When his wife dies, Lasse takes his 12-year-old son, Pelle, from their home in Sweden to Denmark in search of a better life.When his wife dies, Lasse takes his 12-year-old son, Pelle, from their home in Sweden to Denmark in search of a better life.When his wife dies, Lasse takes his 12-year-old son, Pelle, from their home in Sweden to Denmark in search of a better life.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 22 wins & 9 nominations total
- Erik
- (as Bjørn Granath)
- Soen
- (as Lena Pia Bernhardsson)
- Karna
- (as Anne Lise Hirsch Bjerrum)
Featured reviews
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.
The film is set in late 19th century Denmark. It begins with an older man (Max Von Sydow) and his young son, Pelle, arriving there from Sweden. According to the dad, Denmark is a land of many opportunities and there life will be so much better than it had been back home. However, soon they learn that life is dreadfully oppressive here in their new home. They are hired on as indentured servants of sorts--and even the young boy must toil very hard on this farm. In some ways, they are like slaves as the food is terrible, the hours long and there is almost no let up to the bleakness of their lives. Many awful things happen through the course of the film--murdered babies, people getting pounded in the head by a large stone, rapes, and Pelle ultimately learns that through all this, his father is a spineless wimp.
This movie does seem to illustrate just how tough life was and does a great job of showing the lives of illiterate workers, but it's also a real chore to stick with it. Lovers of art films will probably be able to stick around for the almost three hour running time--most of the rest will not. In many ways it reminds me of other Oscar-winners like "The Last Emperor" and "The English Patient"--very grim and miserable films. However, at least with "Pelle" you actually care about the characters--which makes it worth seeing IF you are very, very patient. However, if you are depressed at all, do NOT watch the film--it might just push you over the edge.
Did you know
- TriviaPelle Hvenegaard, who plays the leading part, is actually named after the title character himself.
- Quotes
[first lines]
Pelle: Father?
Lassefar: Everything's gonna be fine.
Pelle: Say it again.
Lassefar: This new country we're going to is very different.
Pelle: Tell me more about it.
Lassefar: They put raisins in the pork roast and butter on the bread. They put a lot of butter on the bread. Brandy is as cheap as water and it is so strong that it knocks you off. But your father can take it, Pelle, because he's strong.
Pelle: And children are free all day.
Lassefar: Yes, Pelle, yes.
Pelle: Say it again.
Lassefar: You get so well-paid that children don't need...
Pelle: Don't need to work. They can play all day long.
Lassefar: [smiling] Yes.
- ConnectionsEdited into Eventyret om dansk film 18: Nye perspektiver - 1970-1987 (1996)
- How long is Pelle the Conqueror?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $2,063,688
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $45,985
- Dec 25, 1988
- Gross worldwide
- $2,063,688
- Runtime2 hours 37 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1