Altid ballade

Sigrid Horne Rasmussen had a tragic role in 'Billet Mrk.' but fought on despite setbacks, and in this film she is also a fighter. This time she is the mother of five and she works with determination to keep her kids out of trouble in the harsh concrete jungle. Showing working class conditions was not common in films during the fifties, but here you had a family of seven cramped together in a small apartment with the S-train rumbling by outside the windows. There is warmth, depth and strength in the solid Helga keeping the family together. You come to think of the mother figure Jane Darwell in 'The Grapes of Wrath', who also try to keep things from falling apart. Back then you had less daycare so it was up to the family itself to steer clear of criminal activities lurking in the very neighborhood. Made from a story by socially responsible Leck Fischer this film by Gabriel Axel is still one of his best achievements.