Pelle the Conqueror (1987) User Reviews

Deserves all the awards it won

[room337 · 9/10 · 25 March 1999]

I was very surprised to see there is only one comment for this film despite of many awards it won. I watched it several years ago, but I can still feel the winter sunshine of Denmark and the boy (I really felt as he felt)who acted as if there were no script or camera around. The scene(you have to see it),the half-witted boy volunteered to get beaten,still keeps me thinking. I wish I was an English to express well enough. I cannot say this is my favorite, but for the first and the last time, I watched a film with intense near physical pain. I don't know whom to recommend but watch it when you feel calm rather than feel good. But it's not depressing at all.

Von Sydow at his very best, but still upstaged by a boy!

[Sonatine97 · 8/10 · 6 August 2000]

*** SPOILER NEAR END OF REVIEW ***

Whenever I see a film starring Max Von Sydow, I can expect the very best in quality acting from him, regardless of whether the actual film is lousy or not.

Sydow isn't perhaps all that internationally well known, although he's appeared in a number of high profile Hollywood films such as The Exorcist and Three Days of the Condor.

But he really shines in his native Scandinavian homeland especially under aspiring & inspiring directors such as Bergman & August. The great thing about Sydow is his quality & depth to play any character a director requires; to me he is on a par with Olivier.

In this Bille August adapted screenplay we witness the plight of a father (Sydow) and young son (Pelle Hvenegaard) looking for work in Denmark having sailed from their native home of Sweden at the turn of the 20th Century.

Pelle initially idolises his father seeing him as his guardian where his life will be all play, play & play. But the bitter reality is so different - they end up as cowhands for a wealthy country baron. Life is hard even for young boys, and Pelle finds it doubly hard because he is picked on at school because he is a poor immigrant.

Sydow is old & widowed, a man who has had to work all his life, yet his faith in God is undeterred even though he knows he can no longer live up to the young boy's eager expectations. For in spite of all his grandiose words to the boy about whipping those who beat him, when he actually comes face to face with his superiors he crumbles & cowers; all witnessed by a disbelieving Pelle.

By the end of the film Pelle wants to leave this tortured existence and look for a new life in America; yet his disillusioned father no longer has the strength or the will to follow his son's dreams.

A quite remarkable film both in content & style. Everything is so underplayed yet so dynamic; August doesn't have to try too hard to give his actors enough scope to understand their characters and neither does he have to underscore the grim & brutal realities of seeing immigrants ill treated.

There are various examples where he could have gone into explicit detail in order to move us & shock us, but he doesn't. Instead he pulls away from the edge and lets us imagine what may have happened.

In addition the photography by Jörgen Persson is breathtaking; especially the winter scenes of the farm and the nearby coast covered in ice. Persson also does a lot of fixed portrait shots of the leads, spending 20 or 30 seconds framing a face while letting the music & other background noise fade so that there is nothing to distract us as we look into the eyes of the character on view.

But the real honours have to go to the two male leads; Sydow gives his usual sterling performance as the down-trodden man who still tries to be his son's hero. One of most moving scenes is near the end where a blossoming romance with a middle-aged woman comes to a dramatic conclusion and he turns to the demon drink and finally turns his back on God, while his son looks on - pure genius & gut wrenching stuff!

However, even Sydow is placed in the shadows by the young boy, Pelle Hvenegaard. It's as if the part was specially made for this talented youth, especially with his facial looks & big eyes. The film doesn't overpower Hvenegaard, he is not intimidated by the presence of the great Sydow or any of his elders. Instead he plays his own part with a great deal of innocent charm & maturity.

**** SPOILER *****

Perhaps the most emotional scene of all is right at the end of the film, where the boy finally realises that his father is not his saviour after all, just a broken old man with a baggage of broken dreams. The boy has to move on and follow his own dreams in spite of Sydow begging him to stay. The last scene where they stand out in the snow covered field, they shake hands before the boy leaves his father for a better future, is truly gut-wrenching & so moving!

**** SPOILER END ****

The film is not wildly available on tape of DVD, but I urge you to see it if you can. You will be moved in so many different ways.

