Min fynske barndom (1994) - full transcript

A film by Erik Clausen
For my son Emil

My Funen Childhood

Script by Erik Clausen, based on
Carl Nielsen's autobiography,
"My Funen Childhood"

Film music and musical arrangements
Andy Pape

Music
Carl Nielsen

And when the music ends,
he begins to speak.

"What is this, though?
What kind of glory is this?"

"How did I get here?
Am I dreaming or am I awake?"

"No, I'm awake."

"And where is my wife, and where are
my children, and where is my house?"

"Where is everything? And where is Jeppe?"



"Everything has changed so much,
including myself."

"What is this, though?
Nille, Nille, Nille! "

"I think I'm in ..."

Where does he think he has gone?

What is he saying?

Yes, what does he say when he wakes up?

- Good morning.
- No.

"Nille, Nille, Nille,
I think I'm in ... "

- In heaven.
- Yes, right.

- Father, is there a kingdom of heaven?
- Yes...

- It's probably not anywhere nearby.
- Yes.

One day the geese ran in
in the landowner's garden.

There was music from inside the house.
A girl was sitting and playing.

Then she played wrong, and left.
Then I went in and played a tune.



Come outside, my boy.

Carl, you must never go inside
a house without permission.

Never go anywhere,
where you have no business.

If something went missing
in there, we would be blamed.

- Did you understand?
- Niels.

Yes. Yes. Again.

Mother!

You, fiddler.

Can't you play a little for me?

Yes. '"It tastes of bird, though"
said the crone.'

She cooked soup on the branch
where the thing had just sat.

Among the ten fingers
there are both long and short.

If my father had boots,
then he would be happy.

They're the priest's.

Only the shoes know
if the socks have holes.

Feel free to try them.

A shit under the quilt is
as good as a lump in the oven.

It's the priest.

"Here it comes again," said the farmer.
He gave pork to his sow.

- God's peace and good day, Shoemaker.
- Good day.

Since death has come into vogue,
life has been uncertain.

- You sit and philosophise.
- Poverty is the sixth sense.

- It will be two shillings.
- Two shillings.

Yes.

Who's this?

It's Carl.

He's a fiddler -
like his father Niels Maler.

Niels Maler. We do not see them
much these days in the house of God.

- Praying is heavier than working.
- Goodbye.

"What a relief," said the girl.
She had twins.

I'm not as good at brick making,
as I am at playing the violin.

But my big brother Albert
is good at both.

My name is Sigfred.
I live on the poor farm.

That's my mother.
Her name is Tosse-Lise.

- Don't you want just a little?
- She drinks brandy.

When I go to America,
I'll have a horse.

And I'll ride around
throwing gold pieces to the poor.

- There are no poor people in America.
- It's not certain I'll even get there.

On poor farms they die
of tuberculosis. Like flies.

Can you see?

I can hear, Carl.

Here is a big space.

And over here there is a big space.

And out here, at the sides,
the leaves rustle.

A little further in, they whisper.

And here in the middle
is much quieter.

So it must be here,
that the trunk is. No?

Can you hear?

You can play that too.

I grew up on the poor farm,
and played and played -

- for all the poor souls,
so that they danced and laughed.

But not everyone who dances is happy.

And not all who are happy, dance.

Goodbye, Carl.
See you at school this autumn.

Goodbye, Marie.

We never have any money.
Mother says Father should slaughter the pig.

But he won't do that until winter,
when Peter gets a place on a farm.

Peter can't play the violin.

And Marie is going to the cheerful
house of Per Godskesen's.

Then there won't be
so many mouths to feed.

Mother wishes the
family would stay together.

I have to play, and take care of blind
Anders so he doesn't fall into a ditch.

My violin sings
as beautifully as the lark.

Yes, but the lark costs nothing.

- Well, did you like the music?
- Yes, indeed.

For satan's sake, get going!
Do what I say!

Your old battle-axe!

Hell and damnation!

I always have to make you!

Forward with you!

Mother!

Mother!

You old crone,
I don't want you drinking.

Sigfred speaks to his mother,
as if he were her husband.

That's because he has no father.

We must have the sand now.

Sigfred! Carl!

Look, the sea!

When I'm with Sigfred,
I'm not afraid of anything.

He taught me to swim.
He's my best friend.

I thought
it was an angel -

- and then I saw it was just
my sister Karoline from Copenhagen.

