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Birthe Neumann as Karen Blixen with Thorkild Bjørnvig (Simon Bennebjerg) in The Pact, Bille August’s elegant take on creation and destruction.

Karen Blixen herself, if you take her word for it, had made a deal with the devil in exchange for the power to tell tales. In Bille August’s The Pact (Pagten), co-written with Christian Torpe and based on the memoir by Thorkild Bjørnvig, starring Birthe Neumann as Blixen, opposite Simon Bennebjerg as Bjørnvig, she tests her own devilishness, and yet remains always very human. Blixen’s Seven Gothic Tales and Out Of Africa, plus Sydney Pollack’s film version of the latter with Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, and Klaus Maria Brandauer may float in and out of our memory while watching the machinations of mutual manipulation unfold.

Bille August with Anne-Katrin Titze on Karen Blixen: “Doing this film I was trying to understand how she worked as a storyteller,...

For many of us, the first mental image prompted by the name Karen Blixen is of a radiant Meryl Streep, resplendent in oatmeal linen and undulating safari hat, romantically lit in the tawny Kenyan dusk. If you wish that to remain the case, best to steer clear of “The Pact” — not that Bille August’s flat, unflattering portrait of the older Blixen should be appointment viewing for anyone. Drawn from Danish poet Thorkild Bjørnvig’s memoir of his thorny friendship with, and tutelage under, the older literary icon, this well-dressed midcentury period piece keeps teasing a darker, more perverse take on a familiar story of cross-generational creative mentorship. Yet despite a performance of unnerving severity by Birthe Neumann as the rancorous Blixen, the film remains too polite and light on incident to deliver on that promise.

Written by Danish TV heavyweight Christian Torpe (“Rita”), the screenplay of “The Pact” bristles with quiet but disquieting tensions,...

The Pact Juno Films Reviewed for Shockya.com & BigAppleReviews.net, linked from Rotten Tomatoes by Harvey Karten Director: Bille August Screenwriter: Christian Torpe, from Thorkild Bjørnvig’s book “The Pact: My Friendship with Isak Dinesen”) Cast: Birthe Neumkann, Simon Bennebjerg, Nanna Skaarup Voss, Asta Kamma August Screened at: Critics’ link, NYC, 1/5/22 Opens: February 11, 2022 I […]

The post The Pact Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

"This could change everything. I can write without feeling guilty." Juno Films has released the official US trailer for an acclaimed Danish biopic titled The Pact, which originally opened in theaters in Denmark last year. The film examines the intense friendship between Karen Blixen, the Danish author best known for her autobiographical novel "Out of Africa" (written under the pen name "Isak Dinesen") and Thorkild Bjørnvig, a young and promising poet. She offers him a Faustian bargain and promises him stardom if he will obey her unconditionally. What a strange relationship. From director Bille August comes this sterling adaptation of Bjørnvig's bestselling memoir. Birthe Neumann stars as Karen Blixen, joined by Simon Bennebjerg, Nanna Skaarup Voss, Asta Kamma August, Anders Heinrichsen, and Marie Mondrup. This looks like a smart character study of an arrogant woman going mad at the end of her life. Perhaps worth a watch. Here's the official...

Exclusive: Juno Films has claimed North America rights to The Pact, a film from Oscar and Palme d’Or-winning director Bille August, which is based on the true story of Out of Africa author Karen Blixen, planning to release it in U.S. and Canadian theaters in early 2022, followed by a digital release later in the year.

The Pact catches up with Blixen (Birthe Neumann) at age 63, finding her at the pinnacle of her fame and next in line to win the Nobel Prize for literature. It has been 17 years since she gave up her famous farm in Africa, only to return to Denmark with her life in ruins. Devastated by syphilis and having lost the love of her life, she has reinvented herself as a literary sensation. She is an isolated genius, however, until the day she meets talented 30-year-old poet Thorkild Bjørnvig...

Sf Studios and sales banner REinvent have unveiled the trailer for “The Pact,” Bille August’s psychological drama based on real events in the life of Karen Blixen, the Danish author best known for her autobiographical novel “Out of Africa.”

The film depicts Blixen’s tumultuous relationship with Thorkild Bjørnvig, a promising young poet, after she returned from Africa. Birthe Neumann headlines the film as Blixen in her first major dramatic film role since “The Celebration.”

“The Pact” is produced by Sf Studios and Motor with producers Jesper Morthorst and Karin Trolle. Nordic distribution is handled by Sf Studios while REinvent International Sales is selling worldwide rights. The film will be released in cinemas in Denmark on April 15.

Along with “Margrete-Queen of the North” and “The Emigrants,” “The Pact” is one of the thee projects from Sf Studios which will be presented in the Works in Progress section at this...

The new feature by the Danish filmmaker centres on the secret relationship between Karen Blixen and young poet Thorkild Bjønvig. Danish award-winning film and television director Bille August is now working on his new feature project, entitled The Pact. The Breed-born helmer is best known for his 1987 drama Pelle the Conqueror, screened at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival and recipient of the Palme d’Or, the BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language, and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, among other honours. The Pact, penned in its entirety by Christian Torpe, is based on Thorkild Bjørnvig’s autobiography of the same name. The psychological drama tells the story of the intense relationship between Danish author Karen Blixen, best known for her autobiographical novel Out of Africa, and Bjønvig, a young and promising poet. Speaking about the film’s themes, August said: “The Pact...