*****/*****

A beautiful portrayal of immigration and dreams

[Kritic-3 · 9/10 · 23 July 1999]

Pelle The Conqueror is one of the best films I have ever seen. The story describes the journey of Lasse Karlsson(Max Von Sydow), and his little boy, Pelle, as they move from Sweden to Denmark. In Denmark, they hope to find a better life than in Sweden. Lasse Karlsson and his boy, however, find the Danish life brutal and hard. Finding work on a large farm, Pelle and his father struggle to survive. Pelle The Conqueror is about more than their life on this farm. It is more about the dreams of this young boy, and the inspiration, and determination he gains from his first journey. And it is at the same time about how Pelle eventually needs to move on from his father and find more from life. What a magical movie.

Outstanding Male Lead

[tcorbet · 12 March 2005]

Max von Sydow has probably been given proper recognition for his body of work in Europe, but I don't think we have acknowledged that talent sufficiently in America.

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.

I am speechless

[ninoguapo · 10/10 · 31 March 2007]

Sometimes I stumble on a movie which all of the sudden turns out to be a real masterpiece. Pelle the Conqueror really surprised me – touching story told in a unique way. Pelle is a boy from Sweden who immigrates to Denmark with his dad after the death of his mother. They are both full of hope – hope for a new beginning – and there is a scene in the boat on which Pelle wants to hear over and over about the new country they will be living at: "Tell me about it again, papa. It's very different this new country.

• You'll hardly… - You'll hardly believe your eyes. They put raisins in the pork roastand butter on your bread…Some places they put butter on your bread.- And kids are free all day.

• Yes, Pelle, yes. Wages are so incredibly high, that kids…That kids don't have to work." It sounds too good to be true – may be not for you – but imagine what those words meant for a boy who is used to live in a missy , probably due to the hard life he had to live after the death of his mother. As soon as the boat reaches the shore the reality of this new world came out of the dream mist. Finding employment is not as easy especially considering the age of the Pele's father and the fact that he has a small boy with him. At the end they are offered an employment at a large farm, but find the life would present many challenges to them.

The acting is very good – the young Pelle Hvenegaard who plays the role of Pelle is so good that one can thing that he has a dozen of movies in his carrier and probably that is the reason for which 2 years after the movie is released he wins two award for the Best Young Actor in 1988 at the European Film Awards and for Best Young Actor in a Foreign Film in a Foreign Filmat the young artists awards for his role in Pelle the Conqueror.

I watched this movie with constant hope to see happiness in the eyes of Pelle and the moments in which he felt happy was shining like a real diamonds surrounded by the dust of the harsh live he had to deal with. Although Pelle is often refused friendships from the local Danish boys he shows his good heart befriending a boy who has some physical disability – and their friendship through a little odd at times shows that people can find someone to care for , even in the toughest places.

Pelle the Conqueror is classic movie and although some may thing that the story gets a bit depressing at times I recommend it to anyone who treasure excellent coming of age movies.

Lessons in Becoming a Man

[gradyharp · 10/10 · 4 July 2010]

PELLE THE CONQUEROR may now be twenty-three years old as a film but the power and beauty of this epic masterpiece from Denmark still retain the brilliance of its original 1987 theatrical release. Based on a four volume novel by Martin Andersen Nexø the screenplay by writer/director Bille August, Per Olov Enquist, and Bjarne Reuter granted takes only a small portion of the original story and that explains why so much of what happens in this 2 1/2 hour film is only vaguely explained, but the end result is a marvelous drama of the relationship of a father (Lassefar, brilliantly realized by the venerable Max von Sydow), who has pride but has not the courage of his convictions, and a son (Pelle, a masterpiece of young acting by Pelle Hvenegaard) who dreams of finding a life better than the bitterly poor existence he shares with the father he loves. The film takes place in Denmark near the turn of the 19th century over the course of a year and during that time the Pelle encounters peer prejudice from being a Swedish immigrant who has traveled to Denmark for the good life, class distinction between the wealthy landowners and the poverty stricken workers, the double standard of morals of the learned 'role models', death, physical abuse, young love between two lovely people who out of fear drown their infant at birth, the harsh realities of gathering sustenance from laboring the land and the sea, the bonds of true friendship with a bastard child of the land owner, and the disappointment of losing hope of conquering the world by means of accompanying a friend who must remain a vassal for two years who becomes brain damaged in an alteration with the foreman. Yet through all of these lessons Pelle learns about the survival of the fittest and despite all odds being against him, strikes out toward the frozen sea to await his ship of fortune.

This is a film about dreams and realities, about surviving physical and mental stresses, about adapting to the seasons and the struggles of indentured life. The stench of the farm and the grace of the snowfields are captured with amazing perfection by cinematographer Jörgen Persson and the mood of this film's story is accompanied by the music of Stefan Nilsson. The cast is huge and uniformly excellent, much due to the sensitive direction by Bille August. This is a classic film, one that is enjoyed more with repeated viewings. This is definitely one for the home library. Breathtaking.

Grady Harp

A true Masterpiece

[ralphdl · 10/10 · 19 June 2009]

I saw this film in the theater when it was released and it has always stayed with me.

From the first scene that opens like a Danish or Dutch oil painting to the last scene when the father says goodbye to his son in the depths of winter knowing he will never see him again….this film is indeed a masterpiece.

Every scene is a painting and Max Von Sydow and Pelle Hyenegaard are perfect. The character actors, if in fact they were actors, were sometimes disturbingly authentic.

The story is simple. A father searching for a new wife to take care of himself and especially his son while at the same time struggling to survive in very difficult times made even more difficult by the relentless weather.

This is not an upbeat film by any means. It is, however, a triumph of spirit and the love of a father for his son and the son's realization that he has to leave and his father cannot come with him. A new life for the worn out father is not possible in the new world. He accepts that only his young son can have the chance that they cannot have in Denmark…he turns and walks away.

You will never forget this film.

Beautiful Rendering of a Difficult Life

[[e-mail] · 9/10 · 24 February 2008]

Pelle the Conqueror won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language film when it was originally released. Although I did not see it then, it is certainly easy to see why it received that answer. It is an unsparing tale of the life of a Swedish immigrant father and son (Max von Sydow and Pelle Hvenegaard) who have come to Denmark following the death of wife and mother and found work as laborers on a farm in a desolate seaside landscape. It is, to avoid giving details, a terrible life. I'm told that this is a very thin slice from a four-volume novel. So despite the film's 2-1/2 hour length, what we're shown is a tiny piece of a much larger canvas. Max von Sydow, a famous actor in his day, is superb as the elderly father of young Pelle but the child's role is also very well acted, and the direction by Bille August who also wrote the screenplay is unobtrusive but sure-handed. Since it is set in the 19th Century, there is nothing dated about this film. It is a masterwork.

Hard Work and Dreams on the Horizon

[thinker1691 · 7/10 · 27 October 2004]

Max Von Sydow gives a stirring performance as an immigrant father with an enduring dream of conquering the world. Realizing his failure, he instills the dream in his son. Together, they seek a better life in the new land, but are confronted with harsh conditions and a bleak economic system, systemic of poverty and prejudice. The film locations and the fine acting enhance this Danish import. It should be noted that Von Sydow' character is a man possessed with inner strength and is unafraid of the punishing work and low pay, yet in several parts of the story, the father which his son has come to admire, retreats from the simple promises he has given his son. consequentially, the boy learns to accept his father as just an ordinary man with an enduring dream. Don't we all? ***

A classic coming of age film.

[joninfinity · 9/10 · 14 April 2004]

Pelle the Conquerer is an excellent film for its genre. This, a classic coming of age film, is told in a sincere, brutally honest way. There is a sense of realism here, without a sugar coated happy ending. A child, learning the harsh lessons of life, yet undeterred in his thirst for 'conquering' his own, emerging world. The DVD version is 150 minutes long, this, sadly cut down from the film's original release of 160 minutes. What a shame, in the interest of time, to take away from the directors vision. Max von Sydow turns in another fine performance, but the movie belongs to it's young star. His only film, I am sorry to say. Excellent, inspired....