It's Karoline.
It's your sister.

Good day, Carl.

Good day, Albert.

Won't you play a little for Karoline?

So, Karoline...

- He plays beautifully.
- You should probably get well again.

Lars and I were writing to each other
right from when I began to travel, and ...

- Yes?
- Then we got engaged.

- Is it the Lars the blacksmith?
- I wrote to him and told him about
my illness.

And now he has broken up with me.
He doesn't want me.

We have seen Denmark
under the direction of the landowners -

led into a war for lunatics.

While they themselves sat in safety,
in high-ceilinged living rooms, -

- they sent out men and craftsmen
for a war adventure, -

- which has left Denmark
in deep poverty.

That is why the shooting associations are
the only way.

Yes, just look at Niels Maler.

He had to serve in the war
without pay, leaving his wife and children, -

- while the rich landowners
bought themselves and their sons exemption.

- That's why it's the only way ...
- Mother, there's Lars.

We must take our destiny
into our own hands.

We must not be sluggish, but through
exercise keep ourselves moving.

The shooting club must be there,
where the young people gather, -

- also for fun,
and exchange of views, and lectures.

- Just act like he's not there.
- In the winter, we will build.

Niels Maler. You're a fiddler.

Can't you compose a march, so that
the shooting club gets its own tune?

- Højby Shooting-March!
- I can't compose.

When I play, it's music
I already know.

- You know the notes, Niels.
- I'll do the best I can.

Can't I have some peace?
I have to compose.

Go.

Father's playing inside the house.

Come here. The season's over.

Everything needs to be cleaned up,
and everything must be put in its place.

The tables must be washed,
and put out here. Get started.

Thinking of blacksmithing, Carl?

I'm telling you, you should go
and look in through the smith's windows.

Carl! The blacksmith Lars has become engaged
with a farmer's daughter from Hjallese.

It is someone other
than a fiddler's daughter.

What could anyone do, though,
with a girl such as her?

Who wants to marry a woman
who won't last the wedding night?

What has she accomplished in Copenhagen?

- Who wants to marry tuberculosis?
- Ten, shut up!

Stop! Let me go, Albert!
Let go, Albert!

Let go now! Let go of me! Albert!

Albert!

Albert.

Take it.

Shouldn't I play a little
for Karoline?

Yes, Carl, then it won't
last as long.

Caroline's soul is
on the way up to heaven.

Mother, I can take Carl and Albert
home with me, to Godskesen.

Until the baby is born.

No, not Albert.

He has a bad hand,
and he must look after the pig.

- Now we'll play at getting married.
- Play a little more, Carl.

Now my angel is getting married.
You can have her, Carl.

So you, Carl -
- you must be the groom.

You can't have
those old clogs on. Take them off.

Then I ask you, Carl...

I don't want a man
in such stockings.

One, two, three, four, five, -

- six, seven, eight, nine, ten!

Here I come!

Anne Sofie!

No!

Carl?

A letter has arrived from your mother.
You have to go home. You have to go to school.

- Have we got a new little sister?
- You can see when you get home.

Spring.

Spring.

Goodbye, Anne-Sofie.

I got a kiss,
so now we are lovers.

Good day, Father.

- Good day.
- I am to say 'Good day' from Per Godskesen.

Thanks.

- Hello, Carl.
- I'm playing.

Where is the child, mother?

Yes, Carl, it was a girl,
but it was only a frail little thing.

She didn't live very long.

Yes, it's the end
for more children.

Albert can no longer play the violin,
so now he has to play the drum.

What is the fourth commandment?

A shit under the quilt is
as good as a lump in the oven.

Peter is not very good at school.

And he's not good at playing
the violin either.

But he is strong,
and good at building traps.

It's cow-dung!

And have the stupid sons of farmers
fall into them.

You sent messengers to get me, father.

There are some who say the poor
kids always lie and steal.

I reckon my sons are restrained
and pay no attention to banter, -

- and leave it to others to arouse
the fury of farmers.

Did you lure your brothers into digging
a hole and filling it with cow dung?

- Yes, they deserved it.
- Apologise
- They were asking for it.

- Apologise
- Never in my life.

It was the funniest thing
I'd ever seen.

The dumbest peasants
get the biggest potatoes.

It's not good to be alone -
not even in Paradise.

