I Am Dina (2002)

In Northern Norway during the 1860s, a little girl named Dina accidentally causes her mother's death. Overcome with grief, her father refuses to raise her, leaving her in the care of the ... See full summary »

Director:

Ole Bornedal

Writers:

Ole Bornedal, Jonas Cornell

Stars:

Maria Bonnevie, Gérard Depardieu, Christopher Eccleston

9 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Maria Bonnevie	...	Dina
Gérard Depardieu	...	Jacob
Christopher Eccleston	...	Leo Zhukovsky
Bjørn Floberg	...	Edvard, Dina's Father
Pernilla August	...	Hjertrud, Dina's Mother
Amanda Jean Kvakland	...	Little Dina
Hans Matheson	...	Tomas
Jørgen Langhelle	...	Anders
Mads Mikkelsen	...	Niels
Wenche Foss	...	Mistress Karen
Søren Sætter-Lassen	...	Lorch
Kate Hardie	...	Stine
Bodil Udsen	...	Olivia
Mateen Sandvik Ram	...	Little Thomas
Eli Anne Linnestad	...	Housekeeper

Storyline

In Northern Norway during the 1860s, a little girl named Dina accidentally causes her mother's death. Overcome with grief, her father refuses to raise her, leaving her in the care of the household servants. Dina grows up wild and unmanageable, with her only friend being the stable boy, Tomas. She summons her mother's ghost and develops a strange fascination with death as well as a passion for living. Family friend Jacob encourages Dina's father to hire Lorch, a tutor who introduces her to the cello. When Dina is old enough, she marries Jacob and moves to Reinsnes, a port he runs with his mother, Karen, and his stepsons Niels and Anders . Niels doesn't like Dina's wild ways, or the fact that she has taken over accounting duties at Reinsnes. Dina's eccentric tendencies become even stronger, eventually leading Jacob into an accident of his own and bringing Tomas back into her life.

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Plot Keywords:

accounting | norway | 1860s | first time sex | older woman younger man sex | 

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Taglines:

This is my story

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Bluecom AS (norwegian, english) [Norway]

Country:

Norway Sweden France Germany Denmark

Language:

English Norwegian French

Release Date:

8 March 2002 (Norway)

Also Known As:

Dina

Filming Locations:

Kjerringøy, Bodø, Nordland, Norway

Box Office

Budget:

NOK 141,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

ApolloMedia Distribution, Felicia Film, Gemini Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min 122 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Norway's official submission to the 75th Academy Awards for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

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Quotes

Dina's Father: He's to be called Jacob of course?
Dina: No, he's not. He's to be called Benjamin.
Dina's Father: Benjamin? Nobody in our family has ever been called "Benjamin".
Dina: You can brawl all you like, it will be as I say.

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Soundtracks

Dina
Written and Performed by Jorane

User Reviews

A romantic story

"I am Dina" tells us a romantic story, which takes place in the romantic era of Europe.

When I'm saying romantic, I think of the the original meaning of the word, which means something like: emotions at a cosmic scale and importance.

Dina is a joyful child, until a truly unfortunate accident, which scars her soul for eternity, and makes her grow up to be a very troubled woman. On the other hand, she is beautiful, and witty, so men find her very attracting. Now she has to choose herself a man, and a life.

I've always been in trouble with the typical romantic setting (and this film is a fine example for that), for mostly it makes the most illogical (yet, stereotypical) plots, and the best acting performances come together in a film.

And that's the exact same case here. Characters in this movie are endlessly ruining each others life, just because they feel like it. They never think. Never learn. They're all passionate, stubborn, selfish, arrogant people, with a high emotional level, and absolute no sense of reality. And that's what it makes all performances very strong, yet very melodramatic. And since it's a pretty long movie, all this kind of approach, and all the suffering gets a bit too much, too overreacted, and too monotone as the movie flows, and you find yourself waiting for the end. Te tension is always in the air, but it makes you numb after awhile.

But technically, this film is flawless. That's the way it should go. Only a bit shorter maybe.

(I didn't have any problems with the accents of various actors. And since American dubbing voices for foreign movies mostly turn out to be failures, I think this is the best way they could execute this film)