Klaus Rifbjerg´s classic novel went through an ill-advised update from the 50´es to the 80´es in its transition to the screen. Unknowns were cast in the lead parts (with the exception of Allan Olsen, miscast as Janus), and the result is a sometimes embarrassing, mostly plain old boring melodrama of a doomed romance among wealthy Danish students. Susse Wold is a rich bitch caricature, portraying the girl´s mother like a Disney villain, and Ahlgren and Bendix register zero as the unfortunate romantic couple (and where are they now?). Worst of all is the dialogue, which will make you cringe (Did teens really talk like this in the 80´es? I don´t think so!), and credibility is hurled out the window early on; one sequence has the main characters discussing modern art on a high intellectual level and in the very next scene giggling and talking about going to see the latest Eddie Murphy-film...what the heck was that about? Decent box office hit, though, but very few fond memories.
Review of The Chronic Innocence