Take them.

Yes...

Thank you for the music, fiddler.

Anne Sofie?

Hello. I've got new clogs.

I promised to come
and play a little for Anne-Sofie.

If you want to play for Anne-Sofie,
then go out into the field and play.

Then Anne-Sofie will hear you
in heaven.

Look, Father's coming.

We need colleges,
where we can send our children, -

- so they can acquire more skill, and knowledge,
and become free people.

You're leaving?

- Yes, I'm going to America.
- But, Peter...

I'm going, Mother.
I have nothing to do here.

Have you talked to your father about this?

Then I'd never get anywhere.

You must say farewell for me.

You mustn't say anything -
or I'll start crying.

I've seen you cry
many times, Peter.

You cried when you were born.

- Peter ...
- I'll write.

I am, you are.

You are.

I am, she is, he is...

Keep pace.
Don't get out of sync.

It's the French sickness.

Want to see a bird's nest?

See. It's music.

Listen.

Attention! Right turn!

Next.

Carl Nielsen!

Carl Nielsen.

Yes?

Rifle March

Carl is a good boy.
He has been very good in school.

And then he has been in apprenticeship, -

- but unfortunately the business had to
close when the owner died.

My husband is a composer and musician.

He composed
Højby Rifle March -

- at the request of Klaus Berntsen.
Carl played it the first time it was played.

On the cornet?

Yes.

- This school teacher Berntsen...
- Candidate for Parliament.

- Do you know him personally?
- Yes, he's a friend of the family.

Yes. And Carl, do you think we
can make a soldier out of you?

Carl's father served in the war
and received the medal of merit.

Yes, good.

Next!

I played the violin
in the Rifle March.

Yes, I know that, but here
you have to play the cornet.

He's a handsome man, though.
Probably a good teacher.

Carl, now there are just a few things
I have to tell you.

Take good care of yourself. Close your ears,
when the grown men engage in obscene talk.

Stay clean
and get some proper food.

When you have free time, you must come home
and get the best I can give you.

Father will be happy when I
tell him you've passed.

We don't even know
whether I have the position.

Congratulations, Carl Nielsen. The position
of regimental musician is yours.

If you meet
this terrible Jens Søby, -

- of whom I have heard
all sorts of horrible things -

- then you must stay
far away, my boy.

Father will be happy if you come
home and play with him at the feasts.

- Goodbye, Carl.
- Goodbye.

Goodbye.
00:48:33,160 --> 00:48:36,118
- How much is it?
- Eight kroner.

It's a nice room.
It was our son's.

He emigrated to America
ten years and three months ago.

My brother also went to America.
He's a butcher. What does your son do?

We've never heard from him.

- Can I play music?
- Yes, my husband is deaf.

Play, for Satan's sake!

Keep pace, for Satan's sake.
It's not Ejby Rifle March.

- Højby.
- What was that?

Højby Rifle March. Not Ejby.

Reveille and the Retreat.
And it must be perfect.

Otherwise you're on bread and water.
Perfect and precise.

And it's every morning,
at six o'clock precisely.

It's the death penalty if
it's late. Remember that.

Your dear mother's not here to help you now.

Say 'Good day' to your mother for me.

And it's every morning,
at six o'clock precisely.

Otherwise, it's the death penalty.

Stop!

- It's too late.
- They won't notice it.

- They're all asleep.
- I dare not.

If a bugler is not there at the
right time, then he mustn't play at all.

Do not waste a wonderful morning
on trifles.

Five or ten minutes either way
won't make any difference.

Yes, so this is Carl,
our new bugler.

And he is to take a part in the orchestra.

You have to sit there.

Where is Jens Søby?

Jens Søby!

There's one thing
I have to warn you against.

There's a terrible man in the orchestra,
a man named Jens Søby.

Signore. Silencio.

Well, it's good.

Carl!

Sigfred!

Hello, my young friend.

Trust yourself to the Devil himself.

I know the troll.
He wants the princess.

Goodbye, my friends.

- Are you coming with us?
- No.

The princess is tempted
by other suitors.

- But I can say 'Simsalabim!'
- Sigfred!

No!

Sigfred!

Carl. I just need to ask
if you'll do me a favour.

Deliver this letter
to this address.

- Will you do it?
- Yes.

Thank you.

Greet Jens and say I have missed him.
I will write as soon as I can.

