Star Wars hit me hard as a kid and Pelle hit me hard as a young adult! Still one of my favourite films of all time.

An overall interesting film that manages to become emotionally engaging and has a fitting cast of actors, including the very convincing but traumatized 11-year-old Pelle Hvenegaard and a committed Max von Sydow, as well as several unsettling scenes that drive the whole point home. However, it does flirt with emotional manipulation and sentimentalism now and then, doesn't shy away from repetition during its rather large duration, and rarely becomes surprising in its themes or their depiction.

Max Von Sydow!!!!!! Jah

In mid-19th century Sweden, the aging Lasse Karlsson (Max von Sydow) and his son Pelle (Pelle Hvenegaard) leave their homeland in search of a better life in Denmark, only to find themselves working as laborers under the iron fist of an immoral landowner. Von Sydow offers up one of his finest performances in a career filled with memorable roles as Lasse, a man of principles who seems unable to stand up for what he believes is right. Clocking in at 150 minutes, Pelle the Conqueror does feel a bit lengthy at times due to too many storylines that don't add much to the film, but it is a beautifully shot movie filled with remarkable period details, costumes, and interesting characters and is well worth investing the time to watch.

In the late 1850s, the elderly emigrant Lasse Karlsson (Max von Sydow) and his son Pelle (Pelle Hvenegaard) reach the Danish island of Bornholm after having left Skåne County, in southern Sweden, following the death of the boy's mother. Lasse finds it difficult to find work, given his advanced age and Pelle's youth. They are forced to work at a large farm, where they are generally mistreated by the managers. The managers work under the tyrannical Kongstrup, who has a history of affairs with women employees, and resulting illegitimate children. Among such children is Rud, who befriends Pelle and helps him learn Danish. Eventually, Pelle becomes more confident, and begins going to school, though he is still discriminated against as a foreigner. Pelle also befriends the Swedish worker Erik, who is constantly harassed for alleged sloth. Erik shares his dream of visiting America, China and "Negroland" with Pelle, to "conquer" the world... "Pelle the Conqueror" was released to critical acclaim in the U.S. Roger Ebert gave it three and a half stars, comparing it to Jan Troell's The Emigrants (1971), saying Max von Sydow's Oscar nomination was "well deserved" and the novice Pelle Hvenegaard "never steps wrong." Vincent Canby, writing for The New York Times, called it "a vividly re-created, minutely detailed panorama of a particular time," and said it was a "scandal" that Von Sydow did not win Best Actor at Cannes. Peter Travers, writing for People, said that Von Sydow exhibited "wrenching simplicity and power," but the film "is maddeningly mediocre." Swedish director Ingmar Bergman told August he saw the film seven times, subsequently choosing August to direct the film The Best Intentions. Mark Chalon Smith, writing in The Los Angeles Times in 1993, praised the film as faithful to the novel and said "Cinematographer Jorgen Persson ... captures several memorable images of the starkly beautiful Danish terrain." Time Out wrote "Despite occasional lapses into sentimentality, the film is saved by its performances and its uncluttered depiction of harsh impoverished lives," particularly praising von Sydow. In 2004, The New York Times placed the film on its list of "the Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made." Sarah Lutton, writing for the British Film Institute, named Pelle the Conqueror one of "10 great Danish films" and called Von Sydow "extraordinary." Von Sydow later also called it "a very beautiful film." Bille August´s drama from 1987 (based upon the 1910 novel of the same name by Danish writer Martin Andersen Nexø) has great acting and great cinematography, but to me a wobbly storyline when looking at the scenestructure. I personally felt that there´s no even flow in the film. It feels like the scenes have been stapled on top of each other creating an unbalance during the running time. It´s a film about trying to get by in a harsh situation and making sure the family ties are never lost. Max von Sydow is great as always and Pelle Hvenegaard does a magnificent job as Pelle. The film screened at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival and New York Film Festival. It was critically acclaimed, winning the Palme d'Or and the 1988 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and numerous other honours.

The acting is great the script struggles to capture the horror.

It is so lived-in, well acted, and captured, that you'll feel transported. (unfortunately not to the nicest of places or times).

Beautiful, desolate landscape shots and strong performances (particularly von Sydow) make this one to see, but the film is limited by its plot; always seeking to one-up itself by providing a new source of melancholy without real narrative justification. (3.5/5)

Superbly shot, acted and deeply moving. No 'Hollywood' here.

A gripping story of a father and son who live such difficult lives. I grew very attached to these characters, as if they were my own family. One of the great movies.

Few films on immigrants are depressing yet offering so much hope like this one. Few non-Scandinavians could imagine that this piece of land was once full of injustice and prejudice that could tear father and son apart. However, the ending, like the original novel, shows that there is a silver lining behind. Brilliant performance from Max Von Sydow being a flawed yet caring father.

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.

A coming of age story that is well executed. Nicely shot. Strong performances. The story though isn't especially original. Symbolism is accessible, but again, not original. It could have been tightened up; the two and a half hour film felt very long.

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.

Its odd to think that the reason I watched Pelle the Conqueror is solely because I became a fan of Max Von Sydow's work after seeing Flash Gordon. Pelle the Conqueror is a powerful story, a touching tale about discrimination and a father and son faced with it in Bornholm at the end of the 19th century. It's a powerful piece which is historically educating and cleverly dramatised thanks to a strong script and powerful cast. The production design gives off a very convincing feel in Pelle the Conqueror because it feels culturally enriching to witness the real state of civilisation that late 19th century Bornholm is really about, and it fails to fall into any hollywood clichés because it's a film straight out of Denmark, and is clearly one of the finest films Denmark has to offer. Director Bille August is the man to make sure of that, and he makes sure of it damn well. Pelle the Conqueror's success in terms of story structure, development and direction can all be largely attributed to him, as well as his clever script which is an insightful adaptation of the Martin Andersen Nexo text and an insightful film in general. It's well constructed, well shot, and well toned even if some of the story elements are inconsistent in maintaining interest or a consistent pace. The technical highlight of Pelle the Conqueror is its Academy Award Worthy soundtrack which is incredibly emotionally powerful, mood setting and sets the scale up for viewers to understand before they watch Pelle the Conqueror. Max Von Sydow's incredible performance ties everything together because he shows off the talent that a Swedish actor has through his mix of powerfully emotional line delivery and facial gestures which make it easy for viewers to tone into his character's soul as the story progresses. He is at some of his finest in Pelle the Conqueror. Pelle Hvenegaard was also great as the titular Pelle and coincidentally named after the original character, and that just adds to the image of spirit that he importantly maintains as the story progresses and develops, and honestly Pelle Hvenegaard just resists whatever constraints may have existed and comes out shining. So Pelle the Conqueror is a slow paced tale, but its emotionally gripping, well made and a fine example of Danish cinema.

Tiene algunos deux ex machina, pero es correctamente melodramática y muy dura y profunda. Aunque el final es muy insatisfactorio.

Amazing. Just amazing. A great and sad movie.

Esto si no puedo creerlo. La perfeccion visual, el rigor actoral, la poetica de la imagen, el guion. Un film que habla sobre la dignidad humana. Una de las pocas películas de la historia del cine que lo ha ganado todo. Una obra maestra.

It's a shame Bille August never made another good film, but this epic captures the landscapes, and the father-son relationship in an extremely tender and honest way.

Quite effective. I had some minor issues with the story structure, which loosens a bit too frequently to little effect, but the central dynamic between von Sydow and Pelle is great. The characters are very recognisable, very real, particularly the influence of the father on the son (although not in the typical way it is presented in films).