Sofie

Denmark, 1886. 29-year-old Sofie lives with her affluent, extended Jewish family, but her happiness is marred by parental fears that she will become a spinster. Despite her love for a gentile painter, she is manoeuvred into marriage with a respectable Jewish cousin... Ullmann's directorial debut is marked by an attention to fussy period detail and rigorous, symmetrical framing, which convey a sense of repression; but combined with a running-time of nearly two-and-a-half hours, this leaves the film somewhat airless. Most impressive are the sensitive performances she elicits from her cast, especially Mynster (as Sofie) and Josephson (as her father).