Pelle the Conqueror

At the end of the 19th century, a boat filled with emigrants from Sweden arrives at the Danish island of Bornholm. Among them are Lasse Karlsson and his son Pelle who have moved to Denmark to find work after the death of Pelle's mother. They find employment at a large farm, but find themselves treated as the lowest form of life. After being humiliated by the farm’s young trainee manager, Pelle is disappointed when Lasse does not stand up for him. Pelle admires Eric, an older immigrant who is not cowed by the farm manager and who dreams of going to America. He watches as an affair develops between Anna, an immigrant worker, and Nils, son of a local dignitary, and sees the affair’s tragic outcome. Pelle’s friend Rud fails his school exams, then runs away. Through Pelle, Mrs. Olsen, whose sailor husband is lost at sea, becomes interested in Lasse. Pelle observes the drinking of Mrs. Kongstrup, wife of the farm’s owner, and the philandering of her husband. He sees Mrs. Kongstrup’s niece, the lovely Sine, arrive and witnesses the disastrous consequences of her visit.