'' When the Light Comes'' (Belgium: ''Licht'', Netherlands: ''Waar blijft het licht'', Germany: ''Die Stunde des Lichts'') is a 1998 German-Dutch /Belgian

romantic Romantic may refer to: Genres and eras * The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries ** Romantic music, of that era ** Romantic poetry, of that era ** Romanticism in science, of that e ...

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, an ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

directed by

Stijn Coninx Stijn, Baron Coninx (born 21 February 1957) is a Belgian film director. Career He studied film directing at HRITCS (currently Ritcs, at Erasmus Hogeschool Brussel). Baron Coninx is best known for his film ''Daens'', which was nominated for a ...

, and starring Francesca Vanthielen,

Joachim Król Joachim Król (, born 17 June 1957 in Herne, West Germany) is a German actor, known for his appearances in the films '' Run Lola Run'', '' Maybe, Maybe Not'', and '' Anne Frank: The Whole Story''. Early life and education Król was born in H ...

and Rick Engelkes. The film is based on an autobiography of the then 19-year-old student in Amsterdam Heleen van der Laan who spent the winter in Svalbard living with a fur trapper. It was adapted for the screen with the aid of Jean van de Velde. Essentially a love story set in northern Scandinavia, the film has "themes of isolation, forced cohabitation and relationship building between two totally different people in extremely harsh living conditions". The score was composed by

Dirk Brossé Dirk, Knight BrosséEtat présent de la noblesse belge 2015, p. 20 (born 18 February 1960, Ghent) is a Belgian conductor and composer. He has composed over 200 works, including concerti, oratorios, lieder, chamber music and symphonic works. Bro ...

and the film was produced by Favourite Films and distributed by Concorde Film.

Plot

Young Ellen decides to take a boat journey to

Svalbard Svalbard ( , ), also known as Spitsbergen, or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it is about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. The islands of the group range ...

in northern Norway. She ends up wandering in

Spitsbergen Spitsbergen (; formerly known as West Spitsbergen; Norwegian: ''Vest Spitsbergen'' or ''Vestspitsbergen'' , also sometimes spelled Spitzbergen) is the largest and the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in northern Norw ...

, where she spends winter in a cabin on a fjord surrounded by glaciers. She shares a cabin with a Norwegian trapper named Lars as she tries to adapt to the perilous climate and face dangers such as fighting

polar bear The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a hypercarnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the largest extant bear specie ...

Cast

* Francesca Vanthielen as Ellen * Rick Engelkes as Robbert *

as Lars * Reidar Sørensen as Ragnar * Rodney Beddal as Jaromir * Marit Bolling as Saleswoman * Karin Lunden as Irina * Morten Røhrt as Pilot 1 * Per Skjølsvik as Pilot 2 * Yana Yanezic as Gaumata

Production

The film was shot in 35 mm on location in northern Norway and Iceland. Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam also appeared in the film. Director Coninx describes the film as "A small story in a grand setting". He said in Dutch, "We did it in different ways. As a dream for example, or as a bet. Many men will not understand this girl. By choosing this adventurous form and the characters, away from the bustle and stress of the society, forcing them in a different and clearer way of looking at each other. Then exerts nature, and especially the light there at the pool months away, a strong influence on the man and woman. Making those connections in the story, the efforts for the public to look in a certain way, it made this film hard, much harder than '' Daens''." He described cinematographer Theo Bierkens as an "incredible magician". The film was produced in English, but a Norwegian and Russian version also released.

Release and reception

The film was released primarily for the international market. The film was screened at the International Film Festival of Mar del Plata in Argentina, and won several awards in Belgium and several international awards. At the Biberach Independent Film Festival in Biberach an der Riss, the film won the prize of the international jury and the prize for best production. Francesca Vanthielen won the Jury Prize at the

Geneva Film Festival The Geneva Film Festival is an annual event that takes place in Geneva, Illinois. The festival shows films from around the world and puts on a workshop for those interested in the technical aspects of the film making process. Official selecti ...

. It also won the audience award at the

Tromsø International Film Festival The Tromsø International Film Festival (TIFF) is an annual film festival held during the third week of January in Tromsø, Norway. The inaugural Tromsø International Film Festival was held in 1991. TIFF has 5 screening venues, including one ...

in 1999. Henk Ten Berge of the ''

De Telegraaf ''De Telegraaf'' (; en, The Telegraph) is the largest Dutch daily morning newspaper. Haro Kraak,Gaat Paul Jansen de crisis bij De Telegraaf oplossen?, '' de Volkskrant'', 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015. Paul Jansen has been the editor-in-chief s ...

'' described the film as "one of the strangest films ever produced by a Dutchman" and a "bizarre adventure" but praised the cinematography. '' Filmkrant'' said that the relationship between Ellen and Norwegian trapper was "not that exciting", describing Lars as a "rather clumsy eccentric who barely seems to speak a word of English" but said that the character was "touchingly played" by German actor Joachim Król. Film Krant also believed that the polar bear scene, whilst exciting, diverted the viewer's attention from their developing relationship, but praised the cinematography of the film by Theo Bierkens, describing it as "truly overwhelming". '' Positif'' called it an "ecological

robinsonade Robinsonade () is a literary genre that takes its name from the 1719 novel ''Robinson Crusoe'' by Daniel Defoe. The success of this novel spawned so many imitations that its name was used to define a genre, which is sometimes described simply a ...

". Marceau Verhaeghe of ''Cinergie'' praised the finesse and intelligence of screenwriter Jean van de Velde, and similarly the expertise and talent of Coninx, who he described in French as an "outstanding filmmaker" who "gives us an endearing movie, which takes advantage of even anecdotal aspects... to further enrich the story. A history of tensions, trials, but also tenderness, humor and love. In short, a really good history of cinema." The soundtrack by top Flemish film score composer

has been cited as one of his best works.

References

External links

* * {{Stijn Coninx Films directed by Stijn Coninx Belgian adventure films Dutch adventure drama films German adventure drama films 1998 films 1990s English-language films English-language Dutch films English-language German films 1990s adventure drama films 1998 romantic drama films Films set in the Arctic Films set in Norway Svalbard in fiction Films shot in Norway Films shot in Iceland 1990s German films