The Kiss
Kysset
dir. Bille August
Denmark, 2022 - 116
A romantic drama set in Denmark in 1913, the story follows Anton, a noble and conscientious young man whose top priority is to complete his training as a cavalry officer. During a training session, he orders his platoon to help Baron von Løvenskjold and finds himself invited to a ball at the castle, where he meets the baron’s beautiful daughter Edith who has been in an accident and ended up in a wheelchair. Anton feels a growing compassion towards Edith, but he can’t figure out whether his feelings are of pity or true love. In his attempt to do the right thing, he gets ever more entangled in promises, lies, and responsibility towards the Løvenskjold family and towards Edith. “The unique story exposes some unknown aspects of the human psyche and touches upon a series of eternal moral issues, framed in a moving intimate narrative about the encounter of two broken young people”, said Bille August. A “loose adaptation” inspired by the novel “Beware of Pity” by Stefan Zweig and adapted to a Danish setting by Oscar and Cannes Palme d’Or winner Bille August.
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