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Pelle the Conqueror

Original title: Pelle erobreren · Turkish title: Fatih Pelle

“They thought the world would be theirs.”

1987 · 2 h 37 min
Directed by Bille August
Drama

Cast

Max von Sydow Pelle Hvenegaard Erik Paaske

Credits

Written by: Martin Andersen Nexø

Plot

In the 1880s, a widowed Swedish farm labourer, Lasse, and his young son Pelle emigrate to Denmark, where they work on a large farm under a harsh steward and a master who is a drunken tyrant. Lasse accepts the humiliations, while Pelle dreams of a different future. Bille August's 1987 film, with Max von Sydow, won the Palme d'Or and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Sinekatalog’s take

Bille August's Palme d'Or winner follows a father and son as migrant farmhands in Denmark. Max von Sydow is deeply moving, and the film is a patient, humane portrait of poverty and hope.Sinekatalog’s own editorial review – not a user or critic quote.

Ratings

IMDb: 7.7 / 10 (12,820 votes)
IMDb rating and vote count from the IMDb ratings dataset (October 2026). Scores change over time.

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