Von Sydow, the Conqueror

[jcappy · 6/10 · 17 January 2008]

I was expecting the Pelle character to be Max Von Sydow... anyway the boy Pelle hardly measures up to Von Sydow, but this is only one of this movie's shortcomings.

To begin, it is much too long. Clip the school scenes. The schoolmaster's role is inconceivably bad and his flock of sex-obsessed children is not only obnoxious but would make Freud himself squirm in his grave. Also, the daughter, and all scenes related to her sub-plot, should be cut. This role adds very little or nothing and seems inserted only to supply the sex/beauty demand. Drop a few other flat characters too---and you drop an hour from the movie.

Speaking of "Pelle's"characters, apart from Lasse (Von Sydow), they all seem to share an inert quality. It's as if they inhabit a Scandinavian winter scene painted by a second tier artist--beautifully set, but filled with people as props. Some are too stereotypical, some too gray, some too general---as if belonging to a wide-angle picture and not to a movie. And although the mother and Eric are potentially convincing and interesting characters it's as if their lines have been loaned out to them. In this sense, "Pelle" is too much like a TV movie.

Another kind of stereotype is the strong association here of poverty and farms with a kind of animal sexuality. The youngest child to the very old seemed to be defined more by a mindless sexual interest than by any other. I mean since when do 5-10 year old kids gang up on adult sexual behavior? Then there's the baron (and son to a point) who can never pass up a chance to roll in the grass and hay with their indentured farmhands. And does the mutilation material really fit an already morbid movie? I've scored "Pelle" a 6, but believe it closer to a 7 (7.8 needs to be countered) The movie, I think, does have three strengths, with the first overshadowing the other two.

Max Von Sydow's acting is exceptional, and it alone is worth the price of the ticket. Whatever problem there might be with his role, he overpowers it. He is utterly convincing as someone fated to poverty on one side and age on the other. Victimization seems to have seeped into his mind, spirit, and body. He calls on no tricks, and never deviates from the character he inhabits whether as a man cowering before the powerful wieldings of his masters, or buckling under one more shattered dream. He is as certain of himself as a proud and determined immigrant as he is as a broken and debilitated man. And he inevitably carries the movie's truth about oppression and discrimination on his back.

Photography is another positive. The Danish landscape, the isolated world of a large farm, the centering big house, the natural world of farmland and seascape, and the snowy winter scenes all add realism, romance, atmosphere, and a sense of place which so often seem lacking.

Finally it is rare to view so original a father-son relationship as the one portrayed here. It can teeter into sentimentality at rare moments--the boy actor is not Von Sydow---but the unabashed closeness between the two is remarkable. No matter how many falls from grace his failure to defend his son may entail, Lasse is a protective and truly loving father.

Life As It Is

[Eumenides_0 · 10/10 · 4 December 2010]

At the end of the 19th century, Lasse and Pelle, father and son, cross the sea separating Sweden from Denmark in pursuit of prosperity and happiness. Lasse, a middle-aged widower, promises his son that in the new country there's work with high wages and 'kids are free all day.' It's the illusions of a hopeful emigrant. In reality they land in Denmark to work almost as slaves at a farm, bound to the owner by a poorly-paid contract that doesn't allow them to leave until they've fulfilled its term.

Bille August's Pelle The Conqueror is harsh. It's a movie about crushed illusions, xenophobia, class differences, power, economic submission, and the cost of freedom. It's not an easy, uplifting movie.

There are two character studies at the center of the film. We've all met Lasse in our life. We all know someone who is cowardly but prone to boasting, who complains about his boss but never stands up to him, who drinks when life doesn't suit him, who makes plans but never does anything to fulfill them. Max Von Sydow gives a great performance as Lasse; he has that rare ability to subtly change his facial expressions from moment to moment, which fits Lasse's mood swings, and he speaks volumes just with his eyes. To play Lasse, a frail middle-aged man, the actor adopts a stooped frame with slow movements, accentuating his weakness. This is one of those rare performances when an actor loses himself in the role he's playing. Max Von Sydow alone is reason enough to watch this movie.

