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Competition

Considered by Danish director Nils Malmros – and many others – as  «the most beautiful love story in the whole of Scandinavian literature», Barbara was never completed by its Faroese-Danish author, Jørgen-Frantz Jacobsen. He died from tuberculosis in 1938, and it was left to his cousin, Icelandic Nobel Laureate William Heinesen, to finish the book. But there was no real conclusive ending.
So Malmros came up with his own resolution, as he and John Mogensen were writing the screenplay. While editing the film, however, he learned how Jacobsen himself had wanted the story to end.
«A researcher had just found a letter from Jacobsen, in which he explained how Barbara and the Reverend Poul would get together again and live the rest of their lives in destitution,» explains Malmros. «It just came a little late.»
Based on the real-life character of Barbara Christina Salling, Barbara is the story of 28-year-old woman, who is already the widow of two priests and has since been betrothed to a third. The moment the new Danish pastor, Paul, sets foot on Faroese soil, he is ensnared by Barbara’s rare liveliness and strong presence. Although warned against her – «She is a woman who cannot control her heart,» say the islanders – he decides to marry her. But in line with their predictions, he loses her.
Malmros found the ideal choice for the lead in Norway: Norwegian actress Anneke von der Lippe, who with Danish actor Lars Simonsen (in the role of the priest), are both selected for the European Film Promotion’s Shooting Stars at the Berlinale.
Malmros has twice before been in the Berlinale competition, both with Per Holst productions – Skønheden og udyret (Beauty and the Beast/1984) and Kærlighedens smerte (Pain of Life/1991). Jørn Rossing Jensen

Synopsis

A Berlinale regular, Nils Malmros has twice represented Denmark in competition: with Skønheden og udyret (Beauty and the Beast) in 1984 and Kærlighedens Smerte (Pain of Love) in 1993. This year's entry, however, is his first film not based on his own experiences. Barbara has been adapted from what has been called "one of the greatest love stories of Scandinavian literature."
Based on Faroese writer Jørgen Frantz-Jacobsen's unfinished 1938 novel, and starring Norwegian actress Anneke von der Lippe, Barbara follows an 18th-century femme fatale in the Faroe Islands. Arriving at his new parish, a young vicar (Lars Simonsen) falls in love with her, and although she is the widow of his two predecessors, he marries her. But, as he comes to discover, he cannot keep her.
"Barbara is a melodrama - a depiction of grandiose feelings set against a magnificent natural background, told with a wonderfully ironic undertone," says Malmros. "Barbara herself is the epitome of the weather in the Faroe Islands - unsteady, unsettled. Not exactly a clever woman, not glamorous either, but with a very strong intuition."

 (Dir): Nils Malmros (Scr): Nils Malmros, John Mogensen nach dem Roman von Jørgen Franz Jacobsen (Cast): Anneke von der Lippe, Helene Egelund, Trond Høvik, Lars Simonsen, Peter Reichhardt (Running time): 143 Minutes
 

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