''Twist and Shout'' ( da, Tro, håb og kærlighed) is a 1984 Danish

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Bille August Bille August (born 9 November 1948) is a Danish director, screenwriter, and cinematographer of film and television. In a career spanning over four decades, he has been the recipient of numerous accolades, making him one of the most acclaimed co ...

. It was entered into the

14th Moscow International Film Festival The 14th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 28 June to 12 July 1985. The Golden Prizes were awarded to the Soviet film ''Come and See'' directed by Elem Klimov, the American film '' A Soldier's Story'' directed by Norman Jewison and ...

where

Lars Simonsen Lars Simonsen (born 19 September 1963) is a Danish actor. He graduated from Aarhus Teater in 1990. In theatre roles, he has appeared at Odense Teater, , , Husets Teater and Betty Nansen Teatret, among others. Plays he has worked on include ''S ...

won the award for Best Actor. The film saw a release in American theaters in 1986. ''Twist and Shout'' was also selected as the Danish entry for the

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

at the

58th Academy Awards The 58th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 24, 1986, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. EST. Durin ...

, but was not accepted as a nominee. The film is adapted for the screen from the novel "''Når snerlen blomstrer''" by

Bjarne Reuter Bjarne Reuter (born 29 April 1950) is a Danish writer and screenwriter best known for children's and young adult fiction.Zappa;'' the story is followed by the novel "''Vi der valgte mælkevejen''". ''Twist and Shout'' revolves around a bunch of young people in the 1960s suburbs of

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

Plot

The plot follows two best friends, Bjørn (Adam Tønsberg) and Erik (

), and their coming-of-age in 1963 Denmark against the backdrop of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

becoming an overnight sensation throughout Europe. Bjørn is pursued by Kirsten (Ulrikke Bondo), who has her mind set on marriage, but Bjørn instead falls for Anna (

Camilla Søeberg Camilla Søeberg (born 9 June 1966) is a Danish actress. Selected filmography * ''Twist and Shout'' (1984) * ''Manifesto'' (1988) * '' The Empty Mirror'' (1996) * ''Sekten'' (1997) * ''Mouse Hunt ''Mouse Hunt'' is a 1997 American slapstick b ...

). The somber Erik cares for his home-bound mentally ill mother while his strict father rules his life. Erik desires Kirsten, but she's unattainable to him. Pregnancy, a horrific illegal

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

, an engagement party, and a revelation about the rectitude of Erik's father leads to a climax of events, and Bjørn and Erik must stand up to controlling adults.

Cast

* Adam Tønsberg as Bjørn *

as Erik *

as Anna * Ulrikke Bondo as Kirsten *

Bent Mejding Bent Mejding (born 14 January 1937) is a Danish actor, stage director and theatre manager. He won a Danish Film Academy Award in 1985 and 2007. He is married to the actress Susse Wold. Career Mejding had his debut at Folketeatret in Copenhagen ...

as Erik's father * Aase Hansen as Erik's mother * Arne Hansen as Bjørn's father * Lone Lindorff as Bjørn's mother * Thomas Nielsen as Bjørn's little brother Henning *

Malene Schwartz Malene Schwartz (born 10 August 1936) is a Danish film actress. She has appeared in more than 60 films and television shows since 1955. In the TV series ''Matador'' she played the role of Maude Varnæs. She was born in Frederiksberg, Denmark. Pa ...

as Kirsten's mother * Troels Munk as Kirsten's father * Helle Spangaard as Kirsten's sister Inge

Reception

The film has a score of 80%, based on 5 reviews, on review aggregate site

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

. In a brief mixed review,

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

awarded the film two and a half stars. Critic

Desson Howe Desson Patrick Thomson is a former speechwriter for the Obama administration and former Film criticism, film critic for ''The Washington Post''. He was known as Desson Howe until 2003 when he changed his name after reuniting with his birth fath ...

noted although there was nothing particularly special about the film's plot, the on-screen charisma of the four young leads elevated the film.

Janet Maslin Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for ''The New York Times''. She served as a ''Times'' film critic from 1977 to 1999 and as a book critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000 Maslin ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' gave a positive review, writing both '' Zappa'' and ''Twist and Shout'' "draw their strength from the portrait of an arid, conventional Danish society that Mr. August uses as these stories' implicit backdrop". Michael Wilmington of ''

The Los Angeles Times ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' also praised the film and said it gives "a realistic look at adolescent love and its harrowing consequences, a stark portrayal of the horrors of family life, and a bitter but clear-eyed look at social barriers, the dangers of compromise and the vulnerable bonds of friendship".

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Twist And Shout 1984 films 1984 drama films 1980s coming-of-age drama films 1980s Danish-language films Films set in 1963 Films directed by Bille August Danish coming-of-age drama films Films about abortion Films about adolescence Films about friendship Juvenile sexuality in films

Plot

Cast

Reception

See also

References

External links