The Angel (2009)
"Engelen" (original title)

As the film opens, a doped-up Lea (Maria Bonnevie) makes an extremely bad impression on her baby daughter's foster parents; later, flashbacks reveal her disturbing youth and young adulthood... See full summary »

Director:

Margreth Olin

Writer:

Margreth Olin

Stars:

Lena Endre, Maria Bonnevie, Antti Reini

3 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Lena Endre
Maria Bonnevie	...	Lea
Antti Reini
Börje Ahlstedt
Benjamin Helstad	...	Henrik
Amanda Jean Kvakland	...	Stine
Gunilla Röör
Emir Mulasmanovic

Storyline

As the film opens, a doped-up Lea (Maria Bonnevie) makes an extremely bad impression on her baby daughter's foster parents; later, flashbacks reveal her disturbing youth and young adulthood. From the wrong side of the tracks, Lea grows up in a small house on the edge of the forest. When her father dies, her fragile mother Madelene takes up with the jealous alcoholic Ole. Unable to prevent Madelene from being beaten, Lea winds up as a substance abuser.

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Plot Keywords:

father daughter relationship | drug overdose | heroin addiction | male nudity | drug rehabilitation | 

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Taglines:

There's no louder cry than being a heroin addict.

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

Norway Sweden Finland

Language:

Norwegian Swedish

Release Date:

2 October 2009 (Norway)

Also Known As:

The Angel

Filming Locations:

Norway

Box Office

Budget:

€2,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Speranza Films A/S

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Norway's official submission to the 83rd Academy Awards for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

User Reviews

Rehab.

Yesterday I revisited one of my favorite comedies of all time with Bruce Robinson's 'Withnail & I' (1987), and as the film starts we see the "I"-character seated in the living room with an expression on his face signalizing depression, uncertainty and paranoia, and I've always wondered what the character is thinking about in that moment, exactly what has he experienced. Well, now I know.

Earlier the same day I went to the cinema seeing Margreth Olin's first feature-debut 'Engelen' ('The Angel'). We get to know Lea (Bonnevie), a troubled young woman whose sad childhood has lead her life into heroin addiction. She feels a sustaining relation to her difficult mother who's lead herself into a problematic relationship of alcohol abuse, drugs and rape after her husband's tragic cancer-death. Lea sees her mother fading away, as she herself in early age slips into depressing thoughts of guilt, misunderstanding and loneliness. But you have to know when to stop - I left the cinema 40 minutes in and had a urging need for rehab after this horrible film experience.