There you go.
You're welcome to come again.

Even if you don't
have any letters to deliver.

- Sigfred.
- Carl, what are you doing here?

- See you later.
- Stop. Stop him!

Mozart, isn't it?

No, my name is Outzen.
I recommend myself.

But the young man is right.
It is Mozart,

who fills this humble place,
not to mention a tavern.

Mozart can be played anywhere.

Mozart is a child.

He is innocent.

You can play him everywhere.
Even in Hell.

Yes, though I haven't had the pleasure of
playing there - yet.

But I'll probably get there soon enough.
What a happy reunion that will be.

All the guests we have here,
in "The Blue Eye", will be there.

But Mozart is for all occasions.

He is light.

And he is what is behind the light.

- Does the gentleman play himself?
- Yes, in the regimental orchestra.

There I play the trombone.
I'm a reserve in the orchestra.

I also play the violin,
and have begun composing.

That so?

May I ask
the composer's name?

Carl Nielsen.

No...

Your colleague Mozart,
you can't do without him.

But then why should one
go without Mozart?

Why not lift your hat and say:
"Good day, Mr Mozart. Welcome."

"Don't you want to sit down and let me
get you just a little glass of wine? "

"There's Outzen sitting
and playing your music."

What do you think
Mozart would say to that, Carl?

What do you play,
when you're not composing?

Violin, but I have no manuscript paper.

I have so much I could play from here
all the way to the King in Copenhagen.

You can have some.

Try to make a simple melody, something
the ear can remember. That's the hardest part.

Take care now. Carefully. Carefully.

As the lieutenant can hear,
it is very finely tuned, -

- because it has come
from a priest in Kerteminde.

His wife couldn't stand the music,
so it has hardly been played.

But it's not just the sound,
it's also the piano itself.

The entire construction of the piano.
It's a fine piece of furniture.

- How much is it?
- It costs 50 kroner.

The lieutenant is knowledgeable about music.

The lieutenant can pay for it in installments
with ten kroner in advance -

- and a crown a week.

Pork. Margarine. Brandy.

Next.

Bread. Margarine.
Pork. Brandy.

Bread. Pork. Margarine.

Brandy. Margarine. Pork.

Would you like to buy it?

25 øre?

Dismissed!

- Do you have nothing but bread to eat?
- No, but it's good enough.

No, you must have a piece of pork.

Thank you very much.

I have become the orderly
for the conductor's wife.

She is very beautiful.

Today she kissed me on the cheek
just like...

Your mother?

But she's much younger than him,
and it's like she's bored.

The way she looks at me.

I have heard,
that when women look directly at you, -

- That's a sign,
that they're lovesick.

Well, shall we play, fiddler?

What celestial music
has the composer come up with?

It's rubbish. It's an
imitation of something we've played.

If it's not personal,
then it doesn't become human.

A piece of music should be as though you
have cut and served a piece of cake -

- cut out from the composer's soul.

I know I have
never composed a line.

Why would I?

Why imitate something
I have learned and love?

That's why I would want to portray
the misfortune of my love like a party.

Like a thunderstorm.
Like a volcano erupting, -

- which shines like diamonds,
and consumes...

Consumes.

Let's have some music.

Now, see our host there.
There's not much music in him.

He is like this...

Then there's the girl Magda.

You see Magda.
She's handsome and happy, and a little cranky...

She is like this...

You can also imagine a landscape,
at some moment of the day.

What should it be, Carl? One
early morning when the day has just begun.

But it's still sleepy. Yes.

What tone should it be?

Yes.

Major or minor?

Major.

Minor.

Major.

Minor.

Let's have some real music.

- Carl? May I ask you a question?
- Yes.

- May I come and visit you?
- Yes.

- I have time off on Monday evening.
- Yes.

Let me see, Carl.

The lark sings his trills
in time to the swaying of the corn

The sun warms my friends,
at night the stars stand guard

'kvitte-vitte-vitte-vit' the lark sings

Well, soldier.
How about a swig?

'Kvitte-vitte-vit' as time goes by
'kvitte-vitte-vit' into next year

Yes, Albert here,
he'll never be a musician.

But a painter. He can paint a barn door
faster than a cow can shit.

'Kvitte-vitte-vitte-vit' the lark sings
'kvitte-vitte-vitte-vit' the farmer sows

Do you have a girlfriend in Odense?

