Erna at War

This movie is based on a novel by Erling Jepsen. It's about a woman who goes to war disguised as a man in order to protect her "stupid" son.

Trine Dyrholm is a wonderful actress and she has won several prices through her acting career, but she is not convincing in this role, because she doesn't look like a man and she doesn't even try to look like a man, yet the germans believes she is a man. This works in the novel but not on the screen. In the novel it's an absurdity and a funny part of the story. In the movie it tries to be a dramatic part of the story, but it's simply not believable enough.

This movie failed.

The movie is beatiful filmed, and the production is good. But the main actress Trine Dyrholm is not the right person for the role... It would have been easy to find a woman that could be masculine and at the same time attractive.

It has been a few months since I saw the movie so my take is not fresh, however the rating I gave was straight after the viewing and I still stand by it. I was thoroughly engrossed in the movie and found it captivating with superb performances by the actors, however there were two issues with the movie which I was able to overlook, but many others probably are not. The first is the need to suspend disbelief about how a middle-aged woman who clearly also looks as one is not recognized as such and so easily passes for a boy or a man. The second is the need to suspend disbelief about how such a middle-aged woman seems to be desired by almost every man from teenagers to middle-aged men who recognizes her as a woman. I hate to be saying this, but wonderful as the lead actress is, she is unfortunately miscast as she is not the right age for the role at all. Regardless, if you can overlook these hard-to-explain aspects of the movie, you will find an otherwise excellent movie underneath.

Why would you ever make a movie about a mother who godes to war instead of her son. She is supposed to look like a man, but she doesn't. It's just annoying. Trine Dyrholm is a great actress, but this role was never ment for her. I can't see past the fact that she is supposed to look like a man (her son).

...these are dumb people, who knows nothing of war, and they have high opinions of themselves. Ernas Village has her employed at a special function, which no one ever talks about anymore. Erna has realized certain things about her life and the life of others.. about education and things nobody talks about anymore. Its most of all an anti war film, an Vladimir Putin critique film. Its a NO to USA, a NO to russkyMir, but most of all its a NO to Empires. So in a way one could see this as a predecessor to #StarWarsCloneWars Or as part of #StarWarsRebels most of all one has to pay attention to the great acting, the great directing, and the fantastic filming and cutting. It did not get any Oscars, stupid people in the socalled Academy.