46/19

Copenhagen 1919: A young worker is unemployed and pregnant. She meets Dagmar, who runs an illegal adoption agency. A strong connection is formed, but her world is shattered when she discovers the shocking truth behind her work. Denmark’s official entry for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards in 2025. It’s the final days of World War I, and Karoline is barely making ends meet as a factory worker. She considers herself a widow, as her husband disappeared during the war (even though Denmark wasn’t actually involved), but she doesn’t receive a widow’s pension because he’s not listed as dead. A lot happens throughout the film, and I don’t want to give too much away, so I won’t go into too much detail about the plot, except to say that the marketing is emphasizing something that doesn’t play as big a role in the film as one might expect. Although this is given 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 Karolina’s story conveys. When was the last time someone in a film tried to convince a potential tenant to move into an apartment by telling them they could have running water for two full hours a day (from ten to twelve, which might not be much of a sell since most people would be working during those hours)? When did the rampant drug use of the time become so openly depicted? Even what Dagmar does was fairly common back then, although I would guess that at the time the trend was downward and it wasn’t as common as it used to be. I might have enjoyed the film more if the marketing had been different and Dagmar hadn’t been mentioned, as it would have raised expectations. Although Dagmar is the main character, the film is clearly about Karolina and her struggles. On the other hand, it’s hard to say how I would have felt when I saw the name Dagmar Overby on the 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, not based on, real events, so we try to keep some distance from the real Dagmar.) I think some viewers will have a hard time sympathizing with Karoline, as she sometimes seems to make the right decision a little too late. At the same time, there’s not much time or opportunity for ethics when you’re just trying to survive in a world where the odds are against you. Even though we know that the hope she has would be futile in this world, we still understand why she gives in. I like the look of the film. It’s black and white, and the entire city seems rundown and barely holding together. It suggests a lack of concern for, or even contempt for, the well-being of the working poor. Have things really changed that much? The time depicted was over a century ago, but the concept of female bodily autonomy is once again 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.

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