Vibeke Lökkeberg Movies

Despite excellent camerawork and smooth continuity, some people may still find this epic, three-hour story of incestual depravity and human inertia difficult to watch with enthusiasm. Director and leading actress Vibeke Lokkeberg had two preceding hits to her credit, Kamilla and The Chieftain. She plays Vilde, a woman living on the dramatic North Sea coast of Norway in 1895. She has been sexually abused by her stepfather Sigurd (Keve Hjelm) since she was a child, and the abuse has never stopped. Vilde's mute daughter Malene (Tonje Kamilla Kristiansen), of unknown male parentage, watches Sigurd's abuse of her mother in silence. By the time Vilde finally cracks, the symbolism of "skin" (her eventual husband is a tanner) seems less important than the environment of this miserable, dysfunctional family and Vilde's inability to be anything but a victim. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

It is 1948, and Camilla (Nina Knapskog) is a seven-year-old girl living in a rundown neighborhood in the city of Bergen with two parents who are at odds with each other. Her father (Helge Jordal) once had a business that went bankrupt, and now has a lowly shoe repair shop -- though appearances are deceiving, because he kept aside a large sum of money from his bankruptcy suit and has it stored away in a safe place while he waits for the time he will need it. He hopes that time will come soon enough, since he relies on his stash of wealth to get him and a mistress off to Canada. Camilla's mother (Vibeke Lockkeberg -- also the director and writer of this film) not only knows where her husband has hidden his cash, she has secretly moved it. Little Camilla knows both secrets, but is not about to talk. Her parents' fighting marginates her, they ignore her because they are too much involved in their own problems to glance at hers. Yet they compensate at times by showing that they do care after all. Caught in this complex push and pull of emotions and behavior, Camilla finds some solace in the companionship of her new friend Svein (Kenneth Johansen), another seven-year-old beset by his own problems -- his mother is on the brink of being declared unfit, an action that would send Svein to an orphanage. Camilla's inherent good spirit gets her through the rough spots, and hopefully, some of that spirit will rub off on her warring parents. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Essentially a feminist drama about one woman's struggle for personal and professional expression, this film is based on two different novels by the late 19th century author Amalie Skram. The heroine (Vibeke Lokkeberg) has suffered through a miserable school experience and is trying to juggle her family, marriage, and her work as an artist. When she comes up against a severe creative block, she agrees to a stay in a mental hospital. Once interned there, she quickly discovers that the cold-hearted, dictatorial head of the hospital is her worst enemy. She starts fighting for her own rights as an artist, and along the way, her creative block crumbles into dust. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide