Unruly

In Copenhagen in 1933, a young and defiant Maren dances through nightclubs and late-night parties, using the rhythms of jazz to momentarily escape the dull, harsh realities of her home life. Her spirit is bright, restless, and determined to carve out a space where she can breathe freely, even as the world around her presses in with expectations and judgments.

After neighbors complain about her behavior, Child Services arrives to interview Maren’s mother. The authorities decide to place Maren in a home for delinquent girls, a decision that sets her on a path she cannot easily turn away from. During the initial interview with Dr. Wildenskov, Maren finds the questions condescending, the mood patronizing, and her answers deliberately withheld. The doctor’s assessment is blunt: he views her as unable to answer basic questions, labels her as sexually promiscuous, and diagnoses her as mildly mentally deficient, recommending placement on the island of Sprogø.

On Sprogø, Maren shares a cramped room with Sørine, a fellow resident who keeps a careful tally of violations in hopes of earning an early release to see her young daughter. In subsequent interviews on the island, Maren again refuses to engage with the routine questions, fully aware that such defiance may lock her into a long stay under strict rules, relentless punishment, isolation, and menial labor. She begs for another chance to be understood, but her request is denied, deepening the sense of confinement around her.

A moment of vulnerability shifts the atmosphere on the island. Workmen arrive to repair the facilities and must stay overnight because of rough seas and bad weather. Maren finds herself drawn to one of the workers, and she escapes her room for a night with him. The encounter results in pregnancy, and she is sent back to the mainland to give birth. Yet the baby is taken from her custody within days, a cruel interruption to any sense of possibility. While still in hospital, she learns a harsh truth: she has been sterilised under a newly enacted Danish law, a devastating turn that underscores the regime’s control over female bodies.

During a movie night on the island, Maren and Sørine stage a bold diversion and attempt to flee by using the boat that carries the projectionist. They are prevented from starting the engine, and Maren makes a desperate jump into the ocean. The staff fail to locate her, and only the next day is her lifeless body recovered from the water, a stark reminder of the high price paid for resistance.

Sørine faces a grim choice: she is told that she may leave the island, but only if she agrees to sterilisation. Her longing to see her daughter again overwhelms fear, and she consents, taking a position as a maid with a frail elderly couple. After three years under Protective Services, she is told that she will be released, and she resolves to go and meet her daughter Ellen, hoping for a future that might still hold a glimmer of freedom.

The film closes with Sørine and Ellen walking down a country road, a quiet, hopeful image framed by the stark truth of what happened. A final text reveals that the home on Sprogø was open from 1923 to 1961, a historical note that hangs over the narrative like a fog lifting just enough to reveal the system’s long shadow.

This story is told in a restrained, documentary-like tone, letting the events speak for themselves while inviting reflection on the ways society sought to control and redefine the lives of young women. The emotional weight comes from the characters’ endurance and the quiet, relentless machinery of authority, rather than from melodrama, making the film a stark meditation on autonomy, vulnerability, and the costs of state power.

Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 16:56