Cinema
Ditte, Child of Man
Ditte Menneskebarn
Bjarne Henning-Jensen · 1946
Synopsis
Ditte is born out of wedlock; her mother Sørine neglects her, and it is her grandparents, a poor fisherman and his wife, who raise her by the sea. When her grandfather dies, she becomes her grandmother's only support. When her mother marries Lars Peter, a horse dealer, the family moves into a hovel and Ditte, still a child, becomes the little mother of her half-brothers and half-sisters. Poverty weighs on them more and more, and she has to take on the duties of a mistress of the house at a very young age.
Context
The film adapts only the first part of Martin Andersen Nexø's four-volume novel, published from 1917 to 1921. Written and directed by Bjarne Henning-Jensen, with his wife Astrid as assistant and Erik Balling as producer, it alternates studio work and location shooting and was released on 20 December 1946. Its social tone was compared to Italian neorealism; the role of Ditte revealed Tove Maës.
Who it is for
One hour forty-four minutes, in Danish, in black and white. It should be known before watching that it takes up only the beginning of Nexø's book, and that the rest of this life is not in it.
Prizes and reception
International prize at the Venice festival in 1947; a Danish and international success, included in 2006 in the Danish cultural canon.