Based on Tine Høeg’s novel, Netflix’s “A Copenhagen Love Story” (Sult) is a nuanced exploration of an unstoppable romance meeting an immovable parenthood challenge. Written and directed by Ditte Hansen and Louise Mieritz, the film starts with the pithy sensuality and raw energy of a rom-com before the proverbial rugs get pulled out from under the feet of our loving protagonists. It becomes a visceral study of how life can be the cruel, barren desert that love needs to overcome to survive.
A Copenhagen Love Story (Sult, 2025) Movie Synopsis and Plot Summary:
Mia (Rosalinde Mynster) is a successful writer who leads a carefree life, stumbling between one casual relationship after another. As she is approaching the dreaded thirty-year age mark, her friends and family encourage her to embark on a stable relationship with a mature guy. In a bid to do the same, Mia’s friend Gro (Sara Fanta Traore) introduces her to Emil (Joachim Fjelstrup). Emil is a divorced father of two. He has a son, Felix, and a daughter, Selma. The couple’s breezy dates make them realize the same thing, that they are made for each other.
Emil, however, fears that Mia might not be ready to meet his children. Mia, who has never considered having a child, shares her fear. As the couple’s relationship becomes more serious, Emil cannot put off the meeting for long. To both of their surprise, the meeting goes well. Mia hits the right notes with Felix and Selma, and she feels a warmth that she has never felt before — the warmth of motherhood. She will go on to call this as being a ‘bonus mom.’ Encouraged by her publicist, Rikke, she envisions her next novel on the same subject.
As the relationship deepens, Mia feels the urge to have a baby—one that she and Emil can create together. As anticipated, the previously head-over-heels-in-love couple faces their first challenge when they discover that becoming parents is not as easy as they thought. Despite numerous attempts, Mia and Emil struggle to conceive. They spend days visiting upscale fertility clinics. Emil learns that his sperm count has significantly decreased since his last child. He is advised to switch from tight briefs and reduce his smoking and drinking. Mia also begins taking injections to boost their chances.
The first negative test was fine. However, as the number of failed tests rises, the door to depression starts to open. Mia finds herself caught up in this seemingly losing battle, to the point where her work begins to suffer. Instead of writing a comedy as she initially intended, she starts to express her feelings of despair. The comedy of ‘Bonus Mom’ transforms into a raw portrayal of the journey to motherhood.
A Copenhagen Love Story (Sult, 2025) Ending Explained:
What Drove Mia and Emil Apart?
Mia and Emil’s romantic journey is a glorious one. A heartwarming romance with a little dream. But dreams, when unfulfilled, show their ugly heads. The corrosive pain of a shattered dream fills Mia and Emil with depression and bitterness. Each dreary day starts with a little bit of hope. That lasts till the next failed test. The constant building of hope only to have it shattered takes its excruciating toll on the couple. Without a clear opponent to drive their ill-feelings toward, they start to snipe at each other. Especially for Mia, each negative test tightens the noose around her.
On top of that, Mia finds out that her friend, Gro, is pregnant with her second child. But Gro is scared to have her body go through the same turmoil again. Fate’s ironic twist stabs Mia’s heart as she helps Gro abort. She admits that she would give anything to have the fetus inside of her instead of Gro. Her other friend and publicist, Rikke, also becomes pregnant. Needless to say, that does not help.
Why Did Mia Leave Emil Without Saying a Word?
Fate has been incessantly poking Mia with its middle finger ever since she wished to become mother of Emil’s child. The only respite for Mia was penning the frustration, the anger, and the misery down. But when Emil finds what Mia has been writing, he becomes agitated. In his defense, he did mention before that he was not comfortable at being a subject of her novel. Mia agreed at that time, and lied that the story was not about them. After finding Mia’s story has all the events they are going through, Emil feels betrayed, and Mia feels her only helping hand disappearing.
The boiling point is reached at a Halloween party at Felix and Selma’s school. Mia breaks down with a gut-wrenching yell. With the kids scared out of their wits, Emil focuses his depleted energy on them. An argument ensues, and Emil reaffirms his allegiance to his kids, highlighting that if Mia had a child of her own, she would have understood. At this, Mia just gets up and leaves.
Why Did Mia Return to Emil?
Mia rebuffs Emil’s attempt to reconcile. It feels like Mia has developed a self-loathing that is intertwined with her not being able to be a mother. She might have said the phrase ‘Bonus Mom’ as a joke, but becoming a secondary mother is simply not cutting it for her. In a quintessential rom-com move, Emil visits Mia, drenched in rain and impending pneumonia. However, this Copenhagen love story is not like those love stories. Mia tramples on the grand gesture.
It is when Mia goes on her first date, something happens to break her trance. She notices her date using the napkin, as everyone does. To clear food leftovers from their hand and face. It reminds her of Emil and how he used to make origami with a napkin. That napkin was special. That relationship was special. Once Mia realizes this, she runs toward Emil. After initial reluctance, Emil forgives her.
Will Mia and Emil Have a Child?
Before Mia’s breakdown on Halloween, they moved to State-funded hospitals to tighten their purse. The hospitals have been taking Mia’s eggs to fertilize them with Emil’s sperm. However, in all of their tests, Mia’s eggs have not passed the initial stage. Hospital representatives have called her every time to deliver the bad news. When Mia and Emil reconciled, they initially discussed not going down that avenue again. But hope is the last survivor that dies. So, they try again. On the dreaded day, where no call from the hospital means good news, a tense Mia and Emil get the best gift they can get. They don’t get any calls from the hospital. Mia’s eggs are good to go. It does not mean they are going to be parents soon, but they have the start, which they never had.
A Copenhagen Love Story (Sult, 2025) Movie Review:
Hansen and Mieritz, who wrote the screenplay, sketch Mia and Emil’s romance with a deft but formulaic approach. It does work in favor of “A Copenhagen Love Story” as everything that happens afterward renders the love between them anything but conventional. The film has an extraordinary penchant to mix dry humor with the despair of the situation. For instance, the recurring motif of Emil having to drag a chair into the doctor’s chamber to sit and accept the bad news is a tickling punch in the gut.
The film is elevated by the stupendous double act between Joachim Fjelstrup and Rosalinde Mynster. The duo seems to ooze chemistry that makes you believe in soulmates. Whether it is to become head-over-heels lovers or to succumb under the tumultuous pressure of dreams remaining unfulfilled, the two evoke a sincerity that often makes you overlook the film’s every facet that are not novel. The film required them to fully embrace Mia and Emil as their own, and they do just that—capturing both the depths of despair and the glimmers of hope in their performances.
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I watched this movie several times because I loved it. I laughed, cried and smiled at Mia and Emil’s very relatable experiences. Most people in relationships give up so easily, when things go sour, instead of trying to work things through. They say love is not enough, but it is.
The movie was great. A lot of love stories shown in films nowadays are not.
Good to know that