Twist and Shout

5 votes and 0 Reviews

Comedy, Drama, Musical

This Danish film is set in 1963, at the height of Beatlemania. Played out against the standard pop-culture backdrop is the story of the friendship between Adam Tonsberg and Lars Simonson.

His ego in tatters thanks to a domineering father, Simonsen yearns for the affections of snooty Ulrikke Juul Bondo, though it is common knowledge that she's Tonsberg's girl. Tonsberg, however, prefers the company of the down-to-earth Camilla Soeberg.

When Soeberg becomes pregnant, Tonsberg is forced to borrow the abortion money from former girlfriend Bondo, who wants him to spend a weekend with her in exchange. This is all going according to Bondo's plan, and soon she and Tonsberg are making wedding plans.

Suddenly gaining a moral backbone, Tonsberg calls off the wedding, then helps his friend Simonsen, who is endeavoring to prove that his mother is not the lunatic described by his tyrannical father.

The coming of age process in this film is even more complex than these notes would suggest, but young Danish filmgoers had no trouble relating to Twist and Shout (originally Tro, Hab Og Karlighed), which allegedly made more money than any previous Danish film.