Pelle The Conqueror, tells the story of Lasse (Max von Sydow), an elderly and widowed farmer, and his young son Pelle who join a boat-load of immigrants to escape from impoverished rural Sweden to Denmark’s Baltic island of Bornholm. It is ultimately their loving relationship which sustains them through a difficult year on a new farm.
Pelle The Conqueror was originally released in the United States in late 1988 by Miramax and won the 1989 Oscar for Best Foreign Film.
Max von Sydow remains one of a handful of actors to be nominated for the Best Actor Oscar for a role in a foreign film (He lost out to Dustin Hoffman, who won for Rain Man).
Pelle The Conqueror received a theatrical re-release this year in conjunction with its 30th anniversary (The film was released in Europe in 1987).
In addition to winning the Best Foreign Film Oscar, Pelle The Conqueror won the Palme d’Or at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival and the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It was listed in The New York Times Guide to the Best 1000 Movies Ever Made.
