"The Girl With the Needle" Premieres at Cannes Film Festival
Cannes, France – Magnus van Horn's latest film, "The Girl With the Needle," made its debut at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. This expressionist monochrome drama is loosely based on the real events surrounding Denmark's notorious 1921 baby-killer case. The film is a macabre portrayal of post-World War I Copenhagen, where women’s lives are entangled in desperation and societal neglect.
The plot centers around Karoline, played by Vic Carmen Sonne, a poverty-stricken young woman whose husband is missing in action. Karoline ends up in a prohibited affair with the owner of a textile mill, only to face parental disapproval and the return of her disfigured husband. In her distress, she tries to self-terminate her pregnancy with a knitting needle in a public bathhouse. There, she encounters Dagmar Overbye, portrayed by Trine Dyrholm, a shopkeeper who deceptively offers to get babies adopted for a fee.
The film incorporates nerve-abraiding musical scores by Frederikke Hoffmeier, enhancing its anxiety-inducing atmosphere. Although speculative fiction, the narrative explores themes of mass suffering and societal indifference, drawing parallels to the emotional detachment of wartime.
Van Horn's work intertwines the lives of the real serial killer and a fictionalized victim-client, though this choice has drawn some critique for potentially diluting the antagonist's narrative impact. Nevertheless, "The Girl With the Needle" stands out for its gripping performances and technical prowess, compelling audiences to confront the harrowing period's grim realities.