‘The Girl With the Needle’ Stars Trine Dyrholm and Vic Carmen Sonne Talk Abortion Rights: ‘Every Woman Should Be Able to Choose’
“The Girl with the Needle” stars Trine Dyrholm and Vic Carmen Sonne are slowly readying for the Oscar campaign. But following the U.S. election, the film – set in the early 20th century and dealing with unwanted pregnancies – feels increasingly timely, they say.
“Since Trump’s inauguration at the White House it has been hard to keep up with what’s going on and with what all of this is going to mean. Same goes for the abortion ban. We know what has already happened in several states, and it’s devastating. But it’s almost like people want to acknowledge these themes the film is revolving around. And that’s a positive sign,” argues Vic Carmen Sonne at G?teborg.
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The Danish actor plays Karoline: a young woman who, following a failed abortion, begins working at an ‘adoption agency.’ But its mastermind Dagmar (Dyrholm), always eager to help those who can’t raise their children, seems to be hiding something.
Directed by Magnus Von Horn, the drama – which premiered in Cannes and is now Oscar nominated as Best International Feature Film – is loosely based on a true story.
“It already felt very contemporary when we shot it in Poland. They are dealing with the same issues. They don’t have free access to abortion, so the whole team was really affected by the film. You could feel it,” notes Dyrholm.
“Up until the election, I was very depressed. I wondered: ‘What are we going to do?!’ And then it happened, and I am getting more and more optimistic. It’s very weird, actually. We need to stick together, we need to fight for a stronger Europe. Talking about love is more important than ever. We have to say: ‘We dare to share, because we care.’ I really mean it now.”
During trying times, people want to share their “fears and desperation,” she argues.
“We need topics that are difficult to deal with. This film is about abortion, about the unwanted, about PTSD experienced after the war. So many countries are dealing with these things. We have the right to choose and to have a good life, but it’s not a given. The world is getting more and more divided, and when that happens, we need nuances. Complexity is exactly what’s missing. We need a place where we can breathe and right now, that’s cinema.”
She noted: “Why do we say ‘yes’ to projects like this one? Because we have the opinions we have. Every woman should be able to make a choice, of course. In Denmark, we changed the abortion law, and it will be legal up to the 18th week of pregnancy. But trying to say why we need art is also political.”
According to Vic Carmen Sonne, the film’s characters “are trying to do the best they can with what they’ve been dealt.”
“When you have a marginalized group and you take away their rights, also the right to choose, you take away their voice and their existential freedom. And then what’s going to happen? They’re going to fucking rebel and revolt, and they’re going to hit back,” she says.
“Karoline doesn’t accept the state of things. She wants a good life, so she meets Prince Charming and comes to his castle. There’s a pact between the Prince and the Beggar Girl, but it’s something she enforces on him. It’s not manipulation: it’s determination.”
Ultimately, “The Girl with the Needle” should be viewed as a critique of society – not as a critique of its characters, often pushed to the edge.
“It’s all about structures and hierarchies. If you push people too hard, they create an underworld. That’s what Dagmar does. But she’s also taking away these girls’ guilt. She tells them: ‘Maybe you don’t have a future, but your child will.’ She also says, ‘Life is horrible but we have to pretend it’s not’,” notes Dyrholm.
“The key is to never judge your characters; the same way you shouldn’t judge people. We put them into boxes. We say: ‘Okay, here’s Trump and his team, and over there you have the good guys.’ It doesn’t work like that. You can say when you don’t like something, but you also need – at some point – to walk together. We don’t have to agree. But we have to take care of each other. And bring back all these ‘old-fashioned’ words: Peace, love, caring.”
Her co-star adds: “A lot of this comes from fear. If you feel you are losing power, losing money, losing the capacity to provide for your family and friends, you seek a dictator. You seek the one who screams the loudest. I think most people on this planet haven’t been told: ‘You are amazing, we love you, your voice matters.’ And that’s important.”
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