The Girl with the Needle(2024)

Having been trained as a journalist, I’m generally not one to back away from an unsettling story, whether told through reporting or on the silver screen. However, there are times when I have to question the wisdom of whether certain films should be made in the first place. Just because it can be done, in my estimation, does not necessarily mean that it should be done. Such is the case with writer-director Magnus…

Reviewed on December 23, 2024

I really enjoyed this movie. It was dark, chilling, unsettling and very real. The cinematography took me away. It immersed me so much from picture to picture. Yes, this movie is grotesque and pushes a boundary. But the storytelling is quite fascinating, I love how they created something equally unsettling as it is masterful. Thanks a lot!

Reviewed on January 27, 2025

The Girl with the Needle: Technical Brilliance, Narrative Limitations Magnus Van Horn's "The Girl with the Needle" is a masterclass in period production design and atmospheric storytelling, yet ultimately falls short of its narrative potential. Set in the bleak landscape of post-World War I Denmark, the film is visually extraordinary. The cinematography and production design meticulously reconstruct a world ravaged…

Reviewed on February 14, 2025

Just after the end of the Great War, the young and expecting “Karoline” (Vic Carmen Sonne) finds herself alone and with little prospects after confusion around whether her soldier husband is alive or dead reigns and she is swiftly shunned by the family of her lover, the father of her unborn child. Through the grapevine, she learns of “Dagmar” (Trine Dyrholm) who runs a popular sweet shop that doubles up as an…

Reviewed on April 17, 2025