Meanwhile on Earth
$10.50
Dir. Magnus von Horn
2024, Denmark, Poland, 115 min
Danish with English subtitles
Rated 18A
Karoline, a young pregnant factory worker, takes on the job of a wet-nurse for a charismatic woman in order to escape poverty. Under the fake storefront of a candy shop, the woman runs a hidden adoption agency, helping poor mothers find foster homes for their unwanted infants. Karoline grows close to the woman, but she is soon faced with the nightmarish reality she unwittingly entered.
Content warning: This film includes disturbing scenes and depictions of child abuse.
“Though loosely based on the true story of one of Denmark’s most infamous killers, director Magnus von Horn’s audacious third feature is a far cry from conventional tales of evil-doers preying on the vulnerable. Neither its setting of post-WWI Copenhagen nor its stark black-and-white cinematography provide any comfortable sense of remove. Instead, The Girl with the Needle is discomfitingly resonant as a story about the choices – and dangers – so often faced by women at society’s fringes.” – Jason Anderson, TIFF