The sun is rising in the east

Yes.

What's her name?

Magda.

Magda.

Come in.

Good day, Carl.

You have a nice place.

Do you want a glass of water?

That's a beautiful picture, Carl.

The Good Samaritan.

It is man's goodness and charity.

Come over here.

There must be a higher purpose in the
fact that the two of us should meet.

Carl, you have a light around you.

Did you know that there are many called,
but few chosen?

I can feel your heart beating.
You can feel mine.

Sit down, Carl.

Now we two really need to talk together.
There are many beautiful places in the world.

But I know this, that there is
also much malice and meanness.

But there is a place
which is Paradise:

A place where everyone helps everyone,
and where everyone is always happy.

Imagine if we two
could go to Paradise.

To Utah in America. There is one
of the elect, Joseph Smith.

He has received the power of God
to organise Paradise on earth.

People travel from
all over the world -

- to this new Paradise
and to their Prophet Joseph Smith.

He has set up Paradise in Utah.

All of us who believe in Mr. Smith
and his teachings of kindness and God, -

- have promised to share the news,
but only to good people.

We tell about the Mormon Paradise
in Utah to those we choose.

And you are my chosen one. Joseph
Smith says we must choose one.

Not a family member, not a spouse
and not a boyfriend.

- Am I not your boyfriend?
- No.

If I am to make myself worthy
of entrance into Paradise, -

- then I must win over one person
for the cause, and take him with me.

- And Carl, you have abilities.
- No!

No!

No.

In Utah, we Mormons are being persecuted
and mocked, because we are pure.

- No!
- Such was also the case with Jesus.

- No!
- This is how it always is with the righteous.

Come in.

There's a man who wants to talk to you.
He wants his money for the piano.

Shh! I came to see if the corporal was
at home. I'll say you're not at home.

- Carl!
- Sigfred, is that you?

I was just on my way to find somewhere
to eat. Would you like to join me?

Copenhagen is a big city, -

- and the women in Copenhagen...
are willing.

- Cheap?
- No, willing.

The way they look at one.

Ooh, fiddler Carl.

What do you do in Copenhagen?

There's plenty to do.
People are pouring in from the countryside -

- with rosy cheeks
and savings in their pockets.

Some of them I help
to deal with various things.

Here's for my share.

A crown.

I should have used it
to pay for my piano.

Can you get a piano for a crown?

No. I pay a crown a week.
I haven't paid for four weeks.

- How much do you owe?
- 18 kroner.

Then I can pay it.

Now I am modulating to A major.

I'll cheat and proceed to D major.

- Is that something you wrote?
- Yes, but it's not finished yet.

- Who wrote that?
- Carl, Carl Nielsen.

- Who's Carl Nielsen?
- It's me.

I was to meet Mr Outzen.
I have some music.

- He has left.
- Left?

He has left with Magda to America.
He has become a Mormon.

- With Magda?
- He left a packet of manuscript sheets.

Composer Carl Nielsen

Well if it isn't the
'composer' Carl Nielsen.

I came to practice.

Maybe he finds inspiration
among the common people.

I've got some manuscript paper.

Well then, let's practice together, Carl.

Let the barracks hear something else
other than marching music.

Music is not for keeping in step.

Music is for love.

Do you want to see my music?

Carl?

Albert!

I can't stand Father anymore.

When he gets too drunk
he becomes vicious.

It's more than I can deal with.

Then he strikes
on the slightest provocation.

He doesn't want me anyway
if I can't play.

- He only talks about you.
- What does Mother say?

It's out in the workshop it happens.
He goes always to the workshop or the barn.

You could stay here with me. Practice
a little on the violin or the piano.

If I even see a violin,
I think only of Father.

No, I want to try
to get work as a painter.

Maybe I can go to a
technical school. I don't want to play.

Now you must hear something
I myself have made.

It's nothing special.

Listen to the whole thing.

Now comes a tension chord.

- Why are you lying there?
- Are these your barrels?

No.

- Aren't you freezing?
- Yes.

But I arrived too late for the train.
I'm going to Copenhagen.

To my sister's. She's got me
a place in the home of a priest.

Shh.

Good night.

Ladies and gentlemen.

Now the orchestra has the pleasure
to present -

the premiere of a quartet.

Composer Carl Nielsen!

