Pelle the Conqueror (1987)
"Pelle erobreren" (original title)

The end of the 19th century. A boat filled with Swedish emigrants comes to the Danish island of Bornholm. Among them are Lasse and his son Pelle who move to Denmark to find work. They find ... See full summary »

Director:

Bille August

Writers:

Martin Andersen Nexø (novel), Bille August (screenplay),

Stars:

Pelle Hvenegaard, Max von Sydow, Erik Paaske

Won 1 Oscar. Another 22 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Pelle Hvenegaard	...	Pelle
Max von Sydow	...	Lassefar
Erik Paaske	...	Forvalter / Foreman
Björn Granath	...	Erik (as Bjørn Granath)
Astrid Villaume	...	Fru Kongstrup / Mrs. Kongstrup
Axel Strøbye	...	Kongstrup
Troels Asmussen	...	Rud
Kristina Törnqvist	...	Anna
Karen Wegener	...	Madam Olsen / Mrs. Olsen
Sofie Gråbøl	...	Jomfru Sine / Miss Sine
Lars Simonsen	...	Niels Køller
Buster Larsen	...	Ole Køller
John Wittig	...	Skolelærer / School teacher
Troels Munk	...	Læge / Doctor
Nis Bank-Mikkelsen	...	Præst / Clergyman

Storyline

The end of the 19th century. A boat filled with Swedish emigrants comes to the Danish island of Bornholm. Among them are Lasse and his son Pelle who move to Denmark to find work. They find employment at a large farm, but are treated as the lowest form of life. Pelle starts to speak Danish but is still harassed as a foreigner. But none of them wants to give up their dream of finding a better life than the life they left in Sweden.

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Plot Keywords:

bornholm | 19th century | denmark | farm | corpse | 

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Taglines:

De trodde att världen skulle bli deras

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Denmark Sweden

Language:

Scanian Danish Swedish

Release Date:

21 December 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Pelle the Conqueror

Filming Locations:

Bornholm, Denmark

Box Office

Gross:

$2,053,931 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Per Holst Filmproduktion, Svensk Filmindustri (SF), Odyssey Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

157 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Pelle Hvenegaard, who plays the leading part, is actually named after the title character himself.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Pelle: Father?
Lassefar: Everything's gonna be fine.
Pelle: Tell it again.
Lassefar: This new country we're going to is very different.
Pelle: Talk 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 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: Tell it again.
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in A Conversation with Lars von Trier About the Europe Trilogy (2005)

User Reviews

European cinema at its best

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.