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| Two stills of middle-aged men superimpose onto one of a young woman make up most of this sparse poster for Henning Carlsen's Epilogue |
A Danish WWII Resistance fighter doodles around in Copenhagen almost two decades after the war, engaging in an affair with a beautiful young woman, but finds himself plagued by traumas from the war.
Epilogue is written by Leif Panduro (Rundt om Selma (1971, TV movie)) and directed by Danish master filmmaker Henning Carlsen (Dilemma (1962)), whose 2nd film it was. The original Danish title translates to 'what about us?'.
Clearly inspired by the at the time recently arrived French New Wave in cinema, which inspired new types of films across the world, Epilogue has youthful experimental aspirations and can today most aptly be catalogued as a reflection of its time that includes valuable footage of Copenhagen and Dyrehaven (the big open park with wild deer North of the city) from its day. The laziness and lack of commitment in the youth's relation to the older man and her maybe boyfriend (Morten Grunwald (The Black Madonna/Den Sorte Madonna (2007))) is tiring and a bit loathsome in its unrestrained carelessness.
The plot of Epilogue is stillborn and lacks a dramatic curve: This perceived radicalism fails to fascinate, as must have been intended, and instead becomes deadly boring. Cutaways to images of the war do not relate anything clearly. Epilogue is a failed attempt at a new cinematic language.
Related posts:
Henning Carlsen: Memories of My Melancholy Whores/Memoria de Mis Putas Tristes (2011) - Carlsen signs out with a dubious adaptation
Top 10: Best Danish movies reviewed by Film Excess to date
In lieu of anything related to this film, - which is not to be found on Youtube, - here is a lengthy video of Carlsen talking about the making of his much more interesting first film, the preceding Dilemma, shot in South Africa during apartheid
Cost: Unknown
Box office: Unknown
= Uncertain
[Epilogue was released 27 September (Denmark) and runs 93 minutes. Details concerning the film's production and release are regrettably hard to come by. It was released in Sweden and Finland in 1964 and at the San Francisco International Film Festival in 1964, where it won a prize. TCM also report that it was released in San Francisco in 1967. Carlsen returned with I Rum Sø (1964, TV movie) and theatrically with The Cats/Kattorna (1965). Erno Müller returned in 13 TV credits prior to his theatrical return in Nyt Legetøj (1977); Maud Berthelsen (Sommer-Weekend (1963, TV-series)) in Case of the 44's/Ih, Du Forbarmende (1965). 29 IMDb users have given Epilogue a 5.2/10 average rating.]
What do you think of Epilogue?
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