“Pigen med nålen” aka “The Girl with the Needle” is a 2024 film written by Magnus von Horn and Line Langebek and directed by Magnus von Horn. Set in the grim aftermath of World War I—circa 1919 Copenhagen—The Girl with the Needle follows Karoline (played by Vic Carmen Sonne), a young factory seamstress facing destitution: her husband is missing in the war, she’s jobless and pregnant, and eviction looms. The film opens with a haunting montage of distorted faces and oppressive close-ups, underscoring Karoline’s abject poverty and social isolation. As her husband is presumed missing, Karoline begins a romantic relationship with her boss, Jørgen, played by Joachim Fjelstrup. Peter, her husband, played by Besir Zeciri, who has been brutally mutilated in battle, returns after Karoline has begun a romantic relationship with Jørgen and fallen pregnant. Karoline, disgusted by Peter and optimistic about a better life with Jørgen, rejects him; however, Jørgen’s mother forbids the two from marrying.
In a desperate moment, Karoline attempts to end her pregnancy using a knitting needle in a public bathhouse—a harrowing act that gives the film its title. She is rescued by Dagmar (Trine Dyrholm), a compassionate stranger who appears to run a covert adoption agency from behind the facade of her candy shop. Dagmar offers to take Karoline’s baby for a fee and find a loving home.
Grateful and with nowhere else to turn, Karoline accepts and becomes entwined in Dagmar’s life—serving as a wet nurse and caring for Dagmar’s young daughter Erena (Avo Knox Martin), developing a complex bond with the enigmatic woman.
However, Karoline soon begins to suspect the glowing narrative of adoption hides a darker truth—one rooted in manipulation, exploitation, and murder—that will shake her world. Karoline’s plight reflects broader societal failures—women with few options, shamed for sexuality, and unprotected by social structures, fall into desperation.
The film re-contextualizes the Dagmar Overbye Serial Killer case, who murdered between 9 and 25 children in Denmark from 1913 to 1920, as a lens on post-war trauma, poverty, and the erosion of moral structures.
“The Girl with the Needle” is a meticulously crafted Gothic horror, grounded in history, that centers on Karoline’s descent into despair and the sinister embrace of Dagmar’s false salvation. With towering performances, atmospheric visuals, and thematic boldness, the film confronts the darkness of its era—and the shadows that linger in us. The film debuted at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival in the Palme d’Or competition; was released in Denmark in early 2025; and was chosen as Denmark’s submission for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards.
The Other Cinema 