A Film With a View

For Lasse and Pelle Karlsson, the world is a desolate, unrewarding place. The father and son couple who star in Pelle the Conqueror have migrated from Sweden to Denmark, and their troubles begin as soon as they step off the boat.

Pelle the Conqueror

Directed by Bille August

Mirimax Films, 1989

Showing at the USA Harvard Square

The plot of Pelle the Conqueror is an adaption of the first of four volumes of a novel written by Martin Anderson Nexo. Lasse finds a position as a lowly stable hand on Stone Farm, which is owned by sexually promiscuous, bourgeois businessman. And though this is not the best of jobs nor the best of living accommodations, Lasse and Pelle try to hold on to their pride and their hope for a better future.

Fabulous cinematography and directoral attention to detail make Pelle, which was named best film at the Cannes Film Festival last year, an outstanding movie. These qualities are evident in an early scene where Lasse and Pelle have just entered their new living quarters. Although the two have been able to transform this sty into an orderly and respectable bedroom, they could not get rid of the many flies.

As Pelle (Pelle Hvenegaard) lies on the bed after taking a beating from some of the farm hands, the flies swarm about his soiled T-shirt. Here and throughout the film, the viewer gets a very real sense of the poverty in which he and his father live. And the juxtaposition of this poverty with the plush interior of Lasse's house in the following scene brings the viewer to a heightened awareness of their living conditions.

This scene is important in many ways. Here, for the first time, we see the true nature of the lovable yet weak father, Lasse (Max von Sydow). Amidst the filth of the small room in which his son has just been whipped, Lasse says with defiance, "Your mother was worried I couldn't take care of you." For all of his efforts and earnest desire, Lasse will never be the role model for which young Pelle longs. He promises to revenge wrongs committed against Pelle, yet he is unable to fulfill the promises, and his moments of strength are few.

Writer/director of Pelle Bille August uses this early scene to show the emerging conqueror in the young Pelle. As Lasse tells his son of his chances for the future, he says, "you're still young. You can conquer the world."

And conquering is exactly what Pelle has in mind. Though he may not have grand visions of political conquest or public grandeur, he does aspire to make his own decisions and determine his own way of life. With the ill-fated Lasse, this seems almost impossible.

The 138-minute film is a series of vignettes portraying more of the father-son couple's adventures during their year at Stone Farm. It is generally a study of the character interaction between Lasse and Pelle, but there are several more scenes which allow the supporting cast to show off their talents. And as the script calls for a show of diverse emotions from both characters, the remarkable abilities of the young Pelle are particularly evident.

Hvenegaard, now 14, was chosen to play Pelle from an audition against 4000 other young actors. Before the filming of Pelle, he had never acted before and was chosen to audition based on a photograph sent to the producers of the movie. Interestingly enough, his mother named him for the lead character of Nexo's novel while she was still pregnant.

The outstanding cinematography that dominates Pelle is particularly evident in the scenes that are shot near the sea. Because August and director of photography Jorgen Persson use the sea to represent young Pelle's conquering longings, the shots of the water are thematically noteworthy. Each one is evenly proportioned, with clear divisions of landscape representing Pelle's hopeful horizon.

It is the blending of impressionistic cinematography with the realism of the harsh farm life, paired with a character study script, that make Pelle the Conqueror a 19th century novel on screen.

If only for its beautiful and effective interweaving of visuals and dialogue, the film is well worth seeing. But more than just a "pretty movie," Pelle the Conqueror is one that engages the viewer in an emotionaly wrenching and intriguing story. It is certainly worthy of the many awards it has recieved-and more.