Misery Harbour (1999)

A young writer named Espen Arnakke tells the story of his escape from the small Danish town of Jante. Espen boards a ship headed to Newfoundland, but the harsh conditions on board makes him... See full summary »

Director:

Nils Gaup

Writers:

Sigve Endresen, Aksel Sandemose (novel),

Stars:

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Stuart Graham, Anneke von der Lippe

2 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau	...	Espen Arnakke
Stuart Graham	...	John Wakefield
Anneke von der Lippe	...	Jenny
Graham Greene	...	Burly
Bjørn Floberg	...	Johan Hoeg
Hywel Bennett	...	The Captain
Margot Finley	...	Eva
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Anthony Ayre	...	Older Man
Sturla Berg-Johansen	...	Waiter
Marina Bouras	...	Rose
Jeanne Bøe	...	Cafe Guest (as Jeanne Bøe Larsen)
Philip Dinn
Niels Martin Eriksen	...	Elvind
Espen Haavardsholm	...	Cafe Guest
Mats Helin	...	The Cook

Storyline

A young writer named Espen Arnakke tells the story of his escape from the small Danish town of Jante. Espen boards a ship headed to Newfoundland, but the harsh conditions on board makes him jump ship, and he ends up in the little town of Misery Harbour. There he meets the girl of his dreams. But his passion shifts to jealousy when one of the men from the ship mysteriously appears in town, and sets out to make Espen's life a misery.

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Plot Keywords:

escape | rough captain | male rear nudity | travel | spanking | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Motlys Norwegian Film Institute

Country:

Sweden Norway Denmark Canada

Language:

Danish Norwegian English

Release Date:

3 September 1999 (Norway)

Also Known As:

Flugten fra Jante

Filming Locations:

Gander, Newfoundland, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

Box Office

Gross:

$239,139 (Norway) (22 October 1999)

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Color:

Color

User Reviews

A fascinating and dramatic story

"Misery Harbour" is the story of the young Dane Espen Arnakke's (Coster Waldau) life, which he tells us about through a book he is writing some years later, read by his friend Jenny (von der Lippe). About his rather miserable adolescence in the Danish town of Jante, his escape from there on board a ship on its way to Newfoundland, his life in Canada, and how one person can spoil so much for another, John Wakefield (Graham).

Directed by Nils Gaup ("Ofelas", Academy Award nominee for best foreign language film in 88), it is a visual delight, accompanied by some great music, which suits the atmosphere perfectly. The storyline is also fascinating, showing how Espen gets to learn that the norm from his hometown, basically saying that you aren't supposed to believe you are anything, exists in other places as well. The acting is solid throughout, especially by Stuart Graham, who manages to keep a certain nerve to the cruel character he plays until the very end.

Overall, I must say I was impressed (and it's not often I say that about a Norwegian production), and if you bump over it, you should see it.