Pelle the Conqueror provides an interesting character study of Swedish immigrants at the end of the Nineteenth Century. While my own Great-Grandmother arrived at Ellis Island in this same time frame at the tender age of sixteen, this film examines those Swedish immigrants who arrived in Denmark looking for work.
Pelle the Conqueror tells the story of the title character Pelle (Pelle Hvenegaard). The story opens with the adolescent Pelle arriving in Denmark with his elderly father Lassefar (Max Von Sydow). Lassefar is old enough that he could be mistaken for the young man's grandfather. Although Lassefar talks a good game to Pelle, he seems to always come up short. We gain insight into the pretend world that Lassefar weaves with his early descriptions of Denmark and how easy life will be for Pelle once they finish their journey. The widower seems to want to shelter his young son, but only manages to disappoint him.
Lassefar's age makes him unattractive to the farmers seeking cheap labor at the docks, and ends up not finding work. A farmer that arrives at the docks late offers meager pay for the services of both father and son. Work at the farm is far from the rosy picture that Pelle's father painted. Pelle draws on his inner strength to combat the toil on the farm and the taunting at school. As much as the audience becomes vested in wanting Pelle to succeed, it seems like an impossible challenge. In the meantime, Pelle discovers himself while surrounded by a lively, eccentric group of farmhands that provide some color to their dreary surroundings.
Pelle the Conqueror felt more like a character study than a pure story. It has an ending that is open to interpretation. The concept works on the strength of the character development. Rather than fairy tale characters and clear happy endings, writers Billie August, Per Olav Enquist and Bjarne Reuter present a bleaker backdrop with constant struggle and failure. While creating impossible situations and conflict, the writers manage to make the audience engage the characters and root for their success. In essence, the characters mattered. When the characters experience failure, the audience feels the loss. The writers chose to sacrifice good feelings for stark reality. My biggest complaint about the writing (which can also be credited to Director Billie August) was the pacing. The film was painfully slow at times. The tedious stretches of film could easily have been pared away from this film which runs a painful 157 minutes...that is pushing three hours. This story did not quite reach saga quality, so it did not have to run saga length.
Not much needs to be said about Max Von Sydow. He is a well known, respected actor. The prolific actor has been making films since before I was born. He is an exceptional, talented actor that makes his role seem effortless. It clearly was not. Von Sydow was remarkable. Hvenegaard was strong enough to make the film enjoyable. I was not knocked off my feet by his performance, but was not necessarily disappointed by it, either. I think the role might have been cast a bit better, but Hvenegaard managed not to ruin the film. I can't quite put my finger on what it was that put me off, but it was not the character. It was something subtle in the delivery that just didn't seem completely genuine. The rest of the cast provided great color, with mostly minor supporting roles to the two leads. The cast did a great job of creating the mood, which was an odd mixture of drudgery and mischief.
Pelle the Conqueror has done well in the awards category, winning the Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 1988 among many others. Some films in this category are clearly deserving, while I marvel at other selections. After perusing the list of nominees for that year, I have not seen any of the other films, so this may have been the best of the lot. Some viewers will find the pacing tedious and maybe even boring. Because it is a character driven story, some viewers may also be disappointed that the film is not more rewarding. But strong character studies with exceptionally well developed characters, great cinematography and strong acting helped this film overcome the other shortcomings. I would give the film 7.5/10.
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