''Tree of Knowledge'' () is a 1981 Danish coming-of-age drama directed by

Nils Malmros Nils Malmros (born 1944), a Danish film director and screenwriter, is considered a leading auteur of realism in Danish cinema.Nissen, Dan, ''Malmros, Nils'', International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, Gale Group, (2001) retrieved 2 Augus ...

. The film details the lives of 17 teenage schoolmates in 1950s Denmark. Shooting on location at the high school which he had attended, Malmros took two years to film the action, so the cast members reflected the real-life physical and emotional development of their characters. Despite critical praise, ''Tree of Knowledge'' received only two awards: the Danish Film Critics

Bodil Award The Bodil Awards are the major Danish film awards given by the Danish Film Critics Association. The awards are presented annually at a ceremony in Copenhagen. Established in 1948, it is one of the oldest film awards in Europe. The awards are gi ...

for

Jan Weincke Jan Weincke (born 30 April 1945) is a Danish cinematographer. Filmography *'' Facing the Truth'' (2002) *'' Barbara'' (1997) *''Inside'' (1996) *''Pain of Love'' (1992) *'' Penn & Teller Get Killed'' (1989) *'' Dead of Winter'' (1987) *''Weed ...

's cinematography, and the Audience Award at the Lübeck Nordic Film Festival. ''Tree of Knowledge'' is one of the top 100 Danish films listed by the

Danish Film Institute The Danish Film Institute (; DFI) is the national Danish institution, agency responsible for supporting and encouraging film and cinema culture, and for conserving these in the national interest. It is the successor organisation to the Danish Fil ...

and is one of ten films listed in the cultural canon of Denmark by the

Danish Ministry of Culture The minister for culture of Denmark () is the Danish political minister office responsible for culture, head of the Ministry of Culture of Denmark. The political responsibility for culture, as well as church and education, was with the kultus ...

. The film was screened in the

Un Certain Regard (; 'A Certain Glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films with unusua ...

section at the

1982 Cannes Film Festival The 35th Cannes Film Festival took place from 14 to 26 May 1982. Italian opera and theatre director Giorgio Strehler served as jury president for the main competition. The Palme d'Or, the festival's top prize, was jointly awarded to '' Missing' ...

and was selected as the Danish entry for the

Best Foreign Language Film The following is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various films, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Bes ...

at the

55th Academy Awards The 55th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released in 1982 and took place on April 11, 1983, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p. ...

, but was not accepted as a nominee.

Cast

Production

When

called Gitte Iben Andersen to say that she had been chosen to play Lene, she objected that there was a group nudity scene. She initially refused to play the scene for that reason but eventually agreed when Malmos remarked that all other girls had accepted the scene, without realising that he had used the same trick with them.

Reception

Film Critic

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote "''The Tree of Knowledge'' is the truest and most moving film I have ever seen about the experience of puberty... a creative act of memory about exactly what it was like to be 13 in 1953."Roger Ebert /Chicago Sun-Times, 1 December 1982.

References

External links

IMDb

at Den Danske Film Database (In Danish) * {{Danish submission for Academy Awards 1981 films Danish Culture Canon Danish coming-of-age drama films 1950s Danish-language films Films directed by Nils Malmros 1980s coming-of-age drama films Films about puberty Films about juvenile sexuality Films set in the 1950s Films set in Denmark

Cast

Production

Reception

See also

References

External links