A quartet in D minor, which the composer
has been generous to dedicate

to this great evening,
and call "Masquerade".

May we sit here?

Yes, of course.

- Thanks for the music.
- Yes, thanks for the music.

You're welcome.

- Are you Norwegian?
- No, I'm Swedish and my name is Anna.

Anna.

Carl Nielsen.

Anna and her father
are guests here with us.

That the kid can hit the
high C on a horn, means nothing.

Shh. Can you hear,
they're talking about you?

There are not four bars that are his own.
It's all Pleyel, Haydn and Onslow.

You're worse
than the dumbest peasant beast.

But a peasant may see which pig
will be best! - And so does Carl.

But you can neither hear nor see.

Although he hasn't written a single note,
I can see success coming.

'I'm Swedish and my name is Anna!'

Albert?

Come and see who's here.

Sigfred.

- I said he could stay with us.
- I'll be staying a while.

Of course.

Albert, aren't you getting up early?

- How was the piano sonata?
- String Quartet.

Good, thank you.

Ten of Clubs.

And before I could say,
one, two, -

- a woodland troll appeared
from the deep Swedish forest.

She threw off her mask,
and looked at me,

and my hands shook,
and my heart trembled.

- Good day. Could I see Anna or Beate?
- One moment.

But Carl.
So this is how you look in uniform?

- Yes, I'm a regimental musician.
- The composer is a regimental musician?

Good day, Carl.

I would like to invite Anna out to see
a bit of the city. Maybe we could go for a walk.

- We could all go for a walk.
- It's a great idea.

Yes.

There is a big difference
between Swedes and Danes.

The Danes take it easy.

They have not come as far
in development as the Swedes.

They cannot really see the potential
of industry. That's what Father says.

But on the other hand, H.C. Andersen
came from here, from Odense.

- Yes, he did.
- He could never have been Swedish.

- Do you understand what I mean?
- Yes.

Albert?

Carl?

I'm in love!

- Congratulations.
- With the most beautiful girl I've ever seen.

May I not offer you
a glass of beer?

I don't think it'll work out.

I don't think I've ever seen you
look serious. You're always smiling.

Why not?
Why should I be serious?

- But you're serious.
- No.

Well, when I think of you,
I feel like singing and dancing.

But when I see you,
then I get serious.

Listen to the rustle. How
should one portray it in music?

Which instrument?

The cello.

Listen.

A soft vortex.

A snare drum.

Anna ...

I love you.

- Anna, will you marry me?
- Yes. Where's the church?

Will you marry me? I've
never felt this way about anyone else.

It's like music,
flowing through me.

- We could get engaged now and marry later.
- I don't want to marry a soldier.

I'm not a soldier.
I want to be a composer.

I don't want to marry a composer.
I don't even know if I want to get married.

Anna, I have so much music
inside me, that I must get out.

I hear symphonies. Better to die
than not get the music out.

You can't just say no to that.
It's like having an instinct.

Anna, I'm going to show the whole world,
that I can make music and symphonies.

Music that is as simple and natural as
when blind Anders blows into his clarinet.

Then do it.
You're only talking about yourself.

- Don't you want to marry me?
- No.

- I love you.
- I like you a lot too.

- You just kissed me.
- I care a lot about you.

Anna!

Anna.

Anna, I'll come to
pick you up tomorrow morning.

Sound the attack, bugler!
Sound the attack!

Forward!

Thank you.

I don't know,
what you want with that girl.

To spend a night with her is like
sitting in the midst of beautiful music.

Don't you have a girlfriend?

Not anymore. She said no,
when I proposed to her.

- You proposed to her? But...
- I don't want to talk about it.

But I want to live the rest of my life
with her.

- I must have her.
- Sound the attack!

If only I could borrow a gun,
to shoot him down.

Bugler, Sound the attack!

Come on, Carl, play for weddings.

What is that?
Is it the signal to attack?

No, it's a Wedding March.

Forward!

- What do you want?
- To talk to Anna.

- She's left.
- She's left?

- Yes.
- Left for where?

She has left with her Mr. Father
for Germany, and then on to Paris.

It's located in France.

- Didn't she leave a message?
- No. In a word, no.

Hey Carl, You'll split apart
your beloved piano.

If I split my piano, then at least
I would have had some inspiration with it.

- You're always hanging around in here.
- Not for much longer.

What do you mean?

