January 31, 2024 – Things go from bad to worse for Karoline (played by Vic Carmen Sonne of “Godland”) after she is evicted from her apartment in this bleak black and white movie, in Danish, with English subtitles, set in Denmark in 1919.

Karoline hasn't heard from her husband, a soldier in World War One, for over a year. She doesn't know if he is alive or dead. She works in a clothing factory in Copenhagen with her friend, Frida (Tessa Hoder) and has hope for a better life when the manager of the factory, Jørgen (Joachim Fjelstrup) falls in love with her.

Karoline maintains her relationship with Jørgen even after her husband, Peter (Besir Zeciri of “Way Home”) shows up badly disfigured from the war. Karoline is angry with him for not returning her letters to let her know he was alive, and she rejects him. In case you were wondering, there is a needle in the movie, and it is a crazy big one.

Karoline somehow thinks she is still going to marry Jørgen and live a life of luxury, but that doesn't work out because of Jørgen's aristocratic, domineering mother. Karoline loses her job and ends up taking Peter back in. She then abandons Peter again and takes up with Dagmar, a woman who runs a sweet shop with a side hustle of selling unwanted babies on the black market.

Karoline becomes involved in the sweet shop and the baby business, and also helps to take care of Dagmar's young daughter, Erena (Ava Knox Martin). As Karoline settles into her new life, she discovers that the business that Dagmar is operating is not only illegal, but more evil and immoral than she could have imagined.

In a wild series of events, Karoline escapes a police raid and somehow ends up back with her husband who has joined a circus freak show. She is destitute, addicted to drugs and in bad condition, but Peter takes her back anyway.

In this movie, things start out bad for Karoline, and keep getting worse, in part, because of her own bad choices. In the end, the conclusion turns out to be not quite as bad as the rest of the story. There is a glimmer of hope, and human decency in the end.

The movie, loosely based on an actual historical figure, Dagmar Overbye, is directed by Magnus von Horn and the screenplay was written by Line Langebek and Magnus von Horn. It is in black and white with a narrow aspect ratio of 1.50:1.

This grim movie has been nominated for an Academy Award this year in the international film category. This is a depressing movie to watch, but it isn't boring. One good thing about it is that if you are feeling sorry for yourself because things are not going your way, you can take comfort in the fact that unlucky and unwise Karoline probably has it far worse. This movie rates a C+.

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