Pelle Hvenegaard, who was 13 at the time, also gives an excellent performance. Pelle is the main character and Hvenegaard holds his ground when he shares a scene with the veteran actor. Pelle is his father's opposite: introspective and a sharp observer. In the farm a lively man called Erik (Björn Granath), fills Pelle's head with new dreams about America and convinces him to save his money so the two can go together. It may turn out to be another disappointment, but it's what keeps Pelle going. Unlike his father, he hasn't lost hope.

This is the conflict at the heart of the film. The scene the two actors share when Pelle asks his father to leave with him is an amazing example of acting, contrasting the two personalities perfectly, Lasse's fear of the unknown against Pelle's determination to change his life.

Besides portraying this conflict, the movie also captures the hardships and cruelty of the farm and community they live in. Right from the start they're discriminated for being Swedes, whom the Danish forearm considers a dumb people fit only for manual work. The foreman dictates the terms, he decides who can rest and when, he threatens rebels like Erik with the police. Pelle's life is even worse because he can't get along with his schoolmates. His only friend is Rut, the bastard son of farm owner and a local peasant. The movie is very critical of the ruling class too, showing its indifference and aloofness. A quick subplot neatly demonstrates the consequences of a farm girl and the son of a landowner falling in love.

Ironically, the film is beautiful to look at, especially when the camera lingers over endless ice-covered fields. There's an atmosphere of stillness and peacefulness. Bille Auguste captures all the beauty of the landscape around the farm, even if it's a deadly landscape, where men can freeze to death during winter. Even when the movie is beautiful its ultimate message seems to be: life is difficult.

Pelle The Conqueror fascinates me because it's not a distant reality it depicts. Who doesn't know what it is to have dreams crushed because of circumstances beyond our control? To be afraid of taking a chance? To submit to and confront authority? To accept life's unexpected pleasures as they come to us? Lasse and Pelle, two opposite approaches to life – resignation or hope – are always with us. This movie is harsh but not harsher than ordinary life.

Pelle the "Oh-My-Gosh-am-I-Lucky"

[otherwisedisliked · 6/10 · 6 May 2005]

My husband and I borrowed this film from our public library because we were working our way through their extensive foreign film section. I normally enjoy historically accurate fiction, as well as documentaries, so this was the next pick, and we brought it home. Now, I have to mention that our daughter, who at the time was 12 also watched this with us, which is quite normal, as we all enjoy foreign films. And, we have seen sorrow and we have seen pain,both in our own lives, and on the big screen, but never wrapped up so closely together as to keep our jaws continuously dropped and our eyes so wide open with angst. I cannot honestly admit to loving this film because of the anguish I felt during and afterward. Our daughter gave up and left the room because it was too sad. My husband tossed folded laundry our home theater screen, and I...well...I began to scratch myself all over, convinced I had fleas or mites, or some other European infestation from the 1800's.

I have no desire to watch this film again, yet I feel compelled to. I will use it in a film course I teach and try to remember not to scratch. I recommend this film to anyone who has a comfortable life, anyone who works in an office and avoids all contact with abject poverty and loss, and especially those interested in pre-industrial culture, 19th century farm work, and above all else, discrimination issues faced then and today.

the grass is greener

[drystyx · 4/10 · 5 September 2012]

This is a difficult film to review, because it is pretty much all of its ingredients, so the best description of it would either be fifteen pages or fifteen words.

"The grass is greener" describes the motif pretty well.

The usual description leads one to think it is totally about "Pelee", but that isn't the case. Many characters and many plots are in this film.

I watched it with some expectations. Max von Sydow is one of the most respected names in acting, and even when he appears in high action apocalyptic films, there is some bit of "thinking" involved.

We usually expect Sydow to be involved in works that are "mystical puzzles", such as "The Seventh Seal" and "The Reward".

But sometimes, like this film, the film is about "reactions". In fact, two things that I was always conscious of while watching this were the title and the "reactions".

Why was it called "Pele the Conqueror"? We come to that at the end.

As for the "reactions", that too is a omen of the ending. The characters don't "think things through". They simply react.

And that does give a very realistic view of the times and the people. It is a story of the hopes of people on a Scandinavian stone farm in the late 1800s. Don't be fooled into thinking that this is a dull "slice of life" film, though.

I am not the most patient viewer, maybe a bit "attention deficit", but this film kept me interested throughout.

