Sophie's World (1999)
"Sofies verden" (original title)

Sofie is an ordinary Norwegian girl. One day she recieves a video tape on which a certain Alberto Knox talks directly to her from ancient Greece. They then start to meet at different ... See full summary »

Director:

Erik Gustavson

Writers:

Jostein Gaarder (novel), Petter Skavlan

Stars:

Silje Storstein, Tomas von Brömssen, Andrine Sæther

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Silje Storstein	...	Sofie Amundsen / Hilde Møller Knag
Tomas von Brömssen	...	Alberto Knox
Andrine Sæther	...	Sofie's mother
Bjørn Floberg	...	Major Albert Knag
Hans Alfredson	...	Socrates (as Hasse Alfredson)
Nils Vogt	...	Lærer Jacobsen
Minken Fosheim	...	Hildes mor
Edda Trandum Grjotheim	...	Jorunn
Arne Haakonaasen Dahl	...	Georg / Mischa / Giovanni (as Arne Haakenaasen Dahl)
Sullivan Lloyd Nordrum	...	Jørgen
Kjersti Holmen	...	Fru Johnsen
Ingar Helge Gimle	...	Herr Johnsen
Giorgos Floros	...	Meletos (as Giorgios Floros)
Sven Henriksen	...	Platon
Mark Tandy	...	William Shakespeare

Storyline

Sofie is an ordinary Norwegian girl. One day she recieves a video tape on which a certain Alberto Knox talks directly to her from ancient Greece. They then start to meet at different occasions and throughout the film, Alberto takes Sofie on an odyssey of the history of philosophy, from ancient Greece, over the Roman empire, the Middle ages, the renaissance, the enlightenment, the big revolutions and up to today. Throughout this journey, they start to realise that they are only fictions of a story writer's imagination and start conceiving a plan for escaping into reality.

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Plot Keywords:

philosophy | plato | robin hood | hamlet | teen | 

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | History

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Details

Country:

Norway Sweden

Language:

Norwegian German Swedish

Release Date:

6 August 1999 (Norway)

Also Known As:

El mundo de Sofía

Filming Locations:

Acropolis, Athens, Greece

Box Office

Budget:

NOK 70,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$16,875 (Denmark) (19 November 1999)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Audiovisuellt Produksjonsfond, Danmarks Radio (DR), Filmkameratene A/S

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Upon it's release in 1999 it was the most expensive film to date in Norway.

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Connections

Followed by Sofies verden (2000)

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Soundtracks

"Internationale"
Written by Pierre Degeyter (as P. Degeiter) and Eugène Pottier (as E. Pote)
Moscow Choir and Radio Ensemble

User Reviews

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O.K. No one really expected a film to portray in a few hours what Gaarder painstakingly created in his bestselling novel, but this film doesn't even come close to capturing the essence of Sofie's philosophical journey through adolescence.

The amateurish efforts of some of the cast distracts one's attention from the extremely simplified storyline. Will probably appeal to kids but we adults should stick to the book. Might I suggest a BBC television production? Perhaps a ten part series with professional actors and more subtlety. A big budget is, (contrary to popular convention), not as necessary as it may seem for the modern film-maker. Despite being the "biggest" and "most expensive" Norwegian film ever made, "Sofies Verden", is, unfortunately, far from being the best.