Katrine and Andreas have just become parents. But while Andreas is happy, Katrine is overwhelmed by insecurity regarding her baby daughter. She has problems with breastfeeding and feels like a failure of a mother. When Andreas goes to Amsterdam on a business trip, Katrine has to ask her efficient and dominating mother for assistance. The Blessing is a film about the despair that hits Katrine when the joy of motherhood fails to materialise. The complicated and destructive relationship with her own mother only makes her more insecure. Despite their family bond the two women seem oceans apart.

Heidi Maria Faisst makes her debut as a feature film director with this profound and insightful search into the human mind. Extensive use of close-ups and movable cameras relates it to the Dogme films. This cinematography creates the impression of authenticity and helps us get under the skin of Katrine, the film’s undisputable protagonist who is excellently played by Lærke Winther Andersen.

Eli Gjerde