The slot belonging to the second film of the competition belonged to Magnus von Horn‘s The Girl with the Needle (aka Pigen med nålen) – a Danish-Polish-Swedish co-production in glorious b&w photography. Three feature films in and three Cannes Film Festival showings in a row (2015’s The Here After was a Directors’ Fornight selection and Sweat was selected for the Cannes Label 2020 pandemic edition), thi don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater beauty played well with the late evening showings. Clocking in at the two hour mark, Vic Carmen Sonne toplines here — he was in featured in the Un Certain Regard selected Godland in 2022.
Gist: Co-written by Magnus von Horn and Line Langebek, Karoline (Vic Carmen Sonne), a young factory worker, is struggling to survive in post WW1 Copenhagen. When she finds herself unemployed, abandoned and pregnant, she meets Dagmar (Trine Dyrholm), a charismatic woman running an underground adoption agency, helping mothers to find foster homes for their unwanted children. With nowhere else to turn, Karoline takes on the role of a wet-nurse. A strong connection is formed between the two women, but Karoline’s world shatters when she stumbles upon the shocking truth behind her work.
Current temperature: A surprise Swedish entry film for the competition section played well last night in day 1 of the competition. Based on a true nightmarish story loosely based on the true crimes of Danish angel maker Dagmar Overbye (despite Denmark not being involved in the war we have a lot of misery here) this turn of the 20th century tale and some solid direction and production design, stirring performances and a score to make viewers feel the unease. With thirteen critics weighing in we have an average score of 2.8 and could trend upwards.
