The Girl With the Needle

It is so exquisitely well-crafted but such a downer and hard to watch.

Working in pin-sharp black and white, director Magnus von Horn brings icy clarity to the tale of an ordinary young woman, Karoline, whose misfortune is vast in pitiless times. 

It’s a remarkable film: bleak, but horribly compelling.

It’s a chair-gripping, toe-curling story.

“The Girl With the Needle” is most intriguing when it lingers in its disturbing fictions, which come to life with exceptional style.

A harrowing and eerie horror fairy tale from another time, even as it feels startlingly fresh and always unpredictable.

The feel-bad movie of the year.

I admire the craft of it, but I can't say I felt rewarded by watching it.

[Dydek's] visuals contrast the worlds of those with many choices and those who may be lucky to have one, in a time when the “equality of condition” social welfare system lies far in the future.

Despite having points of uneven pacing, von Horn has successfully crafted a visually arresting and consistently affective portrait of hardship and tragedy.