I could say more, but then I wouldn't know where to stop. Hopefully, this review gives an idea of what to expect. It has good scenery, and is well made. I feel comfortable in saying that nearly everyone will be pleased by it, and most will be more than pleased.

European cinema at its best

[kipkuhmi · 27 June 2000]

In our days where every director tries to copy the Hollywood way of film making, 'Pelle' freshens our spirits like a healthy European winter breeze. It's all that what Old World cinema stands for: thought-provoking, real and full of silent passion. Both actors are marvelous in their roles, and especially Max von Sydow who has played every character from super-villains to torn crusaders in his career gives a performance that will forever shine out as a master example that you don't have to pretend you're a death sick, blind, and mentally retarded neurotic alcoholic to win at least the Oscar nomination.

Again..a pleasant surprise!

[vdg · 10/10 · 27 April 2004]

Very few films can stand up so well as this one. I was very pleasant surprised when I got the DVD from the public library and I realized that I had and in my hands an unknown gem. Starting with the costumes, that are probably the most realistic ones I've seen in many movies; the actors that just perfect for their parts (specially the kids..) and finishing with a brilliant director that to me was quite unknown( I realized later that is the same one from `Misérables, Les'). If there is something missing or maybe not as good as the rest of the film is the MUSIC. Sometimes it lives up to the quality of the movie, but most of the time is just missing or is not really appropriate for the particular scene..sorry, but that's my opinion! Most of the people think that the characters are not well developed and not coherent , but to me adaptation of the book is always hard to follow, so maybe that's why you get the feeling that something is missing… The movie ranks on top of my `all times favorites', a true European masterpiece!

Marvel comparable with the Egypt Pyramids, but unrecognized by the film critics

[ediklau · 10/10 · 1 January 2011]

I guess I can write a complete book as a review of this film. I can't even believe such a story could so perfectly complete every point of what a perfect film must be and an excellent story and a perfect lesson of wisdom and life in the same time, just 150'. It's one of the top five best films I've ever seen. I could only compare it with the all wonders of mankind throughout History. I'll never forget many scenes of the film (even my usual absolute lack of memory) and the magic night I saw it with my family (that time 2 boys of 9 and 12 years, and my wife) we got stared from start to end, in complete silence, enjoying every moment in full expectation, the kids understood perfectly all the film, also my wife and me (of course I cried for me in silence). We saw the film in the LCD screen of my PC in my office room; we were first having the new LCD monitor, not so comfortably sitting, and a little close to the screen, but all that didn't mind. We got one of the deepest gathering unforgettable emotion of our whole family lives. Advice: Watch the film in calm silence, better in Winter, better by night, not in bed. Expect some day justice is made to the film, director and actors, giving it the celebrity it deserves.

A masterpiece

[K-Hjorth · 10/10 · 24 July 1999]

This is the first word that comes to mind when I think of Pelle Erobreren. I've watched this movie several times now during the last 10 years and it gets better every time. You feel exactly what Pelle goes through, and the movie gives a good description of how life was in Denmark (and Scandinavia) many years ago - the difference between rich and poor, the difference between having accepted your life and wanting chances. Pelle Hvenegaard acts like a professional... Too bad we haven't seen him in other movies. I give it 10!

One of the best films about immigration and father - son relationship

[Galina_movie_fan · 9/10 · 10 October 2005]

If any film ever deserves a sequel, "Pelle the Conqueror" is it. In the admirable winner of both the Palme d'Or at Cannes and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language film, Max von Sydow (in his only Oscar nominated performance) is Lasse, a Swedish middle- aged widower who takes his young son Pelle from impoverished ninetieth century Sweden to Denmark in search and hope of finding a better life. Because of his age and lack of any specific job skills, Lasse is forced to become a laborer on a farm, with Pelle helping him out. You know, when my family and I first came to America in 1991, one of our new friends, himself a "new American" told us one thing that I always remember, "No matter what, every immigrant is going to eat a lot of dirt, some - more, some- less". Lasse and Pelle of Billie August's superb drama had been served plenty of that meal – they had to sleep in a former chicken coop, they are poor, Pelle is bullied by kids at the local school. Lasse meets a nice local woman whose husband has been lost at sea and wants to marry her but the husband returns…Lasse and his son will go through many of cruelties and indignities together but they always remain devoted to each other. Their relationship is not only of a son and his father but also of two loyal friends. In the end, Pelle has realized that the farm is no place for him, and I want to know what happens to him and to his father next – but there is no sequel for this involving, moving, and simply magnificent movie yet. 9.5/10

Impressive cinematography, mise en scène, & performances cannot overshadow the depressing pacing & plot.

