Young Andersen (2005)

Young Andersen (a miniseries in two parts) is the English title of a historical drama (based on a true story) which premiered on Danish television (DR-TV) in 2005.

It is about the life and career of the Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen who is famous all over the world for his fairy tales.

As the title says, this drama focuses on the time when Andersen was a young man, the time before he became a famous writer.

H. C. Andersen was born in 1805. This drama premiered in 2005 in order to mark and celebrate the 200 year anniversary of his birth. Here is some basic information about it:

** Original Danish title: Unge Andersen
** Director: Jens Peter “Rumle” Hammerich

** Writers: Rumle Hammerich and Ulf Stark

** Language: Danish

** Run time: 2 x 55 minutes = 110 minutes

The cast includes the following:

** Simon Dahl Thaulow as Young Andersen (born 1805)
** Peter Steen as Old Andersen (died 1875)

** Henning Jensen as Simon Meisling (1787-1856) – translator - headmaster in Slagelse 1822-1826; in Helsingør 1826-1839

** Lise Stegger as the mother

** Mikkel Konyher as Tuk (a fictional character)

** Per Oscarsson as H. C. Andersens grandfather (died 1823)

** Lars Brygmann as Jonas Collin (1776-1861) – a high-ranking government official

** Puk Scharbau as Mrs Meisling

** Niels Skousen as a Latin teacher

Since this drama is based on a true story, the basic facts are part of the public record. They are not a secret. Therefore I feel free to mention some of them here in this review.

While this drama is based on a true story, it is not a documentary film. It is a dramatized version of events. Not everything happened exactly as shown here.

An on-screen message that is placed at the end of each episode explains how the movie-makers approached the question of historical truth:

“While most characters are based on real historical persons, the details of the story and the dialogue are fictional.”

Hans Christian Andersen was born in Odense in 1805. He was born in a poor family, but he did go to elementary school where he learned how to read and write.

In 1819, shortly after his confirmation, Hans Christian decided to leave Odense and move to the Danish capital Copenhagen, hoping to get a better life. He stayed for three years.

During this time he tried several jobs or activities: singing in a choir, acting at a theatre, and writing plays and poems. But he did not succeed with any of these activities.

Hans Christian had a weird face and he was a weird person. His appearance did not help him much. His odd behaviour did not do him any good, either.

He wanted members of the upper classes to like and enjoy his plays and poems, but they did not really care about him. He was regarded as a person who was trying too hard to prove himself. They did not accept him. They ignored him or pushed him away. If they were kind, they felt sorry for him.

In this historical drama we follow the young Andersen in three different locations:

# 1. In Copenhagen = 1821-1822

# 2. In Slagelse = 1822-1826

# 3. In Helsingør = 1826-1827

When the drama begins, we see Old Andersen. They year is 1875 and he is old and weak. His health is failing. A nurse is taking care of him. A young maid tries to comfort him. But he knows he is going to die soon. While lying in bed, waiting for death to come, he thinks back to the time when he was a young man.

The story of Young Andersen is told by Old Andersen in a series of flashbacks.

In 1821, Young Andersen is in Copenhagen. He is trying to survive, but things are not going well for him. Then one day he has a lucky break. Jonas Collin feels that the young man has a potential and he wants to help him.

Collin is a high-ranking government official. At the time, Denmark was ruled by an absolute monarch. The officials who were close to the king were quite powerful, as long as they did not offend the king or abuse their position in any way.

Collin has the king’s ear and the king will offer Andersen a scholarship: room and board and tuition so he can go to school and complete his education. Andersen is told he must go to Slagelse where he will go to school.

The headmaster of the school is Simon Meisling. Andersen studies at Meisling’s school for four years (1822-1826). While Andersen is in Slagelse he finds a new friend, actually his first friend ever. His name is Tuk. He is one of the students.

But not everything is good. Andersen and Meisling do not get along. Andersen wants to write poems in his free time. Meisling forbids this, telling him that he must focus on his education and forget his “silly” ideas about writing.

In 1826, Collin shows up at the school to tell Andersen that he must move to Helsingør and continue his studies there. Andersen is happy to get away from Meisling, but then he learns that Meisling is also moving to Helsingør. In fact, Meisling is the new headmaster of the school in Helsingør!

After one more year with Meisling, Andersen has had enough. In 1827, Andersen decides to leave Helsingør and return to Copenhagen, even though his education is not yet complete.

This is where the drama about Young Andersen ends. In 1828, Hans Christian completes his education in Copenhagen. He graduates from secondary school.

Shortly after this, his career begins to take off. His writings are beginning to be accepted, but this part of his life is outside the scope of Young Andersen.

What do reviewers say about this historical drama? On IMDb, it has a rating of 64 per cent. This rating is average.

On the Danish website Philm.dk, Tobias Lynge Herler offers 2 of 7 stars, which corresponds to 29 per cent. This rating is low.

According to TLH, this historical drama about Andersen has several problems. I will mention two of them here. Regarding casting, TLH says:

“However, the biggest problem is Simon Dahl Thaulow who has to portray the young Andersen and who does not reach a credible level. Unfortunately, it is fatal to have such poor acting in a main character and it is very disappointing to see that Rumle Hammerich (who usually has great talent in directing) can fail to such a large degree. Was the face of the actor more important than his talent? I suspect this is the case!”

Regarding the language that is spoken in the historical drama, TLH says:

“The language spoken is sloppy and difficult to hear. It is very sad to discover that Andersen and most other characters speak so fast and modern that absolutely none of Hans Christian Andersen’s contemporaries would have been able to understand a single word of what is being said. Even for a modern audience it is difficult to keep up with the dialogue.”

As you can see, TLH has good arguments to support the low rating that he offers.

I will add one more argument to support a low rating: as stated above, Andersen finds a new friend while he is in Slagelse. Tuk is his first friend ever. He says he has never had a friend before. The friendship with Tuk is a big part of the story while Andersen is in Slagelse.

It is a nice detail, but Tuk is a fictional character. There was no Tuk in Slagelse. There was no friend like that while Andersen was in Slagelse, so the story about the friendship with Tuk is highly misleading.

I am sure the movie-makers have good intentions. But good intentions do not guarantee a good result. And when we are talking about a movie or a book or any other work of art, the only thing that really matters is the result. And in this case, the result is just not good enough.

The topic is interesting. It could have been a great drama or at least a good drama, but unfortunately it is not. It is not even average. This is why it cannot get more than 2 of 5 stars, which means a rating of 40 per cent.

PS. Jens Peter “Rumle” Hammerich (born 1954) is the son of Paul Hammerich (1927-1992) who was a well-known Danish journalist.

*****