Based on the true story of serial killer Dagmar Overbye, the film is set in 1919 Copenhagen, where Karoline, a young factory worker, finds herself pregnant and out of work. She meets Dagmar, who runs an illegal adoption agency. A strong bond forms between the two women – until Karoline’s world falls apart when uncovers the horrifying truth behind Dagmar’s “service.”
Magnus von Horn builds a dark, gothic world – thanks in no small part to production designer Jagna Dobesz – that is both fairy-tale artificial and meticulously realistic, distantly archaic and painfully modern. It’s a sinister universe where husbands vanish into war without a trace; where shrewd middle-aged women lure desperate young mothers into nocturnal candy shops that rot more than just teeth and soul (though it’s hard to believe in spiritual growth when you’re stuck wading through the muck), where one can lose a job or be cast out onto the street in an instant. This glass-fragile period drama constantly teeters on the brink of rupture; it draws from the conventions of German expressionist horror while layering in the socialist realist preoccupations with human shortcomings that are potentiated by a ruthless environment. Yet let’s not forget: women’s reproductive rights remain under threat, and capitalism is as deadly as ever in the brave new world we are (un)lucky to currently inhabit.
The Girl with the Needle does not condemn Dagmar, but the society that produced her. After all, Dagmar is not so different from Karoline – both women are trying to improve their lot, no matter whom they hurt in the process. The film’s narrative is built from a mosaic of details that convey the precariousness and hopelessness of Karoline’s life. If her husband’s disappearance is a chance to find a better suitor, she herself is repeatedly the victim of others’ ambition, arrogance, or neglect. And she’s not alone. If you’re born on the wrong side of the wealth divide, chances are no one will miss you when darkness swallows you whole. Society devours its children – Dagmar is merely fulfilling the demand created by the market. (Dina Pokrajac)
Awards and Festivals:
Cannes Film Festival (2024) – World premiere, Official Competition; European Film Awards (2024) – Best Production Design, Best Original Score (five total nominations); Academy Awards (2025) – Nominee, Best International Feature; Golden Globes (2025) – Nominee, Best Foreign Language Film; Göteborg Film Festival (2024) – FIPRESCI Prize; Seville European Film Festival (2024) – Best Director, Best Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design
Magnus von Horn graduated from the Polish National Film School in Łódź, where he now teaches directing. His short film Echo premiered at Sundance, and his feature debut The Here After (2015) screened in the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes. His second feature Sweat (2020) was critically acclaimed, selected for the 2020 Cannes Official Selection, and won Best Film at the Chicago International Film Festival.
