It's 1948 and 63-year-old "Out of Africa" author Karen Blixen (pen name: Isak Dinesen) is a lonely literary sensation — until she meets talented 30-year-old poet Thorkild Bjørnvig. She promises him stardom if he will obey her unconditionally. From director Bille August (PELLE THE CONQUEROR) comes this sterling adaptation of Bjørnvig's bestselling memoir.
Director: Bille August. Denmark, 2021, 115 min. In Danish with English subtitles.
Karen Blixen’s authorship has always fascinated me, and likewise her charismatic, self-promoting and extravagant personality, especially expressed in her spectacular and odd relation to the young, promising and ambitious poet Thorkild Bjørnvig. What fascinates me in that relationship is the suggestive mutual dependency where they enter into a pact, a pact that means spiritual allegiance, but also has dramatic consequences for their nearest surroundings. But, as Blixen has promised Bjørnvig, the pact first and foremost means that he actually becomes a better writer. Because as she sees it, and as the film tries to tell, as a human you have an obligation to live out your potential. Everyone is endowed with a talent, and it is our job to live it out. Only that way you can be redeemed as a human being…
Bille August (born November 9, 1948) is a Danish Academy Award winning film and television director. His film Pelle the Conqueror from 1987 won the Palme D'or, Academy Award and Golden Globe. He is one of the very few directors to win the Palme D'or twice, winning the prestigious award again in 1991 for The Best Intentions, based on the autobiographical script by Ingmar Bergman.
"Deftly mounted, shot and scored, “The Pact” is a master class in ensemble acting, led by Neumann in a visceral, deeply layered and knife‘s-edge turn. Bennebjerg is affecting as an Everyman caught between traditional and higher-minded desires, while Voss and August (the director’s daughter) deliver acutely sensitive, often heartbreaking performances.
Make a pact to catch this one."
LOS ANGELES TIMES: February 16, 2022: “Ensemble acting helps weave Danish author Karen Blixen’s web in ‘The Pact’” by Gary Goldstein
"...anyone yearning for a thoughtful foreign drama filled with a first-rate cast need look no further."
FILM THREAT: February 10, 2022: “The Pact” by Sumner Forbes
Director Bille August has created a fascinating film that offers a fresh perspective on Blixen, on creativity and on the questionable sacrifices artists are willing to make for their art. Yes, Bjørnvig made a Faustian bargain but, hey, he ended up writing a bestselling memoir on which this film is based so – at least for audiences – it was worth it.
ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS: January 27, 2022: “THE PACT – Review” by Lois Alter Mark
An award winner in Denmark, this well-acted drama about the price of literary ambition is directed by Bille August and based on Bjornvig’s 1974 memoir, which was later translated into English as “The Pact: My Friendship With Isak Dinesen.”
THE NEW YORK TIMES: February 10, 2022: “‘The Pact’ Review: A Faustian Bargain” by Lisa Kennedy
AFI
Thurs, Dec. 2, 4:15 p.m.; Sun, Dec. 5, 11:30 a.m.; Mon, Dec. 6, 2:00 p.m.
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January 11 and 14, 2022
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March 28, 2021
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