- What is it?
- Have a guess.

- Is it your call-up?
- It's my ticket to America.

- I'm leaving tomorrow, at 12 o'clock.
- What?

- Was it expensive?
- It was shamefully paid.

Well, if it isn't Outzen?

Did you think it was Mozart?

Don't you recognise me?
Carl. Carl Nielsen.

Carl?

Carl.

My wife had a brother,
named Carl.

He died before the war.

Thus he escaped it.

I got your manuscript paper.

I've composed. Have a look.

Have a glance at it.
I would like your opinion.

I can't do that now, Carl. Can't
you see, I have my hands full?

- What did the old fool say?
- He's not an old fool.

He's the smartest man
I have ever met.

Young man.

- Do you have a letter?
- I must talk with Jens Søby.

I have some music I made.
I want his opinion.

- I thought he was here.
- But Jens isn't here.

Jens is at home with his sweet wife
and his sweet children.

His wife embroiders,
and Jens smokes a pipe, -

- whilst he thinks of me
and everything we do together.

The pig. He uses me.

He uses you too, as you already know.
Well, he's not here. So what will you do?

- What's the title of your music, beautiful Carl?
- It's called "Anna".

"Anna" is spelled the same way,
backwards or forwards.

Anna, she is the same at both ends.

What's your name?

Didn't Jens tell you?

Anna.

May I dedicate my composition to you,
and name it after you?

There should be nothing after me.
Suddenly, one day - I'm gone.

Gone, gone, gone.

And so should you be too, beautiful Carl.
Gone, gone, gone.

Sigfred!

Just get going,
so we can have some peace.

Albert?

What happened?

We have to do something.

Sigfred is a thief and a conman.

- What do you think he's been living on?
- Business over in Copenhagen.

He did a lot of burglaries
in Copenhagen, and hid here, -

- until he felt safe,
and then he went back.

Sigfred has been wanted for a long time.
He came here to hide.

- Do you understand, Carl. Do you understand
little Carl?
- Well, Albert.

This box was full of money,
which the police found.

And here's Sigfred's freedom,
but you see nothing.

Didn't you know this all along?

You don't have to be musical to be
able to work it out. Here you go.

If you didn't always sit with your head
in the piano, you would see what was happening, -

- but you're so busy with yourself,
that you're blind.

For example, this.
You didn't do it on purpose.

But you never said sorry.
Do you realise that?

You never said sorry. It was
the end of my violin playing.

And I played better than you.
Did you know that?

I played better than you,
and Father knew it too.

But it was always about you.

- I couldn't stand it.
- But...

Do you realise how much I've
hated that violin when you play it?

If I'd had the money,
I would've left a long time ago.

"Anna"? Who is Anna?

Nobody.
It's just a name.

We'll take it one more time
from the beginning.

I've taken Sigfred's ticket
and left for America.

Send my regards home. Regards, Albert.

- Albert's on his way to America.
- Tell him to greet my son.

Hey, you.

Albert!

Have a good trip.

Take care.

Albert.

Albert.

Albert.

I'm sorry, Albert.

Give my regards to Mother.

I brought this for you.
It will bring happiness.

- It was Anne-Sofie's.
- Thank you, Marie.

My regards to Per Godskesen.

You just have to
say goodbye to Father.

Why aren't you in uniform?
Maybe you're on your way to America too?

No. Not America.
I'm going to Copenhagen.

To educate myself
to be a composer.

- I want to be a composer.
- You don't have to go to Copenhagen.

You can compose just as well here.
We too need some new dance music.

I want to make symphonies.

- Is it not good enough to be a fiddler anymore?
- Yes, it is.

But I want to make new music
for the new age we live in.

- The world is changing.
- You talk like Klaus Berntsen.

Perhaps. But he has procured me a place
at the Conservatory of Music in Copenhagen.

That Klaus Berntsen. Will the 'new age'
make his sons too run away from home?

Father, the music I have inside me,
I have from you, and the other fiddlers.

So maybe you are thinking of
resigning from your commission?

I've already done that.

If Carl wants to be a composer,
then he must try.

One cannot have a dream
without trying it.

Goodbye... fiddler.

Thus Carl went to Copenhagen,
became a composer and created
his wonderful music - but he never
forgot his roots.

Thank you for the music
- fiddler.

English Subtitles by
John Hamilton