In We Shall Overcome, thirteen-year-old Frits has a lot more to worry about than back-to-school jitters, adolescence, and a transition between elementary and middle school. When he arrives home to tell his father Peder that a scrap metal collector is about to pull up to the house, he finds Peder hiding under the table. Peder knows all too well that once he lets this man in, he will never get rid of him, so he summons Frits to hide with him.  

It soon becomes evident that Peder (Jens Jon Spottag) may have another reason to hide from the scrap collector. He starts sobbing as a result of depression and must spend time in the hospital. Frits (Janus Dissing Rathke) is still in the family barn and not ready to go to bed when his mother Stine (Anne-Grethe Bjarup Riis) finds him. Although she must take over the farming, care for Frits and his little sisters, his mother is confident the family will manage until Peder returns.

Stine, eager for time to pass, finds a diversion. She acquires  a used television set that still works just fine. As a result, Frits soon becomes transfixed by images of Vietnam demonstrations and news reports of Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination.

School begins with an assembly staged by the school board and fellow teachers in honor of headmaster Lindum-Svendsen’s (Bent Mejding) 25 years of service. A grizzled veteran, this man is a firm believer in corporal punishment. He views each day as a battle to be won. Nobody told Frits and his peers that the students would be the ones in the trenches suffering cruel, savage, and uncalled for beatings at the headmaster’s hands.

Frits is told by an older student that Lindum-Svendsen once slapped a kid so hard that his hand print was visible on the boy's face for the entire autumn term. Frits feels better once he's assigned the same teacher as Iben (Sarah Juel Werner), a girl he likes. The feeling appears mutual. 

However, Frits becomes discouraged upon finding that  Lindum-Svendsen is the replacement for his Danish and music teacher, who was relieved of his post by the headmaster. With Lindum-Svendsen as their instructor, the children are taught boring traditional songs and live in fear of corporal punishment.

When Mr. Svales (Anders W. Berthelsen), a new teacher who has not completed all the requirements, is given the position because he's the only one available for the job, he's put on trial by the headmaster. Known to the students as “Freddie,” Mr. Svales is unconventional and replaces the old musical selections with modern rock.

One day, Frits finds himself being lured by a group of boys into a room where a partition separates them from the girls' change room. They tell him this is a once-in-a-lifetime shot to see girls undressed. When the boys whistle and proceed to leave, Frits gets hauled into the change room where Iben and fellow classmates tear his trousers off.  It seems that Iben conspired with a one of the boys to make this incident happen.  

Unfortunately, the headmaster catches Frits leaving the  change room, and we soon see the lad sitting in a locked bathroom stall with the right side of his head bloodied. He needs stitches to keep one of his ears after the headmaster's  beating nearly rips it off. Svales, informed by another student, is horrified by what he sees and drives him to the doctor’s office.

Peder and Stine, who are outraged, find an ally in Mr. Svales. Iben's father is involved with the school board, so Frits’s parents meet with him, demanding the board conduct an investigation. But derision and resistance force Stine to lose her job as school nurse; Svales depends on Lindum-Svensen's positive evaluation to become a full-fledged teacher; and Lindum-Svendsen yanks Frits from regular classes to teach him alone.

It does not look good for Frits when it comes to promotion to the next grade, let alone high school. Frits must now continue the fight on his own. Will Iben come forward and exercise her moral compass?

With We Shall Overcome, director Niels Arden Oplev (who also co-wrote the screenplay with Steen Bille) delivers a deeply moving, tragic, and inspiring film. Based on a true story that took place in Denmark during 1969, this movie is flawlessly executed and cast. Rathke and Berthelsen impressed me with their commanding performances, and Werner is a standout as Iben. 

We Shall Overcome makes its North American Premiere at Sprockets: Toronto International Film Festival for children April 23rd and 30th. For more information on screenings, go to www.bell.ca/sprockets.

(Released by Nordiski Film Biografdistributions; not rated by MPAA.)

Review also posted on www.movie-critiques.com.