We Shall Overcome (2006)

A drama about a boy who's inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and challenges repressive school authority in 1969 Denmark.

Director:

Niels Arden Oplev

Writers:

Steen Bille, Niels Arden Oplev

Stars:

Bent Mejding, Anders W. Berthelsen, Jens Jørn Spottag

17 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bent Mejding	...	Lindum-Svendsen
Anders W. Berthelsen	...	Freddie Svale
Jens Jørn Spottag	...	Peder
Anne-Grethe Bjarup Riis	...	Stine
Peter Hesse Overgaard	...	Erling
Sarah Juel Werner	...	Iben
Janus Dissing Rathke	...	Frits
Elin Reimer	...	Farmor
Gyrd Løfquist	...	Farfar
Lasse Borg	...	Søren
Daniel Ørum	...	Troels
Kurt Ravn	...	Lægen
Steen Stig Lommer	...	Lærer Olsen
Joy-Maria Frederiksen	...	Ibens mor
Peter Schrøder	...	Kirkesanger

Storyline

Denmark 1969. When 13 year old Frits is caught in the girls locker room, school principal Svendsen almost tears Frits' ear off. It has to be stitched in the hospital. The doctor says this time the principal has gone a step too far. Parents, colleagues, and class mates react affected by the incident. But it's not that easy to file a child abuse charge against the powerful principal who is highly esteemed in the small community. When the police say it's a school matter, Frits' parents are hesitant about going to the school board because other parents had to move away after their child abuse charge was turned down. But with the help of young hippie teacher Freddie and some of Frits' classmates, the determination of Frits' parents grows to bring down the violent principal.

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Plot Keywords:

principal | blond boy | teacher student relationship | schoolboy | racial slur | 

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Genres:

Drama | Family

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Denmark

Language:

Danish

Release Date:

24 March 2006 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

Der Traum

Filming Locations:

Ærø, Denmark

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$113,792

Company Credits

Production Co:

Zentropa Entertainments

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director and co-author Niels Arden Oplev had a school mate whose ear almost had been ripped off by the school principal.

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Goofs

When the parents are driving to the School Board hearing, they drive by a house with a large satellite dish on the side.

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Connections

Featured in DR2 tema: Året der kommer (2008)

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Soundtracks

We Shall Overcome
Traditional, arranged by Zilphia Horton, Guy Carawan, Frank Hamilton, and Pete Seeger
American Freedom Song

User Reviews

A rousing family film with its nose right on the money.

Insisting that Martin Luther King's inspirational spirit resides not just in American civil liberties but inside the hearts and minds of people everywhere, Danish helmer Niels Arden Oplev transplants this belief to a 1969 Danish middle school. More specifically, it works its way into the crusade of a young boy named Frits (Janus Dissing Rathke) against his oppressively rigid and churlishly abusive headmaster Svendsen (Bent Mejding). Adapted from a true story, the performances are executed with certain aplomb and a refreshing command over its varied characters keeps it involving. A battle of ideologies between a 13 year-old and a demented disciplinarian gives way to inherent humour but awkward shifts in mood disorients despite keeping it shrewdly cynical in the same vein as a "Dead Poets Society" more than a "Matilda". It treads a familiar path but a continued and precise service to its young protagonist including a personal subplot that rounds off Frits as a young boy becoming a young man, manages to raise the film into a rousing family film with its nose right on the money.