Der brænder en ild

Der brænder en ild

Year: 1962

Runtime: 86 mins

Language: Danish

Director: Alice O’Fredericks

FamilyDrama

After earning a sum in Greenland, Martin returns home to stay with his sister, the innkeeper, and learns his childhood love Martha is married to farmer Just Hovmand. He opens a machine station and offers help, but Just refuses. Friends Chr. Arhoff and Peter Malberg devise practical solutions for the couple’s troubles.

Der brænder en ild (1962) – Spoiler-Free Movie Summary & Plot Overview

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In the early 1920s a modest Danish town is quietly reshaped by post‑war optimism and the slow hum of new industry. Martin returns from a stint in Greenland with a modest fortune and a determination to ride the brief economic surge that promises to lift his family’s fortunes. He walks the streets he once knew as a boy, pauses at the inn run by his sister, and feels the pulse of a community that has grown yet remains rooted in familiar faces and familiar expectations.

Among the familiar faces is Martha, the warm‑hearted woman who once captured Martin’s youthful affection. Her life has taken a different turn, and she now shares a home with Just, a diligent farmer whose stubborn pride mirrors the stubborn soil he works. Martin’s instinct to help resurfaces, and he proposes to lend his skills and resources to the struggling farm. Nearby, two pragmatic friends—Chr. Arhoff and Peter Malberg—offer practical ideas, hinting at the collaborative spirit that steadies the town through uncertainty.

The film moves with a gentle, observational tone, balancing the quiet comedy of daily life with the underlying tension of economic strain. It captures the delicate dance between personal longing and communal responsibility, showing how old friendships, lingering romances, and the promise of new ventures intertwine. Through its careful eye on the ordinary, the story invites the audience to wonder how the characters will navigate the subtle but persistent pressures of a changing world, leaving the outcome as open as the horizon beyond the farm fields.

Last Updated: December 04, 2025 at 23:48

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Rural dramas of economic desperation like Der brænder en ild

Stories where financial ruin tests family bonds and morals in small communities.For viewers who enjoyed Der brænder en ild, this collection features movies like it that delve into stories of financial hardship, family loyalty, and moral compromise in rural communities. Find similar somber dramas about postwar life and the desperate measures people take to save their homes.

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Narrative Summary

The narrative typically centers on a family or community facing an existential financial threat, such as debt or the loss of a farm. Characters are pushed to consider or commit morally dubious acts, creating internal conflict and straining loyalties. The story unfolds through a steady examination of these pressures rather than dramatic action.

Why These Movies?

These films are grouped together because they share a specific setting—rural life—with a central conflict driven by economic survival. They possess a somber, melancholic tone, a steady, character-focused pace, and explore themes of pragmatic choices versus idealism.

Movies with bittersweet compromise endings like Der brænder en ild

Journeys where survival and happiness come at a tangible personal cost.If you liked the ending of Der brænder en ild, where pragmatic solutions overshadow personal happiness, explore these similar films. Discover other movies with bittersweet conclusions, where characters save their livelihoods or families through marriages of convenience or moral compromises.

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Narrative Summary

The narrative follows characters making major sacrifices—often of love, dreams, or integrity—to solve a pressing crisis. The conclusion provides a practical resolution to the central problem (like saving a farm), but it is shadowed by the loss of what was sacrificed. The emotional journey is one of resigned acceptance rather than triumphant victory.

Why These Movies?

These movies are united by their specific emotional payoff: a bittersweet ending. They share a tone that blends melancholy with a glimmer of hope, a pacing that builds steadily toward this nuanced conclusion, and a thematic focus on the complex cost of survival.

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Characters, Settings & Themes in Der brænder en ild

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