[ASuiGeneris · 6/10 · 4 September 2017]

I wanted to really like this. I really did. Luscious scenery, amazing long shots, admirable mise en scène, lovely cinematography. Excellent acting from the two main actors. First, the well known Max von Sydow as a frustratingly timid father that we somehow hate while loving. Through Sydow's skilled performance, we can see how much he loves his son, yet not enough to overcome his cowardliness. Then we have young Pelle, played by Pelle Hvenegaard. No, not a complete coincidence. The actor was actually named after the character he is playing; the film is based on Martin Andersen Nexø's 1906 novel by the same name, Volume 1/4. Maybe this motivated the actor to give such an impressive debut performance.

Aside from all this, however, the sum is less than its parts. This coming of age story has very little humor and even less moments to truly smile during. One terrible thing after another, the only predictable thing being that something else bad or worse is sure to come next. I have never been one to demand or even ask for fairy tale endings. Indeed, I actually appreciate the more realistic examinations of life. Unfortunately, there is a right way to do this and a wrong way to do this, and somehow "Pelle the Conquerer" fell short.

During the course of the film, young Pelle is tormented by his schoolmates and humiliated by the apprentice overseer; a girl gives birth to her employer's son's bastard child and is dragged off to prison for murdering it; the son, who really killed the baby, sacrifices himself while trying to rescue a ship in a storm; some new emigrants turn up frozen to death in a boat, the local mutant halfwit lets Pelle whip him with stinging nettles for half a crown; the only rebellious farmhand gets bashed in with a rock and turned into a shuffling retard; the landowner's miserable wife lobs her husband's penis (Yes, you read correctly); Lasse thinks he will have a cushy berth married to a comfortable widow but her husband comes back alive; the halfwit runs away to the sideshow; the schoolmaster drops dead in class and Pelle finally decides enough is enough and leaves through the snowy wastes to an indefinite future chronicled in three more books and presumably future films. Except there are no other films; only the books.

The result is a film that was not paced well, with many what the ? moments and a whole lot of depressing ones.

The good did not outweigh the bad in this film that could have been far better.

torment of the human spirit

[lee_eisenberg · 10/10 · 9 September 2016]

The opening scene in Bille August's "Pelle erobreren" ("Pelle the Conqueror" in English) shows a father and his son moving from their native country to a new one in search of a better life. The father finds work on a farm, but gets subjected to abuse every step of the way while his son gets bullied. The movie takes place in Denmark in the 1800s but could just as easily apply to a modern setting, as people continue to leave their native countries in search of a better life elsewhere, accepting the inevitable abuse. As for what we find out about the employer, that's probably a common occurrence also.

Max von Sydow puts in an outstanding performance as the desperate father, always thinking of his son. The movie won a well deserved Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, only the second Danish film to do so.

All in all, the Scandinavian countries have turned out some masterful cinema. I highly recommend this one. Bille August later directed the 1998 adaptation of "Les miserables".

Worth missing Big Brother for.

[andrew-hickson-1 · 7/10 · 28 September 2006]

A slightly bum-numbing 2 1/2 hours but a fine film nevertheless. The scene where Pelle cries in disbelief as his father loses his final shred of dignity in yielding to the Trainee (after promising to whip him) is excellent.

I wasn't going to say anymore but the IMDb guidelines insist that all comments need to be at least 10 lines long. So I'll go on to say that this was the first Danish Film I have seen and am therefore unable to compare it to others (unless "Hans Christian Anderssen" counts). I have, however, been watching a number of foreign films lately as the Independent newspaper has been giving away DVDs. As foreign language films go it's better than Norwegian (Closely Observed Trains), better than Italian (Francis, God's Jester) but still someway behind French (The Return of Martin Guerre).

