The Danish Poet (2006)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Torill Kove

Writer:

Torill Kove (writer)

Genre:

Animation | Short | Romance

Plot:

A woman ponders over the strange coincidences that made her forefathers and -mothers meet and create the premises for her becoming the person that she is.

Plot Keywords:

Love | Norway | Poet | Father Daughter Relationship | Friend

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 wins

Cast

Liv Ullmann

...

Narrator (voice)

Directed by
Torill Kove

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Torill Kove		writer

Produced by
Lise Fearnley	....	producer
Marcy Page	....	producer

Film Editing by
Phyllis Lewis

Sound Department
Håkan Lammetun	....	sound
Kjetil Trøan	....	sound editor

Visual Effects by
Martin Ciastko	....	digital imaging consultant

Animation Department
Astrid Aakra	....	animator
Bjarte Agdestein	....	animator
Anne Ashton	....	additional background artist
Anne Ashton	....	color designer
Helene Bisgaard	....	assistant animator
Stéphanie Duong	....	additional animator
Torill Kove	....	animator
Annely Põldsaar	....	assistant animator
Magnhild Valen-Sendstad Winsnes	....	additional animator (as Magnhild Winsnes)

Other crew
Winston Emano	....	publicist
David Magdael	....	publicist

Production Companies

• Mikrofilm
• National Film Board of Canada (NFB) (co-production)

Distributors

• Magnolia Pictures (2007) (USA) (theatrical)

Also Known As:

Den danske dikteren (Norway)

Runtime:

14 min | Germany:15 min (Berlin Kinderfilmfest)

Country:

Norway | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Company:

Mikrofilm

Trivia:

In-joke: When Kasper is looking in the book "Scandanavian Confusion," there is an entry about Liv Ullmann, the film's narrator.

Quotes:

Narrator: But had it not been for the Danish poet and Sigrid Undset, a rainy summer in Norway, a slippery barn plank, a careless mailman, a hungry goat, a broken thumb, and a crowded train, my parents might never have met and who knows I might still be a little seed floating around in the sky waiting for someone to come and get me.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 79th Annual Academy Awards (2007) (TV)

Charming

I understand that this won the Oscar for the category it falls under when it came out. I haven't seen any of the competition, so I can't compare, but it certainly is great. It's a fairy tale in a modern setting, and not everyone will care for the world view arguably presented herein. This is sweet, without being so hideously overflowing with pure, concentrated saccharine, to the point of viewers risking getting diabetes from watching. It's got a sense of humor, which can be claimed to move towards the ever-so-slightly dark once or twice, and is otherwise almost invariably entirely inoffensive, as the short ought to be, on the whole. Jokes and gags aren't childish, gross or similar, although some of them may perhaps mainly be funny to us Scandinavians, and may not get as big a laugh for those not familiar with the relationships between the countries and their people. The story-telling device of narration is used fine, if nothing new is done with it. The performance is good. The animation is simple, with occasional exaggeration. It doesn't look or feel "sloppy" or downright bad. The plot is nice, and the ending, along with plenty else in this, is cute. I recommend this to all who feel they might enjoy it, and encourage not only Danes, Norwegians and Swedes to give it a chance. 8/10