Tuesday, July 30 - 2:00pm
A Fortunate Man
Drama (Denmark, 2018) In Danish and German, 2 hrs. 40 mins.
Directed by Bille August, Academy Award Winning Director of Pelle the Conquerer and based on Danish writer Henrik Pontoppidan’s Nobel Prize-winning novel Lykke-per
Seeking to reject his strict religious upbringing and fulfill his dreams, a pastor’s ambitious son hopes to wed into a wealthy Jewish family and find success in 19th century Copenhagen, The young Peter Sidenius (Esben Smed), a gifted hothead rebelling against his stifling childhood, sets sail for the industrialized world to become an engineer. He pursues his studies, rises to prominence, and quickly climbs the social ladder. But when he and alluring Jakobe Salomon (Katrine Greis-Rosenthal), a progressive intellectual, get engaged, his devout Lutheran family spurns his new life and Jewish fiancée. One of the most expensive Danish film productions ever, this heartbreaking epic, based on Danish writer Henrik Pontoppidan's Nobel Prize-winning novel, features moving performances, dazzling cinematography, and sumptuous costume design and period detail and offers a rare look at the Jewish community of Denmark at a key period of the country’s socio-economic development.
Told with a dramatic, romantic sweep on par with the great classics of cinema, A Fortunate Man is not to be missed. Adapted from Denmark’s canonical novel, Lykke-Per, by Danish Nobel Prize–winning author Henrik Pontoppidan.