Austerity

AUSTERITY is Hella Joof's new romantic comedy — a warm, humorous and touching tale of love across social divides. Based on Stine Askov's popular novel of the same name, the film offers a loving look at both family ties, class leaps and the choices that shape our lives.

Mona loves to read and the books are her refuge from life in the social housing estate Austerity, where she grew up with her mother Mømmer, who has a treatment-intensive collecting mania and never throws anything out. Fortunately, her rap-loving Aunt Tut has always helped Mona on the right path, including by getting her a job at the local bookstore.

Here she meets the literary student Nikolaj from the fine end of town, and they fall head over heels in love. But there's a far cry from Nikolaj's culturally radical upper-class background of flax parties and academician parents to Mona's world of bottled beer and a couple on the hat at the local bodega and a fiercely challenging family. Can love prevail across the Strandvägen, or is the difference between them too great?

Directed by: Hella Joof
Starring: Andrea Heick Gadeberg, Clint Ruben, Iben Hjejle
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Running time: 105 min.
Age limit: Allowed for children over 11