12/35
Copenhagen 1919: A young worker is unemployed and pregnant
She meets Dagmar, who runs an illegal adoption agency. They form a strong bond, but their world falls apart when they stumble upon the shocking truth behind her work. Official Danish entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the 97th Academy Awards 2025. It’s the final days of World War I, and Karoline is barely making ends meet as a factory worker.
When was the rampant drug use of that time period portrayed so openly?
She considers herself a widow because her husband disappeared during the war (though Denmark wasn’t actually involved), but doesn’t get a widow’s pension because he isn’t listed as dead. A lot happens over the course of the film, and I don’t want to give too much away, so I won’t go into detail about the plot, except that the marketing emphasizes something that doesn’t play as big a role in the film as one might expect. While this gets a lot of attention in the second half of the film, for me the real value of the film lies in the sense of reality that Karoline’s story conveys. When was the last time someone in a movie tried to convince a potential renter to move into an apartment by telling them they could have running water for two whole hours a day (from ten to twelve, which might not be a great selling point since most people would be working during those hours)?
Although Dagmar is a main character, the film is clearly about Karoline and her hardships
Even what Dagmar does was relatively commonplace back then, although I would guess that by that point the trend was declining and it wasn’t as common as it once was. I might even have enjoyed the film more if the marketing had been different and Dagmar hadn’t been mentioned because that would have set expectations. On the other hand, it’s hard to say how I would have felt seeing the name Dagmar Overby on a door if I hadn’t known beforehand that this real person was in the film. (It should be noted that the film is inspired by real events and not based on them, so it tries to keep some distance from the real Dagmar.) I believe that some of the audience will find it difficult to empathize with Karoline, as she sometimes seems to make the right decision a little too late.
I like the look of the film
At the same time, there isn’t much time or opportunity for ethics when you’re just trying to survive in a world where the odds are against you. While we know that the hope she has would be in vain in this world, we still understand why she gives in to it. It’s black and white, and the whole town seems run down and barely holding up. It reminds us of the lack of interest in the well-being of the working poor, or even the disdain for them.
Have things really changed that much?
The time depicted is over a century ago, but once again the concept of female bodily autonomy is under constant attack. Of course, all art is in some way a reflection of the time in which it was created, but here it seems easier to see the similarities.
