pm “The Girl with the Needle” (2024) by director Magnus von Horn will be screened this Saturday, March 15th, at the Marco Lugo Cinema.
In a world where period stories are often synonymous with luxurious sets and restrained drama, The Girl with the Needle takes a much harsher and bleak path.
Set in post-war Copenhagen, the film follows Karoline (Victoria Carmen Sonne), a pregnant and unemployed young woman struggling to survive the years following World War I. She is taken in by Dagmar (Trine Dyrholm), a charismatic elderly woman whom she helps run a clandestine adoption agency. The two form an unexpected bond, until a sudden discovery changes everything.
Magnus von Horn’s direction avoids any idealization of the past. The cold, gray photography conveys a sense of confinement, as if the city itself were consuming its inhabitants. But the greatest influence falls on Vic Carmen Sonne, whose performance strikes a difficult balance between fragility and determination. As the story progresses, the film forces the viewer to question how far one can go when despair becomes the only guide.
It’s not an easy experience. Karoline’s every decision is a punch to the gut. It’s cinema that makes you uncomfortable, that drags you into dark places without offering escape or easy redemption.
The film is shown in its original language, Danish, with Spanish subtitles.
