A Garota da Agulha

"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.

I didn't know what the story was about, so everything was a surprise to me. There are some shocking scenes that at first that made me dislike this movie a lot. But at the end, and when I realized it was based on a true story, it made me reflect on human nature, who the real monsters are, how our lives are impacted depending on our social economical situation and how there are good people even when we judge them at first by their appearance or their small bad behaviors. It is a movie that makes you reflect, and it will stick to your mind for some time, I believe. It is worth a try, I would not indicate it to everyone, some people will think it is unbearable to watch.

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.

This movie has some of the scariest scenes I've seen in any film this year, even compared to the best horror movies of 2024. The first act feels like a darker, more chilling version of Anora. It starts with themes of survival and desperation, as a working-class woman in post-WWI Copenhagen finds an opportunity to change her social class. But the story evolves into something much deeper, diving into ethical dilemmas around motherhood, sacrifice, and the difficult choices women face when their options are limited.

And yet, there's even more to unpack in this stunningly shot, expertly crafted period drama. It's about moral ambiguity, isolation, loneliness, societal stigmas, female agency, power dynamics, and the lingering impact of war. The only thing holding it back for me is how heavy-handed it gets with the subject of abortion, especially in the final speech, which felt a bit out of place.

It hit me hard with bricks of sadness and empathy for the main character, thanks to Vic Carmen Sonne's incredible performance as the lead. Every other actor is equally impressive. The black-and-white cinematography is breathtaking, the music is hypnotic, and the overall production is top-notch. With all its dark and heavy themes, this movie is an absolute blast to watch. Highly recommended!

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.