Following appearances at Cannes with The Here After (2015) and Sweat (2020), Swedish-Polish director Magnus von Horn found a berth in this year’s Main Competition with his third feature, this austere, gripping, superb film. Set in Denmark during the First World War, it follows the changing fortunes of Karoline (Vic Carmen Sonne, excellent), a wife whose soldier husband’s uncertain fate has left her to fend for herself. Evicted from her home, she finds work in a local factory, catching the eye of its wealthy owner. An affair begins, but when Karoline falls pregnant, her weak-willed lover abandons her at his mother’s demand. A chance encounter leads to an offer of help placing the baby for adoption from Dagmar (Trine Dyrholm). Karoline’s life is further complicated by the return of her husband and the discovery of Dagmar’s true motivations.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with screenwriter Line Langebek Knudsen.

Notes by Kevin Coyne.

Screening as part of IFI Kinopolis Polish Film Festival 2024.