Considered Norway's first film noir. Wealthy socialite Sonja meets handsome, muscular mechanic Erik when she drops off her car for repairs. Instantly attracted to each other, they break off relationships to be together and eventually marry - which is when of course the real problems begin. Few films have ever more effectively conveyed a kind of "male- hysteria", as Erik comes to regard his wife increasingly as an enigma whom he can't control or understand. The first film of Norway's first female director Edith Carlmar. The themes presented in the movie were scandalous enough to result in a cinema boycotting it and a death threat to the director.
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rob-82-30276316 June 2011
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CinemaSerf4 January 2023Claus Wiese is the handsome young "Erik", happily chugging along with girlfriend "Marit" (Eva Bergh) until the wealthy "Sonja" (Bjørd Riiser-Larsen) stops by his garage to have her car engine fixed. A few days later, he is offered a chauffeuring job and it turns out that it is her and her husband who are having a weekend together before he heads off on a business trip to the USA. You can guess what happens once he has gone, but is it just an one night stand or might it develop into something more? The film follows the ebbs and flows of their, frankly, torrid relationship. Drink fulled temper tantrums, acute jealousy and her inconsistent behaviour tests this otherwise mild-mannered younger man severely. Sadly, though, this film all just came across to me as too contrived. Initially they do fancy one and other, that's fine - but as their toxic friendship evolves, it becomes quite tough to watch because their love/hate/love relationship just isn't plausible. The ending is telegraphed by the retrospective narrative of the story (told by "Erik" talking to a police officer from the top of the film). For 1949, the dialogue and one or two of the scenes are maybe a bit risqué, but I wouldn't say this is one of Edith Calmar's finest works. It is notable for what it represents in terms of the development of cinema, and the fact that it has a woman director, but I can't say much more than that.
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dbdumonteil27 October 2006...it is my first comment on a Norwegian film. My friend told me it is the only film noir ever made in his country..
This is the story of a working man,who's got a gorgeous fiancée and who falls for a rich older woman,a femme fatale who will be his downfall.
Sometimes looking like a "Room at the top" in reverse (but the Norwegian work was made before Clayton's one),the relationship between the two lovers is harsh and the last picture makes your hair stand on end.
Made at a time when women directors were rare (Ida Lupino,Jacqueline Audry),it is less eventful than the contemporary film noirs.