Written by Kenza Bouhnass-Parra
The Girl With the Needle (von Horn, 2024) is probably the biggest surprise out of all the films I had the opportunity to see at this year’s Montreal Film Festival (Festival du Nouveau Cinema). This little gem had been on my radar since its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival back in May and its win of the Golden Frog at the CamerImage Festival.
The film takes place in Copenhagen right after the Great War. Karoline (Vic Carmen Sonne) is a young factory worker, whose husband has not yet returned from the front, and finds herself unemployed, pregnant, and practically unhoused when she meets Dagmar (Trine Dyrholm), a candy store owner who runs a hidden adoption agency.
The Girl With the Needle is not only about women’s struggles at the time with an unwanted pregnancy but also their joined support and assistance that only they can provide to one another. It is an extremely thematically rich film that unfolds on the background of men coming back from war and women having to find their place in society and their families as well as their marriages. Identity is questioned and toyed with; no one has a fixed identity but how much one changes and which amount of it is bearable in those four years of war to find oneself at home again is probed whether one is coming back from far away or never left. How much of that identity, the desires, the needs one hides from oneself but is still aware of and to which extent we are willing to go to keep it buried.
The cinematography is transcendent. Cinematographer Michal Dymek also has EO (2022) in his filmography and his work is quickly becoming one of my favorites. Contrary to his other works, The Girl With the Needle is completely black and white. Aligned with tremendous lighting, it is a masterful composition that constantly graces the screen. Faces full of shadows hide many secrets from the audience but also from the characters themselves. There is something akin to poetry in how the stunning cinematography contrasts the dark themes it approaches and the nightmares it depicts, transforming the string appearances of characters into daunting and even scaring features.
That aspect is also found in the disparity between the haunting score and visceral sound design. They both create a soul-stirring gruesome atmosphere. As the film progresses and facets are revealed, the sound design settles under your skin, makes it crawl, and leaves you with your heart in your throat.
The Girl With the Needle is a harrowing, bone-chilling film that does not let the audience get away unscathed. Supported by stunning performances from Vic Carmen Sonne and Trine Dyrholm, they keep your eyes glued to the screen as Karoline’s wander and try to find meaning in this tormenting period of her life.
You might not want to see it again, but you will be more than glad that you gave it a chance. It is this kind of films that makes me excited about the future of cinema and the unexpected gems are still yet to come.
Comments
Post a Comment