La Jeune Femme à l'aiguille

Nominated for Best International Feature Film at the upcoming Academy Awards, The Girl with the Needle is a silently unnerving & deeply unsettling psychological horror that takes elements from real-life events for its fictional narrative and expertly utilises its grim setting, bleak tone & harrowing revelations to deliver a shockingly brutal chiller that packs a powerful punch.

Co-written & directed by Magnus von Horn, the film exhibits a cold, dark & uninviting look from its opening scene and takes its time to set things up. The period details are aptly taken care of and it does well to capture the post-war atmosphere too. The black n white cinematography is sharp, crisp & sumptuous, Editing steadily paces the plot, and the disturbing bits leave a mark.

However, it's the performances that anchor this narrative and the actors responsibly play their roles. Vic Carmen Sonne leads with a gripping showcase in the eponymous role that keeps the viewers invested in the proceedings while Trine Dyrholm's character is effortlessly charming at first until the sinister truth about her is unveiled. The rest provide solid support but these ladies are the standouts.

Overall, The Girl with the Needle is skilfully directed, exquisitely photographed & strongly acted from start to finish but the quiet pace at which it all unfolds can be bothersome for a select few. While there are sequences that don't add much to the central plot, they still portray the horrors left by war in its wake. Definitely amongst the better films of 2024, this Danish production is not for the easily distressed.

"Inspired by true events." Four words that will knock the wind out of your lungs as the film fades to black.

In the dirt and smog of 1919 Copenhagen emerges this atmospheric, haunting portrait of one woman's descent into the grim reality of impoverished motherhood.

In the age of short attention spans that are worringly shortening, von Horn's dark film may be a little slow for the average modern movie goer. But for those who can engage with it, what awaits is a black and white cinematic feast with imagery reminiscent of silent movies that is both a treat for the eyes and a dagger to the heart.

It's the last days of The Great War and Karoline is barely eking out an existence working in a factory. She believes herself to be a widow as her husband disappeared during the war (even though Denmark didn't really participate), but is not getting the benefits for widows because he has not been listed as dead.

A lot happens during the movie and I don't want to go into spoilers, so I won't go deeper into the plot except that the marketing is emphasizing something that is not as big a part in the movie as someone might expect.

While that does get a lot of attention in the latter half of the movie, to me the real value of the movie is the feeling of reality around Karoline's story. When was the last time someone in a movie was trying to convince a potential tenant to take up an apartment by telling them that they can get running water for two whole hours a day (from ten to noon, which might not be much of a selling point as most people would be working during those hours)? When was the rampant drug use of the era portrayed so candidly? Even what Dagmar is doing was relatively commonplace back in the day, although I would hazard a guess the trend was downward at this point in time and it wasn't happening as much as it had before.

I actually might have enjoyed the movie more if the marketing was different and Dagmar wasn't brought up, because it created expectations. While Dagmar is a major character, the movie is clearly about Karoline and her hardships. On the other hand, it is hard to say how I would have felt seeing the name Dagmar Overby on a door if I hadn't known beforehand that this real life person was used in the movie. (It should be noted that the movie is inspired by real life events rather than based on, so they are trying to maintain a certain distance to the real Dagmar).

I do feel some part of the audience will find it hard to symphathize with Karoline, as she does sometimes seem to make the right decision just a little too late. At the same time, there isn't that much time or opportunity for ethics when you are just trying to survive in a world where the odds have been stacked against you. On the other hand, while we know the hope she is given would be for nothing in this world, we still understand why she gives into it.

I like the look of the film. It's black and white and the whole city seems to be decrepit and barely holding up. It reminds us of the lack of interest in the well-being of or even disdain for the working poor. Have things really changed that much? The time being depicted happened over a century ago, but the concept of female bodily autonomy is under constant assault again.

Of course, all art is in some way a mirror of the time it was made, but it just seems easier to see the similarities here.

Yes, it is a little slow in its pace and one needs to get used to the rhythm of the film. That said, it is probably watched without any distractions in the cinema, not at home with a smartphone nearby.

The movie itself is a strong remnider of how rigid and cruel social norms and legislation can be. What I really liked was the ambivalence of the characters portrayed. The evil in the world didn't stem from some fetishised indidivual background, but from the power of capital - after all, it is the material inequality, displayed by the true villain of this movie, the mother of the rich fabric owner, which lays the ground for individuial cruel action. A more equal society would have not give birth to needs such as killing the offsprings of the poor and forgotten.

When rating watched movies, i always feel like there's something could be done differently or better, so even for "very good" movies i give 9 star.

This is my first 10 star rating. It's a perfect movie.

It's quite difficult to describe it as the whole movie has so many layers. It was emotionally on the edge and nervewrecking, very painful to watch. Even when you start to see the faint ray of hope, it soon vanishes brutally. But that's how the life was after the WW1. Povetry and broken people.

It was also visually gorgeous, eventhough there's nothing gorgeous in that movie.

Highly recommended, but not for snowflakes.