A searing portrait of the human cost of war and the destituteness it brings to the world may be your first impression of Swedish-Polish filmmaker Magnus von Horn’s Academy Award-nominated film The Girl with the Needle (Pigen med nålen), streaming on MUBI. A seemingly simple seamstress Karoline Nielson (Vic Carmen Sonne), slogging at the mucky garment factory floors in Copenhagen during World War I, is later found inserting a knitting needle to give herself an abortion in a public bathhouse. In the absence of her husband Peter Nielson (Besir Zeciri), a soldier who goes untraceable for over a year, Karoline gets evicted from her grubby apartment, only to find refuge in a much-worse accommodation. Things change briefly when a sudden, steamy affair with the charming factory owner Jørgen (Joachim Fjelstrup) means she’s about to touch a fairy tale. Yet, it all comes crumbling down when Jørgen’s aristocratic mother refuses to let a factory worker into her son’s life. Pregnant, abandoned and unemployed, Karoline must do something to get rid of the child.
Meanwhile, Peter, who was assumed dead, returns unannounced with his face partially covered by a mask. His scary, disfigured appearance and loud night terrors add more misery to Karoline’s already distraught existence. But that’s not the centre of Magnus’ historical psychological horror film. Via a personal story, The Girl with the Needle revisits Denmark’s chilling 1921 baby-killer case, in which a middle-aged Dagmar Overby was found guilty of murdering more than 25 newborns between 1913 and 1920. Termed a ‘monster’ upon her arrest, Dagmar proclaimed in the courtroom that she rather ‘deserved a medal’ for saving the lives of all those distressed women, whom society wouldn’t anyway have spared for having a child outside of marriage.
Navigating a maze of muddied steep cobblestone streets, steered by Frederikke Hoffmeier’s tense, high-pitch background score, Magnus’ film is a masterpiece in expressionist monochrome. Karoline’s fateful encounter with Dagmar (Trine Dyrholm) at the bathhouse may have saved her life at that moment, but it eventually pulled her into the currents of a horrific chapter in history. On the pretext of running a confectionery store, Dagmar was deep into an illegal baby trade. She shared the upper quarters of the building with her seven-year-old daughter Erena (Avo Knox Martin), with Svendsen (Ari Alexander) dropping by occasionally. Many poor women would come and lay their newborn baby in Dagmar’s arms who, in turn, would assure them that ‘they’re doing the right thing’. She promised them that their child would find a better home and parents. They would lead a more honourable life, possibly in the household of a doctor or a lawyer.
Months later, when Karoline delivers a baby girl, she thinks it would be wise to give her away, as she could barely afford to take care of herself. Thus, she decides to go to Dagmar. Soon she starts working there as a wet nurse and sometimes even receives the babies on Dagmar’s behalf. Karoline is curious about who adopted her baby after all, but Dagmar remains tight-lipped about the details. An estranged Peter, on the other hand, now earns his living as a performer in a travelling circus company. Over time, Karoline establishes a bond with her new employer, who takes her to the cinema and gives her generous doses of a nerve-calming potion. Mind you, Karoline is still oblivious of the whereabouts of those babies that cross the sweet shop doorway. In fact, she’s so convinced about this secret foster home that she even recommends it to her friend Frida (Tessa Hoder).
The 123-minute film was in the race for the Palme d’Or at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, while it was nominated in the ‘Best Foreign Language Film’ category at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards. At Oscars 2025, The Girl with the Needle is competing for the ‘Best International Feature Film’ title. Co-written and directed by Magnus, The Girl with the Needle narrates an absolutely nightmarish story with exceptional precision and vividness. The plot clutches at your heart from the first sequence until the very end of the film. You’ll feel a shiver of fear at almost every turn of the narrative, yet stay intrigued by the extraordinary portrayal of events and characters that are inspired by true crime.
Vic Carmen, as Karoline, splendidly captures the tenderness and honesty of an impoverished young lady in 1920s Denmark, who faces unthinkable options only to find a cataclysmic solution. Her conviction to go on expressionless amid a series of tormenting situations is pitiable and persuading at once. On the other hand, Trine dazzles as the cold-blooded baby-killer, Dagmar. She essays this difficult role with extraordinary nuance and an unflinching attitude, quelled only by drops of ether. In fact, she gracefully anchors a disturbing period piece about women who suffered under patriarchy, as there’s no room for error, more so if it was an illegitimate pregnancy. Besir as Peter and Avo as Erena are also brilliant in essaying their respective roles.
A grisly display of visceral, harrowing events in a vulnerable downtrodden woman’s life, The Girl with the Needle – although set in a distant time and place – provides the audience with an emotional and social immediacy that uncannily resonates in the modern world. Watch the film for its impressionist vigour, brevity and daredevilry. Besides the mind-bending plotline, the movie is bedecked with Michal Dymek’s incredible cinematography that deserves a special mention. Perhaps, one may even find hints of the iconic David Lynch’s signature surrealism in this stunning Magnus von Horn directorial. A must see!
The Girl with the Needle
Director: Magnus von Horn
Writers: Line Langebek Knudsen and Magnus von Horn
Cast: Vic Carmen Sonne, Trine Dyrholm, Besir Zeciri, Joachim Fjelstrup, Avo Knox Martin, Ari Alexander and Tessa Hoder, among others
Cinematographer: Michal Dymek
Music composer: Frederikke Hoffmeier
Rating: 4/5 stars
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