A touching masterpiece, much better than most Hollywood movies...

[haifengg · 10/10 · 11 August 2000]

This is one of the best foreign movies I've ever seen. The actors performed very well. And the director has done a good job too. The story is touching. It's a must-see masterpiece, much better than most Hollywood movies.

Converting a disappointment into new hope

[frankde-jong · 7/10 · 24 March 2024]

Emigration is a great subject for films. The misery at the beginning, the hope in the middle and often the desillusion at the end.

Usually the country of destination is America. Often the country of origin is Italy (for example the first episode in "KAOS" (1984, Paolo and Vittorio Taviani) and many films of Martin Scorsese). Sometimes the country of origin is Ireland, as in "Brooklyn" (2015, John Crowley).

The country of origin being one of the Scandinavian countries is less common, maybe because Scandinavian countries are seen today as very prosperous. However in "Fargo" (1996, Joel and Ethan Coen) Scandinavian people in the state of Minnesota play a prominent role. More explicit about the emigration from Scandinavia to the United States of Americs is Jan Troell in his major works "The emigrants" (1971) and "New land" (1972).

"Pelle erobreren" is about emigration within Scandinavia, from Sweden to Denmark, by Pelle (Pelle Hvenegaard) and his father Lasse (Max von Sydow). After the arrival in Denmark Lasse and Pelle have a hard time. Lasse is too old to find a job easily and Pelle too young.

Apart from emigration it is a film about coming of age. In two pivotal scenes Pelle sees that his father has not the courage to fight against their oppressing and exploitative employers and that his ambition does not go very much further than coffee in bed on Sundays.

Lasse does not possess the energy anymore to convert a disappointment in new hope (i.e. A further emigration). Pelle does!

Judging by the title Pelle is the main character, but in my opinion Lasse is equally important for the story. Although not a hero this character is easy to understand and sympathetic in his own non heroic way. The character of Lassse is played very convincingly by Max von Sydow. A regular Ingmar Bergman actor in the '50s and '60's, at the time of release of "Pelle erobreren" (1987) many would have thought that vom Sydow was in the autumn of his career. In reality he would go on acting nearly until his death in 2020.

In an Italian rural way.

[dbdumonteil · 5/10 · 15 May 2002]

In spite of the presence of Bergman's veteran Max Von Sydow,this movie harks back to the Italian rural cinema of the seventies ,with a zest of "ladri di biciclette "thrown in.

The very long Italian sagas of the seventies,"novecento" (1976,Bertolucci) and "l'albero degi zoccoli" (1978,Ermano Olmi)comes naturally to mind.From Bertolucci's work,Erik's character:he's the only one who has a political awareness,almost an anomaly in a movie where "everyman for himself and God for us all!"seems the motto,particularly the young hero's.It's not surprising that ,in the wake of an accident,Erik loses his mind.The owners couple is also Bertolucciesque,and the castration scene could fit in "novecento" . Actually,August's movie seems closer to "l'albero degli zoccoli":it's a rather static work-not meant pejoratively- which lacks Bertolucci's lyricism and epics.Except for Pelle,and Erik,all are resigned,and day in, day out,we attend the simple and hard life of the farm workers;sometimes it's heart-wrenching,and sometimes it drags on a bit.

The most interesting character is the central one,Pelle.He's a very ambiguous one;the title "the conqueror" is thoroughly justified:unlike Erik,he intuitively understands that rebellion is pointless.You've got to know the rules of the game,and the way to the conquest goes through education,therefore school.His relationship with his father (Von Sydow) is not so warm it appears at first sight.Pelle feels humiliated when he sees, through the keyhole ,his father unable to defend himself against his very young boss;it could recall "laddi di biciclette",but in that latter work,the child did not despise his father,in August 's Work,he does.And eventually,he leaves his father alone ,a father whose life was never fulfilled and now would have to die on his own.Under an academic veneer,it's an apology of individual social advancement-as the scene in which Von Sydow marvels at his son's school prowess shows-,and too bad for those who fall by the wayside.