Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!: Kun en Pige (1995)

8/02/2022

Kun en Pige (1995) - Schrøder's lavish Lise Nørgaard biopic

♥♥♥

A uniformed young woman caught in a sea of bright dilemmas (or so it appears) on this poster for Peter Schrøder's Kun en Pige

The childhood and early adult life of Danish cultural icon Lise Nørgaard as the daughter of a wholesaler in province town Roskilde is laid out: Her passion for writing and being free to make her own decisions, her rebellion against the time and the consequences it had for her.

Kun en Pige is written by Peter Bay (Kaj's Fødselsdag (1990)) and Jørgen Kastrup (Vi Er Både Rigtige og Kloge (1975)), adapting Lise Nørgaard's (Stjernevej (1981)) same-titled 1992 autobiography and her follow-up De Sendte en Dame (1993), and directed by Peter Schrøder (Det Forsømte Forår (1993)). The Danish title translates to, 'just a girl'.

For a Danish film, Kun en Pige is an enormous production, - think The Godfather (1972) and Once Upon a Time in America (1984), - but Nørgaard's story has trouble supporting that weight. The film is incredibly long and first and foremost of local-national interest. Furthermore there are loose ends to the plot (the polyps; the chilling dream of Germany), but Kun en Pige is nevertheless a worthwhile picture.

Periods of it recall Nørgaard's Roskilde chronicle, Danish cultural cornerstone Matador (1978-82), (which may tire some Matador fans), but it is handsomely and cinematically done; the crew deserve acknowledgment for the skilled lighting and many fine images, (cinematography by Dirk Brüel (Flugten (1973)).)

Waage Sandøe (Krøniken (2004-07)), Kristian Halken (Speed Walking/Kapgang (2014)), Amalie Dollerup (Badehotellet (2013-)), Inge Sofie Skovbo (Sunes Familie (1997)) and Puk Sharbau (Terribly Happy/Frygtelig Lykkelig (2008)) all give good performances. The protagonist's persistent bouts of rage and her angry contrariness may wear on one's patience, but the film still has a lot of good to offer.

Peter Schrøder: Stolen Spring/Det Forsømte Forår (1993) or, The Lost Days of School

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 28 mil. DKK, approximately 3.85 mil. $

Box office: Approximately 2.57 mil. $

= Huge flop (returned 0.66 times its cost)

[Kun en Pige was released 15 December (Denmark) and runs 170 minutes. The budget was reportedly the biggest ever for a Danish film at the time. Shooting took place in Denmark. It sold impressive 456,718 tickets in Denmark, the film's only recorded release market, where it was the highest-grossing film of the year, which was nevertheless far from enough to recoup the big cost of production. (The average ticket prize in Denmark was 41 DKK in 1995.) The film won 4/4 Robert nominations (Denmark's Oscar). Schrøder returned with Nikolaj og Julie (2003, TV-series) and theatrically with Lotto (2006). Scharbau returned in Bryggeren (1997, TV-series) and theatrically in Afmagt (1998). 387 IMDb users have given Kun en Pige a 6.4/10 average rating.]

What do you think of Kun en Pige?

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Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!

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8/02/2022

Kun en Pige (1995) - Schrøder's lavish Lise Nørgaard biopic

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