23/45
She meets Dagmar, who runs an underground adoption agency
Story
Copenhagen 1919: A young factory worker is unemployed and pregnant. A strong bond develops, but her world collapses when she discovers the shocking truth behind her work. Denmark’s official submission for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards in 2025. It’s the final days of the Great War, and Caroline is barely surviving working in a factory.
When was the rampant drug use of the time depicted so candidly?
She believes she’s a widow because her husband disappeared during the war (although Denmark didn’t actually participate), but she doesn’t receive widow’s benefits because he wasn’t listed as dead. A lot happens during the film, and I don’t want to give away spoilers, so I won’t go into the plot, except to highlight something that isn’t as big a part of the film as you might expect. While the second half of the film does get a lot of attention, for me the real value of the film is the sense of reality that surrounds Karolina’s story. When was the last time someone in a film tried to convince a potential tenant to rent an apartment by telling them they could have running water for two full hours a day (from ten to noon, which might not be a big selling point since most people would be working during those hours)?
While Dagmāra is an important character, the film is clearly about Karolina and her struggles
Even what Dagmāra does was fairly common at the time, although I would assume the trend was downward at this point and didn’t happen as much as it used to. In fact, I might have liked the film more if the marketing had been different and Dagmāra wasn’t mentioned because it raised expectations. On the other hand, it’s hard to say how I would feel seeing the name Dagmar Overby on the door if I didn’t know beforehand that this real-life person was used in the film. (It should be noted that the film is inspired by, not based on, real events, so they try to keep some distance from the real Dagmar).
I like the look of the film
I feel like some viewers will have a hard time sympathizing with Caroline, because sometimes it feels like she makes the right decision a little too late. At the same time, there’s not much time or space for ethics when you’re just trying to survive in a world where the odds are against you. On the other hand, even though we know that the hope she’s given in this world would be futile, we can understand why she gives in to it. It’s black and white, and the whole town looks rundown and barely holding together.
Have things really changed that much?
It reminds us of the lack of interest in welfare or even contempt for the working poor. The time depicted was over a century ago, but the notion of female bodily autonomy is once again under constant attack. Of course, all art is in a way a mirror of the time in which it was created, but it seems easier to see the similarities here.
