Kærlighed ved første hik

There are books so special you never believe they will turn out to be great movies. Dennis Jürgensen's "Kærlighed Ved Første HIK" are one of few books that almost every Danish teenager have read. I guess most of the young Danish boys fall in love with Anja when they read the book, and I simply didn't believe they could turn this very funny story into a believable movie, and still keep the picture of Anja being so very special. The story about poor young Victor falling in love with the rich and 2 years older Anja has been changed a bit to fit to the screen, but Thomas Villum Jensen has directed a close to perfect movie. It is very funny, and very well acted. Robert Hansen and Sofie Lassen-Kahlke are making a good couple, and Rasmus Albeck as Victor's kid brother are so hounest I bet all with love him. The movie has broken close to all records in Denmark, and the success are deserved. This is going to be a classic, and funny both for young people learning to live, and old remembering their past.

There are many youth films that fall into the bad to mediocre category. This one works well in that it has humor (such as the frequently occurring instances of Peter teasing Viktor, which work really well), and it has a very decent soundtrack. Some of the love scenes are cute and even over the top, but they work well, contributing to the feel-good atmosphere of the entire movie.

I would not recommend this to my parents or anyone else over 30. They might enjoy it, however, this is aimed at a younger audience. Anyone over 10 should have no problem watching this.

Despite the relatively predictable plot, in my book, 'Kærlighed ved første hik' has a solid spot as a classic in the Danish youth movies genre.

When I remember my childhood before I even got to enjoy the teenage life, this was one of the first movies about the teenage lifes I ever got to watch and I have to say I often thought about living like Anja, have to get guys like Viktor hanging around. This matches the typical life in the late 90's in DK and that's what I love about it.

To say that 'Kærlighed ved første hik' is the worst Danish movie ever might be a little exaggerated - but the only two movies that actually can compete in horrible dialogue, dreadful actors and unbelievable story are `Walther & Carlo i Amerika' (1989) and `Under overfladen' (1999).

The synopsis of this movie is adapted from the book and Thomas Villum Jensen has succeeded in turning this quite amusing book into an 85 min. embarrassing mishmash of tacky clichés and unrealistic events. To line them all up would be a waste of time so I simply must conclude that this film is not suitable for anyone what-so-ever.

* (1 out of 5)

Kærlighed Ved Første Hik

Directed by: Tomas Villum Jensen, 1999

Danish cult author of children's books, Dennis Jürgensen, has one of his first and most memorable books turned into a pitiful, dry and thoroughly un-imaginative film.

The acting is wooden, the dialogue is colorless and the scope is embarrassing. The transformation from book to film is overly cute and bland. The filmmakers had been better off digging out another similar themed Danish film, Busters Verden (1984) by Bille August, and learning a trick or two from this warm and genuinely funny classic.