The Day Will Come
At a brutal Danish boys’ orphanage, two brothers and their peers find courage in solidarity while enduring a regime of abuse and humiliation.
Overview
A haunting exploration of childhood innocence shattered by cruelty and abuse.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- harrowing
- oppressive
- melancholic
- serious film night
- historical drama viewing
What critics said
Critics and audiences broadly regard the film as a powerful, affecting historical drama about institutional abuse, supported by strong performances and emotional conviction.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The orphanage’s everyday rules, punishments, humiliations, and abuse form the film’s central social indictment.
The orphaned boys rely on brotherhood and collective defiance while confronting the institution’s strict teachers and leaders.
The story is based on real accounts from the Godhavn boys’ home, including reports of violent and sexual abuse and medical experimentation.
The orphanage setting, rigid rules, strict teachers, and punitive hierarchy create an austere visual and emotional environment.
Films like The Day Will Come, and why
The Magdalene Sisters
shared themes of institutional abuse, childhood trauma, historical reckoning, and emotionally harrowing drama
Sleepers
shared focus on abused children, oppressive institutions, moral courage, and devastating social realism
The Experiment
shared historical drama, state-sanctioned mistreatment, victim testimony, and cathartic resistance
Movie Details
- Director
- Jesper W. Nielsen
- Release Date
- 2016-04-21
- Runtime
- 119 min
- Rating
- 7.6 / 10 (87)
Cast
- Lars Mikkelsen
- Sofie Gråbøl
- Harald Kaiser Hermann
- Albert Rudbeck Lindhardt
- Lars Ranthe
- Søren Sætter-Lassen
- Solbjørg Højfeldt
- Sonja Richter
- David Dencik
- Paw Henriksen
Common questions
- What is The Day Will Come about?
- At a brutal Danish boys’ orphanage, two brothers and their peers find courage in solidarity while enduring a regime of abuse and humiliation.
- What is The Day Will Come like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Day Will Come as measured, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Day Will Come violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in The Day Will Come as graphic.
- What did critics think of The Day Will Come?
- Critics and audiences broadly regard the film as a powerful, affecting historical drama about institutional abuse, supported by strong performances and emotional conviction.
- Which films are like The Day Will Come?
- Films with a similar feel include The Magdalene Sisters, Sleepers, and The Experiment.
- How long is The Day Will Come?
- The Day Will Come runs 119 minutes.
