Pjerrot

It all starts when Frederick Jacobsen "borrows" 18,000 kroner from the theatrical company's cash and promptly loses it. He goes to his new son-in-law, Gunnar Tolnaes, who borrows the money from his company's manager. He is to pay back twice the sum over thirty-six months. He agrees. When Jacobsen tells him he's going to leave the country, and please don't tell his daughter, he also agrees. Skip ahead three years as he finally pays the last installment. His wife, Zanny Petersen is putting their daughter to bed. She has bought a new dress for the Artist's Ball. Tolnaes says they can't afford it. But one of her friends buys the dress for her, tells her Tolnaes has a secret, and off they go. The couple quarrels, and Tolnaes leaves the country for four years. When he returns, there's papa-in-law, working behind the scenes for another theatrical company. Tolnaes becomes their Pierrot, on the ndition that he do so anonymously.

It takes a lot of set-up and secret-keeping to get to the meat of the movie, which involves their daughter wanting to meet Pierot and getting her, along with her grandpa in a backstage fire. Given the rather lackluster love life of clowns in Scandinavian movies, I was uncertain of whether there would be a reconciliation, but Tolnaes certainly gives a fine performance, both in whiteface and out of it. I'm just not sure that the wait is worth it.