Pelle the Conqueror (Pelle Erobreren)

1988

Pelle the Conqueror (Pelle Erobreren)

Critics Consensus

Pelle the Conqueror details the plight of the immigrant using fine, empathetic strokes, brought to life through the efforts of an outstanding cast led by Max von Sydow.

87%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 23

89%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 3,990
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Movie Info

Lasse, an elderly and widowed farmer, and his young son Pelle, join a boat-load of immigrants to escape from impoverished rural Sweden to Denmark's Baltic island of Bornholm. They are employed at a large farm in Denmark, where they are treated as the lowest of the low. It is ultimately their loving relationship which sustains them through a difficult year.

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Cast

Pelle Hvenegaard
as Pelle
Max von Sydow
as Lasse Karlsson
Erik Paaske
as Forvalter
Björn Granath
as Erik
Axel Ströbye
as Kongstrup
Astrid Villaume
as Fru Kongstrup
Troels Asmussen
as Rud
John Wittig
as Skolelærer
Anne Lise Hirsch Bjerrum
as Karna
Sofie Gråbøl
as Jomfru Sine
Lena-Pia Bernhardsson
as Soen
Kristina Tornquist
as Little Anna
Buster Larsen
as Ole Køller
Lars Simonsen
as Niels Køller
Thure Lindhardt
as Nilen
Benjamin Holck Henricksen
as Henrik Bodker
Nis Bank-Mikkelsen
as Præst
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Critic Reviews for Pelle the Conqueror (Pelle Erobreren)

All Critics (23) | Top Critics (10) | Fresh (20) | Rotten (3)

  • Pelle itself, rather surprisingly, is a natural, organic epic, and one that opens a window on a meticulously detailed bygone world that, by film's end, you might feel as though you've visited.

    Feb 27, 2017 | Full Review…

    Michael Atkinson

    Village Voice
    Top Critic

  • The film is a towering achievement, grueling in its portrayal of a harsh existence yet ultimately an exhilarating experience unlikely to be forgotten.

    Feb 27, 2017 | Full Review…

    Kevin Thomas

    Los Angeles Times
    Top Critic

  • Beneath the transparent, by-the-numbers schema there are potent elements at play in this work, but unfortunately they go unexplored.

    Feb 27, 2017 | Rating: 1/4 | Full Review…

    Kurt Jacobsen

    Chicago Reader
    Top Critic

  • The chilly, oppressive Danish film Pelle the Conqueror has only one artistic aim: to wrench as much pity as possible from its audience.

    Feb 27, 2017 | Rating: 2/4 | Full Review…

    Dave Kehr

    Chicago Tribune
    Top Critic

  • Written and directed by Bille August, Pelle the Conqueror is peopled with the sort of vivid minor characters that lodge in your consciousness.

    Feb 27, 2017 | Full Review…

    Jay Boyar

    Orlando Sentinel
    Top Critic

  • Pelle the Conqueror is a feature film of epic proportions and a relentlessly unsentimental look at life among the haves and, primarily, the have-nots on a big turn-of-the-century farm.

    Mar 26, 2009 | Full Review…

    Variety Staff

    Variety
    Top Critic
View All Critic Reviews (23)

Audience Reviews for Pelle the Conqueror (Pelle Erobreren)

  • Jul 22, 2014
    A father and son move to a Denmark village where they try to make ends meet amid poverty and few opportunities for advancement. Heart-breaking and stark, Pelle the Conquerer is a strong coming-of-age film featuring an incredible performance by the legendary Max von Sydow. Von Sydow captures his character's desperate search for hope and a future in his most vulnerable performance to date. The film is able to get its audience to believe in these characters' chances despite the fact that the film simultaneously creates a world in which hope seems ridiculous. The murder of peasants, the anti-Swede prejudice, and the domineering overseers all combine to add to cold, desolate milieu. Overall, Max von Sydow and the atmosphere of this film make this film a remarkably compelling story.
    Jim H Super Reviewer
  • Feb 03, 2014
    I remember Max Von Sydow at the Oscars as the afterthought as I'm sure most of the Academy had not taken in Pelle the Conquerer. It is an epic to sit through but it is fully deserving of recognition of the one of the better films to come out of the eighties.
    John B Super Reviewer
  • Mar 31, 2009
    <a href="http://tinypic.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i30.tinypic.com/hs3ss6.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a> Pelle The Conqueror was another good movie I have seen during this week. Eventough it was 2.30 hours long it was a beautiful journey of a father Lasse played by Max Von Sydow, and his son, Pelle,after they moved from Sweden to have a better life in Denmark.But what they have found was a brutal and hard life.Working on a farm Pelle and his father struggled to survive. The movie was more than just their life on this farm. It was about the dreams of this young boy and his ambition to see America.The end was a little confusing for me, when Pelle needed to move on from his father to discover more from life. Amazing movie.
    Daisy M Super Reviewer
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