspapers. Among other titles this places the story in the company of masterpieces by authors such as Karen Blixen, Johannes V. Jensen and Martin Andersen Nexø. A fact which it would seem to me lends little credibility to the view of an earlier (Brazilian) commentator that the plot is supposedly of poor quality or unsympathetic.

Good fil, weak actors

[nic-62 · 15 July 2002]

I am Faroese and was an extra in this film. As "Barbara" is something of a national treasure in the Faroes, I am of course a little biased. I will say that Nils Malmros did a formidable job and there´s no faulting his research and story telling (Malmros is a doctor as well as a film maker and he did a tenure at the National Hospital in Thorshavn so he could make the research for this film). I like the film a lot, but must point out a couple of weak points: Namely the two male love interests, Lars Simonsen´s Hr. Poul and Peter Reichardt´s Andreas Heyde. They are both weak characters and it´s not believeable that a woman like Barbara (brilliantly played by Anneke von der Lippe) should fall for either of them. The film is very faithful to the book and the scenery is breathtaking, but the key players lets the film down. 7 stars out of 10.

Extraordinary Scenery.

[leodoria · 20 February 1999]

Filmed on The Faroes Islands, a story of a complicated woman who thinks it's possible to love everybody. She takes all men to madness. As you might notice, it's a poor story but the perfomance of the artists is good. The highlight of this movie is the scenery. The reconstruction of the atmosphere of the Faroes on the 18th century is great and anyways the landscape of these islands is absolutely amazing.

A historical fiction for an isolated culture

[bdk9 · 8/10 · 23 October 2010]

There are a lot of different opinions on this movie...

I enjoyed the movie Barbara thoroughly. It is based upon a novel by Jørgen Franz Jacobsen, published in 1939. The novel itself focuses on character build and a unique love story.

The main focus of the movie is the Faroese culture and it's relationship to other nations, such as the Danes and the French. I would recommend this movie to those who are historically interested, and it is my experience that people enjoy the movie a lot more if they can understand the languages present (Danish and Faroese, mainly).

I must warn you. If you are looking for an action-filled Hollywood production, this is NOT your kind of movie. However, if you are looking for a nuanced plot and beautiful scenery... definitely!

Theatre on film

[ads-12 · 1/10 · 12 April 1999]

This film is like a bad stage-play! It isn't cinematic at all and the plot is stiff and uninteresting. A bad case of adapting a novel and not being able to make it into a worthwhile film. The scenery, though, is nice to look at.

BARBARA'S CHARACTER= NOT FAR FROM REALITY.

[corinacom · 9/10 · 4 February 2023]

I believe people we meet are not far from the main character, Barbara's character. Such behaviors are hard to be explained, but they sure are a common phaenomenon. This very beautiful movie just assured that in movies too, exist such characters, as a relief, for our real-life suffering.

But the great lesson, is that it is our choice to live or not with them. The more weak our character is, the more difficult gets the choice. That's why the pastor had to play such a weak character, in my opinion. And that's also the explanation of Andrea's character (more like a young man' s behavior- totally not serious), who hurt Barbara. But Barbara, unfortunately, deserved that. She suffered at last scene so much, beacuse it's easy and funny to leave people with no explanation and by not even bothering telling them that you are leaving, just in case you want to have an open door, but when it comes to people that leave you, suddenly you are the victim. No. It's just a reflection of your own self.

comment about the movie

[maikki · 8 June 2001]

The movie was beautiful, but the character of Barbara was so annoying that it was hard for me to not turn off the telly. It was also maybe a bit too long, over two hours of this film was almost too much for me.