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

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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.

 

Related post:

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?

This Life/Hvidsten Gruppen (2012) - Riis middle-of-the-road WWII resistance drama

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The tag-line for Anne-Grethe Bjarup Riis' This Life translates to, 'Some must die so others can live'

QUICK REVIEW:

In Hvidsten in Jutland, Denmark the locals are angry at the Germans' occupation of Denmark in 1940, and when the opportunity arises, a group of them therefore help the resistance movement smuggle in weapons.

This Life, originally titled Hvidsten Gruppen [The Hvidsten Group], is a true WWII story, written by Ib and Jørgen Kastrup (Storm (2009), both) and producer Regner Grasten (Cinder Rock'n Rella/Askepop - The Movie (2003)) and directed by Anne-Grethe Bjarup Riis (Catch the Dream/Tarok (2013)).
The exciting story is, unfortunately, not transformed into a great film by Riis and Co., which is a shame: The film doesn't draw any lines outside of the confines of Denmark and is mediocre to a degree that makes it of interest exclusively for Danes. - The courageous heroes of the group bring many (nationalist) feelings in motion.
Bodil Jørgensen (Nothing's All Bad/Smukke Mennesker (2010)) is, in glimpses, great, and so is Jens Jørn Spottag (We Shall Overcome/Drømmen (2006)). But apart from them, the acting is of very varying quality and generally too undramatic and controlled, which makes the portrayal seem stiff. The uninspired and uncinematic photography by Morten Bruus (The Circus Casablanca/Circus Casablanca (1981)) contributes to this fault.
The biggest problem with This Life is that there simply weren't enough real talent and ability involved, beginning with director Riis.

Watch the trailer here - unfortunately, the filmmakers have not made it available with English subtitles

Cost: 24 mil. DKR. ~ ca. 3.7 mil. $
Box office: Unknown
= Uncertainty
[This Life was shot in Jutland, including Hvidsten, and in Zealand. Its budget included 6.9 mil DKR. from the Danish Film Institute and 5 mil. DKR from TV2. The film became a major hit in Denmark, where it was the biggest Danish movie of the year with 765k admissions, following 87k admissions in the opening weekend. The film will be counted as a box office success, although the actual revenue is unknown. This Life has a 6.5 rating on IMDb, based on 1,606 users' opinions.]

What do you think of This Life?
Film/s about the resistance during WWII that you want to recommend?