Sonja: The White Swan is a historical and biographical drama (based on a true story) which premiered in 2018. It is about the Norwegian athlete Sonja Henie who was once a famous star all over the world because of her remarkable talent for ice-skating.
Here is some basic information about this drama:
** Director: Anne Sewitsky
** Writers: Mette M. Bølstad and Andreas Markusson
** Languages spoken: Norwegian and English
** Run time: 114 minutes
The cast includes the following:
** Ine Marie Wilmann as Sonja Henie (1912-1969) – athlete and actress
** Eldar Skar as Leif Henie (1907-1984) – Sonja’s brother
** Anders Mordal as Wilhelm Henie (1872-1937) – Sonja’s father
** Anneke von der Lippe as Selma Henie (1888-1961) – Sonja’s mother
** Valerie Kane as Connie – Sonja’s personal assistant (a fictional character) (a composite of several assistants)
** Malcolm Adams as Arthur Wirtz (1901-1983) – an American businessman
** Hugh O’Connor as “Winnie” (1912-1980) – Sonja’s second husband (married 1949-1956)
** Pål Sverre Hagen as Niels Onstad (1909-1978) - a Norwegian businessman – Sonja’s third husband (married 1956-1969)
Sonja Henie was married three times:
THE FIRST MARRIAGE 1940-1946
** Husband Dan Topping
** This marriage has been excluded from the drama.
THE SECOND MARRIAGE 1949-1956
** Husband Winthrop Gardner (aka Winnie)
** This marriage is included in the drama.
THE THIRD MARRIAGE 1956-1969
** Husband Niels Onstad
** Niels appears several times in the drama, because he is a family friend. The marriage is only mentioned in an on-screen message at the end of the drama.
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 in this review. Besides, I have to mention a few details in order to explain my rating.
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. Some details have been added or excluded for practical reasons or for dramatic purposes. But the basic story is true.
In this drama, we follow Sonja’s life and career, almost from the very beginning in 1912 and almost to the very end in 1969.
Sonja is only four years old in 1916 when she begins skating on ice. Her brother Leif and his friends play ice hockey, but Sonja does not want to join them: she prefers to do figure skating and she is quite good at it.
As a teenager, she begins to take part in international skating competitions. At first, she does not win. But soon things begin to change. She wins a gold medal during the Olympic Games of 1928, 1932 and 1936. Three times in a row. Not many athletes have done something like that!
Having won the Olympic gold medal three times, Sonja feels that this is as far as she can go as an amateur athlete. Now it is time to go professional. In addition, she has always dreamed of becoming a movie star; not in Norway but in Hollywood. And now it is time to follow the dream.
She travels to the US. She is not alone. She is travelling with her parents. Her father, who was an athlete as a young man, supports her dream. He is acting as her manager.
When Sonja arrives in the US, she gets an appointment with the head of a movie studio. She is offered a contract, but for Sonja this is not good enough. She does not want to be a sideshow in a movie with another star. She wants to be the main star in her own movie. And she has conditions: she wants to make movies during the summer season, so she can do ice-skating shows during the winter season.
Sonja almost always gets what she wants. She is not used to hearing the word no. This time she gets what she wants.
The practical side of the ice-skating shows is arranged by Arthur Wirtz, an American businessman who has contacts all over the US. With Arthur as her partner in business, Sonja performs on the ice with great success all over the US.
This is how her professional career begins. At first, things are going well. The money is rolling in. But she is also spending a lot of money in order to maintain an extravagant lifestyle. But the question is: how long can this go on? How long can she keep it up? What will happen when she gets too old to perform a skating show on the ice?
In this drama, we see her performing in front of an audience. With big smiles! We also see her before and after the show. Not always with big smiles! Sonja is not always a nice person. Winning is everything to her; she expects and demands total loyalty from the people around her.
In this drama, we see the glamorous life of the star. We also see the problems that you have to deal with when you are a famous star. Everybody wants something from you. When someone is nice to you, then you need to ask yourself: why is this person so nice? Does this person like me? Or does this person only like my money?
What do reviewers say about this drama? Here are the results of two review aggregators:
59 per cent = IMDb
89 per cent = Rotten Tomatoes (the critics)
40 per cent = Rotten Tomatoes (the audience)
As you can see, the ratings are mixed. Positive and negative. The professional critics like it, but the general audience has some reservations about it. I understand both groups.
The movie shows the good side and the bad side of Sonja. I think it is a very honest portrayal of her life and career. I guess this is why the critics offer good ratings.
But the movie is rather long. And for obvious reasons there is a lot of ice-skating. At first, it is fascinating, but after a while it becomes a bit boring. I guess this is why the audience offers low ratings
There are other things to complain about as well: World War Two takes place while Sonja is in the US. But this chapter of American and Norwegian history is not even mentioned in the drama. During the war, Sonja is in her first marriage. But his chapter of her life is not mentioned, either. No world war and no first marriage!
I understand the critics when they give high ratings, but I cannot follow them all the way to the top.
I understand the audience when they give low ratings, but I cannot follow them all the way to the bottom.
I want to find a position somewhere in the middle. Therefore, I think this drama deserves a rating of four stars (80 per cent).
PS # 1. Sonja Henie: Queen of the Ice is a documentary film which premiered on Norwegian television (NRK) in 1993. Run time: 90 minutes. Some parts of the film are in Norwegian; some parts are in English.
PS # 2. Queen of Ice, Queen of Shadows: The Unsuspected Life of Sonja Henie is a biography co-written by Raymond Straight and Leif Henie (1990).
Leif and Sonja were very close when they were children and when they were young adults. But when Sonja became a star, the siblings had a falling out. As far as I know, Leif and Sonja did not see each other or speak to each other during the last part of their lives.
PS # 3. Sonja’s autobiography The Adventure of My Life was published in Norwegian in 1938. It was translated into English and released in 1940 with the title Wings on My Feet. A revised edition was published in 1954.
PS # 4. The following item is available online:
*****
Sonja Henie (1912-1969)
*****
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