In remote northern Norway during the 1860s, a young girl named Dina causes an accident that results in the painful death
of her mother. Her father backhands her as her mother is being carried off
screaming. A neighbor hides her. She grows up feral until it is clear she
needs help, so a teacher is hired. He plays his cello, and she is fascinated.
He teaches her, and she has an aptitude. They also become close friends. He
tells her that she released her mother from the pain and suffering in this
world, and she buys into that idea. Then her father decides to send the
teacher away, and to marry her off to a fat businessman (Gerard Depardieu).
On her wedding night, Depardieu tries to "mount her like a horse," and she
rebels, finally making him promise in front of all the neighbors never to do that again.
Yet as time goes on, she nearly rapes him. In fact, he starts trying to
escape her voracious sexual appetite. She also proves to be a better at
running his business than he is. When he falls off a roof and breaks his leg,
and then gangrene sets in, she heads off to a hospital with him, but pushes
him over a cliff.
Enter a Russian fellow that she spends the rest of the film with.
This two hour costumer, performed by an international cast in English, is
the most expensive film ever to be made in Scandinavia, and will appeal to
those inclined to enjoy period drama. Dina is a complex, severely
conflicted character, but still generally sympathetic, and is played brilliantly by
Maria Bonnevie.
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If you are not familiar with our grading system, you need to
read the
explanation, because the grading is not linear. For example, by
our definition, a
C is solid and a C+ is a VERY good movie. There are very few Bs
and As. Based on our descriptive system, this film is a:
