Pelle erobreren (1987)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Bille August

Writers:

Martin Andersen Nexø (novel)
Bille August (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

21 December 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

De trodde att världen skulle bli deras

Plot:

The end of the 19th century. A boat filled with Swedish emigrants comes to the Danish island of Bornholm...

Plot Keywords:

Denmark | Bornholm | Harbor | Swing Music | Female Frontal Nudity

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 20 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Pelle Hvenegaard	...	Pelle
Max von Sydow	...	Lassefar
Erik Paaske	...	Forvalter / Foreman
Björn Granath	...	Erik (as Bjørn Granath)
Astrid Villaume	...	Fru Kongstrup / Mrs. Kongstrup
Axel Strøbye	...	Kongstrup
Troels Asmussen	...	Rud
Kristina Törnqvist	...	Anna
Karen Wegener	...	Madam Olsen / Mrs. Olsen
Sofie Gråbøl	...	Jomfru Sine / Miss Sine
Lars Simonsen	...	Niels Køller
Buster Larsen	...	Ole Køller
John Wittig	...	Skolelærer / School teacher
Troels Munk	...	Læge / Doctor
Nis Bank-Mikkelsen	...	Præst / Clergyman

Also Known As:

Pelle the Conqueror (UK) (USA)
Pelle erövraren (Sweden)

Runtime:

157 min

Country:

Denmark | Sweden

Language:

Scanian | Danish | Swedish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Denmark:11 | Iceland:L | South Korea:12 | Australia:M | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | Norway:12 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Bornholm, Denmark

Company:

Per Holst Filmproduktion

Trivia:

Only the second Danish film to scoop the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, Babette's Feast (1987) having done it the year before.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Bille & Pelle (1988) (TV)

Outstanding Male Lead

Max von Sydow has probably been given proper recognition for his body of work in Europe, but I don't think we have acknowledged that talent sufficiently in America.

This is a superbly made film for which more knowledgeable reviewers than I can make appropriate comments concerning everything from the original story line to the scenic shots covering changing weather and the years of growth of all the characters.

My only contribution is this: Where else do you have a male lead role where certain aspects of being a hero are necessary to the role, yet the fact of the story is that the male lead is failing in almost every, public aspect of his life. Mr. von Sydow pulls it off. He is a failure, yet he has the stature of a hero and it's not just in the eyes of his adolescent son.

I don't think any of the current generation of male leads could have made this film -- perhaps Costner, perhaps Newman. But that's my point; if any of them had crafted this performance, they would have received recognition. Max von Sydow gave the performance of a lifetime and we didn't even know where to classify the film. The film and the male lead should have won for best in class in the year of release. As another reviewer has noted -- this is a gem.