He washes his nose scantily, dips his toothbrush in the water to give the impression that he has brushed his teeth and then he sets off on an adventure in a deserted Copenhagen. He visits a sweet shop. He drives a tram, on route 8. He goes into a bank and withdraws a bag of money, not stupid notes but jingling, hard cash. But he later on tips the money into the sewers, because he knows no one to whom to pay it.
A touch of science fiction
In Palle Alone in the World we witness well-known everyday life from a new angle, because the world has been emptied of people. This gives the film at one and the same time a dreamlike quality and an authentic sense of reality. A dash of science fiction permeates this poetic little film, which is so perfectly directed by Astrid Henning-Jensen. When it first came out, the film attracted considerable international attention. The film is based on Jens Sigsgaard's classic children's book of the same name.
Moral of the film
Palle Alone in the World is a funny, charming film. But it does not in any way pretend that a solitary existence in the world can bring happiness in the long term. After all, it is best to have someone to share life with, is the message.
Astrid Henning-Jensen made films together with her husband Bjarne and Palle Alone in the World was her première as a film director. Along with the couple's Those Damned Kids (De Pokkers Unger) (1947), the film is regarded as one of the very first Danish children's films. A few years earlier Bjarne Henning-Jensen was responsible for making the splendid film Ditte, Child of Man (Ditte Menneskebarn), which is listed in the Film Canon. One of the strengths of Palle Alone in the World is the film's sympathetic depiction of a child's fantasy world. Here Astrid Henning-Jensen places herself at eye level with her young main character and shows through him with great conviction the child's whimsicality and spontaneous approach to the world.
Christian Monggaard is a film reviewer and critic for the paper Dagbladet Information.
Lars Henning-Jensen as Palle Alone in the World. Photo: Anne-Lise Reenberg © Nordisk Film.