Cinema
Pelle the Conqueror
Pelle Erobreren
Bille August · 1987
Synopsis
In the age of the great emigrations, a boat of Swedish emigrants docks at Bornholm. Among them are Lasse, an old widower, and his son Pelle, who have come in search of work: nobody wants a man of his age with a child, and they end up hired in the cowshed of the large Stengården farm, at the very bottom of the ladder. Lasse bows his head and dreams of a more dignified life; Pelle, mocked as a foreigner at school, becomes attached to the farmhand Erik, the only one who dares stand up to the masters.
Context
The film adapts only the first of the four volumes of Martin Andersen Nexø's novel, which Dreyer, Widerberg and Polański had each considered bringing to the screen. A Danish-Swedish co-production, produced by Per Holst and written with Per Olov Enquist and Bjarne Reuter, it was shot on Bornholm and in Zealand, with Max von Sydow as Lasse and Pelle Hvenegaard, chosen from two thousand candidates, in the title role. It was released in Copenhagen in December 1987.
Who it is for
Two and a half hours, in Danish and Swedish. A long fresco; the film covers only the beginning of Pelle's life.
Prizes and reception
Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1988, Academy Award and Golden Globe for best foreign film in 1989; Max von Sydow was nominated for the Academy Award for best actor.
Sources for this page 12
The pages consulted to check this page.