Daisy Diamond is an award winning Danish drama, and one that will linger on my mind for months to come I can already tell.It tells the story of a young single mother and her 4 month old baby. She is an aspiring but ultimately failing actress who is gradually resorting to more and more desperate measures to get anywhere in her career and keep a roof over their heads.To make matters worse her little cherub won't stop crying, the shrill scream of a baby is a common noise here! Very very common noise.Daisy Diamond is highly uncomfortable viewing, it's dark, it's sombre, it's depressing and it certainly had a lasting impression on me.One thing that astounds me is how graphic the whole thing is, the amount of full frontal nudity from Rapace is incredible when you take into consideration where her career went from here. That stuff normally kills a career outright especially with the subject matter and the fact the movie seems to go out of its way to make her look physically bad at every turn.A grim horrible movie, saved by some sterling acting and the sad realization that the movie is shockingly and heartbreakingly realistic.The Good:Well actedWell written in placesCouple of decent charactersThe Bad:I actually had to mute the movie in places because of the baby cryingDevastating imageryNot so much of a story as a greek tragedyThings I Learnt From This Movie:It concerns me how filmmakers make babies cry on cueOn paper this movie should have been career suicide for Rapace

Director Simon Staho's Danish film "Daily Diamond" is one film whose meaning can be easily summed up in a single, long sentence. However, as it talks about things which mean a lot in our daily lives, the issues it raises and their repercussions on people would be felt for a very long time. Although it has a small baby girl as one of its protagonists, it is not at all a family film due to its excessive reliance on nude scenes and violence which border on a mild form of quasi perverse pornography. Actress Noomi Rapace is perfect in her role of a Swedish girl who does not crack in a harsh Danish cinema industry where casting couch is rampant and most people associated with cinema business offer free advice while revealing their philosophical thoughts about acting business. Their hypocrisy is revealed when it transpires that these are the very people who don't hesitate in giving "share my bed if you want a role of your life" type invitations to struggling actors. The film does not stop at all in asking a pertinent question: which 'real actor' can survive in a harsh cinematographic milieu where talent takes a back seat ? As far as watching this film is concerned, there is a minor warning for viewers who are working mothers. Although this film depicts the tragic plight and problems of a working mother, it fails to offer a plausible solution.This leads us to ask whether it is ethical to have a child when the mother is not at all in a position to raise it. Lastly, the real star of this film is a 4 month old baby girl whose life is snuffed out too soon by her mother who would like to make it big in the phony world of cinema.

"Daisy Diamond" is not a feel-good film. Every minute of the film almost feels like torture. No wonder it sold less than 3000 tickets in Denmark. Why bother to see it then? I will get back to that. Anna, a young Swedish actress comes to Copenhagen to pursue an acting career. With her she brings her newborn child. However, there is absolutely no close bond between mother and child. The baby is constantly crying(is it missing motherly love?)and the crying and Anna's lack of sleep gradually drives her to a desperate act. She constantly goes to castings and job interviews, but everywhere she is rejected. No wonder that she gradually loses self respect. Driven by guilt and self-hatred Anna, under the pseudonym Daisy Diamond, goes into the porn film industry, where the jobs become more and more degrading and humiliating. Finally she is ready to take the ultimate step. The film is highly critical in its portrayal of the film- and theater world. Every person seems to be cold , calculated, and ready to exploit others. The actor is seen like a prostitute, who has to offer her innermost private feelings to the camera. Perhaps Anna feels a kind of relief to get into the porn industry,because here she only has to sell her body, not her soul. Sometimes it's not possible to know when Anna is acting or just is being her real self. In long monologues Anna talks about her innermost thoughts and feelings to the camera, but these scenes are often reflected by scenes, which she has to play at the castings. The film has several references to Ingmar Bergman, one of Staho's great mentors. On two occasions Daisy is watching Bergman's "Persona" and is moved to tears. Also the Danish director Dreyer and his film about Joan of Arch, another female martyr, lurks behind Anna. Like Dreyer (and Bergman) Staho is frequently making use of close ups of of his female character. Another Danish director, Lars Von Trier, who is almost obsessed by female victims and martyrs, comes to your mind. So, why bother to see this gloomy film? Because it is great art, and because Nomi Rapache is brilliant as Anna.

There has been a lot of movies based on a girl who escapes home to become an actress and ends up in a desperate situation. Most of them are in a social mood of giving young girls and the families a lesson. However, this film is not something a young girl could watch. The sex scenes are exaggerated too much and the depression level of the film is too high. You can find almost everything in this 'drama' that you can find in a pornographic movie. And you can even learn new sexual terms.By watching this movie, instead of blaming the life for being so cruel or getting the point of which way to follow in life or teach yourself how to raise your child you just watch the exaggerated scenes and try to receive something out of them. Not a bad movie in general but a little out of the track.