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
** 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)
** 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
# 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.
*****
Danish poster for the historical drama
Danish poster for the historical drama
*****
Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875)
This photograph is from 1869
*****
Simon Meisling (1787-1856)
*****
Jonas Collin (1776-1861)
*****
