Tree of Knowledge (film)

Tree of Knowledge
Front cover of the Danish DVD for
Tree of Knowledge
Directed byNils Malmros
Written byNils Malmros
Frederick Cryer
Produced byPer Holst
StarringEva Gram Schjoldager
Jan Johansen
Line Arlien-Søborg
CinematographyJan Weincke
Edited byMerete Brusendorff
Janus Billeskov Jansen [ar; arz; da; de; fr; sv]
Music byPer Hillers Danseorkester
Saratoga Jazzband
Distributed byKærne Film
Release date
  • 13 November 1981 (1981-11-13)
Running time
110 minutes
CountryDenmark
LanguageDanish

Tree of Knowledge (Danish: Kundskabens træ) is a 1981 Danish coming-of-age drama directed by Nils Malmros. The film details the lives of 17 teenage schoolmates in 1950s Denmark. Shooting on location at the high school which he had attended, Malmros took two years to film the action, so the cast members reflected the real-life physical and emotional development of their characters.[1]

Despite critical praise, Tree of Knowledge received only two awards: the Danish Film Critics Bodil Award for Jan Weincke's cinematography,[2] and the Audience Award at the Lübeck Nordic Film Festival. Tree of Knowledge is one of the top 100 Danish films listed by the Danish Film Institute and is one of ten films listed in the cultural canon of Denmark by the Danish Ministry of Culture.[3]

The film was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival[4] and was selected as the Danish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 55th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.[5]

Cast

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Actor Role
Eva Gram Schjoldager Elin
Jan Johansen Niels-Ole
Line Arlien-Søborg Anne-Mette
Marian Wendelbo Elisabeth
Gitte Iben Andersen Lene
Brian Theibel Willy Bonde
Erno Müller [af; da] Class teacher
Merete Volstedlund Anne-Mette's mother
Karin Flensborg Elin's mother
Knud Andreasen Elin's father
Lone Elliot Maj-Britt
Astrid Holm Nielsen Ina
Bo von der Lippe Jørn
Morten Nautrup Flemming
Martin Lysholm Jepsen Helge
Anders Ørgård Gert
Dan Rørmand Brøgger Torkild
Lars Spang Kjeldsen Søren Roland
Nikolaj Flensborg Kaj
Hanne Sørensen Mona
Anne-Mette Brinch Andersen Gås
Anne-Mette Kjøller Warlo Joan
Malene Darre Loppe
Lars Hjort Frederiksen Carsten
Karen Møller Mrs. Andreasen
Jørgen Nygaard Pastor
Arne Ringgaard Dance teacher
Thorkild Tromholt Pianist
Rikke Malmros Gym teacher
Uffe Bak Gym teacher
Norma Nissen Mrs Scheel
Svend Schmidt-Nielsen Park ranger
Per Cortes Music teacher
Birgit Rafman
Margit Due
Christian Svendsen
Jeanette Hede
Jørg Bjerre Andersen

Production

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When Nils Malmros called Gitte Iben Andersen to say that she had been chosen to play Lene, she objected that there was a group nudity scene. She initially refused to play the scene for that reason but eventually agreed when Malmos remarked that all other girls had accepted the scene, without realising that he had used the same trick with them.[6]

Reception

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Film Critic Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote "The Tree of Knowledge is the truest and most moving film I have ever seen about the experience of puberty... a creative act of memory about exactly what it was like to be 13 in 1953."[7]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Kundskabens Træ". Archived from the original on 16 November 2008.
  2. ^ Kosmorama. Danske Filmmuseum. 1997. p. 192. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  3. ^ "Kulturkanon". Archived from the original on 6 May 2008. Retrieved 2 August 2008.
  4. ^ "Festival de Cannes: Tree of Knowledge". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 13 June 2009.
  5. ^ Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
  6. ^ "Gitte Iben Andersen". danskefilm.dk. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  7. ^ Roger Ebert /Chicago Sun-Times, 1 December 1982.
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