Netflix’s A Copenhagen Love Story is an emotional, heartfelt romantic drama that touches upon individual conflicts in romantic relationships. The film, based on Tine Hoeg’s novel, delves into the challenges of becoming a mother and introspects the complex relationship the protagonist develops with her body during the entire process. Mia was a celebrated author, and her books mostly focused on the struggle of finding love. She was deeply inspired by her personal experiences, and she realized she had a thing for dating younger men. She was almost afraid of being associated with anyone her age, perhaps because it would remind her that she was no longer the young Mia she used to be. Even though she preferred young men, she failed to connect with them on a romantic level. Her best friend, Gro, introduced her to Emil during one of her book launches. They were of the same age; he was an archaeologist who was recently divorced and struggling to cope with the change. Mia did not take an interest in Emil immediately, but later when she reflected on her failed relationships, she considered giving him a chance. The fact that he was a single father came as a surprise to Mia, but there was something irresistible about him, and she was ready to take the plunge.
Spoiler Alert
What led to Mia’s outburst?
Mia and Emil were madly in love with each other, and she knew he was the one when she overheard him telling his kids, Felix and Selma, how she made him happy. He soon introduced her to his kids, and Mia enjoyed being a co-parent or a ‘bonus mother.’ But the joy of motherhood made her realize that she wanted to become a mother, and Emil was glad to hear that. Perhaps Mia felt that the joy she experienced when Felix and Selma were around could be taken away from her, and having her own child seemed like the only solution. Even though they actively tried to get pregnant, it was not working out. Mia went to the hospital to get tested, and she was recommended for an insemination procedure. She was convinced that she was pregnant, but the test result said otherwise. They later learned that Emil’s sperm count was not optimal. Mia had to take medication and injections to increase the chances of pregnancy. Everything that Mia was going through started to overwhelm her; she could not help but wonder why a woman had to go through this excruciating process while the man could continue living freely. Even though Emil said he was ready to do whatever it took to ensure that Mia conceived, she started to second-guess his commitment to the process. Instead of dismissing her, Emil comforted her, and they tried to conceive again. For a second Mia forgot all her worries and soaked in the joy of being with her lover, but soon the joy faded away as the test result came back negative.
Mia ordered Emil to stop drinking, get rid of his tight briefs, and actively try everything he possibly could to make sure that his sperm count was not affected. Mia was also working on her next novel, where she discussed her experience of being a ‘bonus mother’ but with a fun twist. Given the grueling experience she was going through, she struggled to keep it light-hearted and ended up pouring her heart out. She treated the manuscript as a journal, where she documented her feelings regularly. With everything that she was going through, Mia wondered if she would ever have a permanent space in Emil and his children’s lives. Clearly, her depressive and self-loathing thoughts were taking control of her, and she did not know how to stop them. A journey that was always portrayed to be full of happiness and love was turning painful and heartbreaking every passing day. She developed a complex relationship with her body because she believed it was not doing what it was ‘meant to.’
After another negative result, Mia lost control of her emotions. She was overwhelmed and devastated, and she ended up blaming Emil for everything she was going through. They were at a party, and Mia decided to run away to get away from the chaos and heartbreak. She ended up kissing a stranger only to realize it was all messed up, and she ended up returning home that night. When she woke up, she acknowledged that she was not thinking straight, and she apologized to Emil. He was in love with her, and he understood how challenging the situation was for Mia. He forgave her, and they decided to actively try again.
How did Gro’s situation affect Mia?
After all three inseminations failed, the doctor suggested Mia and Emil opt for an IVF treatment. Mia had to go through another hormonal treatment to prevent ovulation. During the process, Mia realized that the doctors barely ever spoke to Emil even though he was equally invested in the journey, and she demanded that her doctor address Emil as well. While Mia struggled to speak about her fertility experience publicly, she ultimately decided not to shy away from it during a talk. She was surprised to see the number of women who related to her situation and was interested in reading a book centered around a woman’s experience navigating fertility and pregnancy. Mia felt inspired, and she started to seriously consider publishing a book about her journey.
Meanwhile, one day, Simon announced that Gro was pregnant, and Mia and Emil celebrated the news. But as it turned out, Gro did not feel ready, especially after her painful experience when she was pregnant with Vester. She ultimately decided to go through an abortion because, since the day she found out that she was pregnant, she had seen nightmares and was haunted by the terrible experiences she had had before. A Copenhagen Love Story shows both ends of the spectrum, where two middle-aged women were going through extremely different journeys, yet they knew exactly how it felt when some things were beyond their control. At the end of the day, it was Gro’s body, and she was the only one who deserved to call the shots. The film underlines the importance of female friendships that come with no judgment, especially during such a trying time. Mia could not help but think how cruel fate was—while she tried to move mountains to get pregnant, Gro ended up conceiving even though she was terrified by the idea of giving birth again.
Why did Mia run away?
When Mia was with Gro, Emil read her rough draft where she discussed in detail their relationship and mentioned days when she detested Emil. He confronted Mia when she returned home, and all she could say was that he was not meant to read it. Whatever she wrote was raw and brutal, and it was just her thoughts without any edits or explanations; penning everything was part of her writing process, and she would’ve offered for Emil to read after it went through rounds of edits. Emil took her words personally, and Mia did not know how to explain herself. She was taking hormonal injections; she had just watched her best friend go through an abortion, and she lacked the strength to argue with Emil. She ended up belittling Emil’s feelings, and the argument only got worse when Mia asked Emil not to accompany her during the egg extraction procedure for IVF. She felt bad for pushing him away, and she didn’t even know why she was doing so. It was almost as if her mind and body were playing tricks on her and she had lost control of her personal life.
On Halloween day, she received a call from the hospital stating that none of the six eggs had been fertilized. Mia was dumbfounded; she tried to process her emotions, but she did not know how to deal with this constant feeling of being a complete failure anymore. During the Halloween party, she had an outburst, leaving Emil’s kids and their friends terrified. Emil wondered why Mia decided to go to the party even though she was clearly struggling mentally. All Mia could think about was why Emil was not as affected as she was. She wanted him to scream with her; she wanted him to experience all the anxiety, pain, and constant feeling of sadness that she did. Emil decided to sleep with his kids after the episode, but Mia wanted him to stay by her side and console her. Emil did not pay heed to her request, and Mia ended up feeling abandoned. She packed her bags and left. Emil tried contacting her, but she refused to talk to him. She believed he knew it was coming, and she dared to do the inevitable.
Did Mia and Emil start a family together?
Emil was devastated after Mia left him without a word. Her friends and family advised her to talk to him, but she was adamant about never contacting him. Desperate to understand why Mia left him stranded, Emil waited for her in front of her apartment, and Mia decided to finally talk to him. Emil expressed how deeply he loved her and that he was aware of how rough the last few months had been for Mia. But he strongly believed that they were meant to be together and that giving up at such a crucial stage in their lives was not an option. Mia disagreed with him; she missed her old carefree life, where such complications never crossed her mind. Mia walked away, and she was determined to ignore the trauma she had experienced and get on with her life.
During A Copenhagen Love Story’s ending, Mia was back again in the dating game. The only problem was she was not the same person she used to be. She had found a man willing to stick with her through thick and thin, something that she’d only dreamt of all her life. But when she found the man of her dreams, she left hoping that all her problems would fade away eventually. When Mia met her date, he repeatedly stated how her ex-lover must have been a fool to leave her. Mia felt a sense of clarity all of a sudden; she realized she was a fool to leave a man who prioritized her even when their relationship was far from ‘perfect.’ He loved her for who she was, on good and bad days, and she failed to value him. Without any further delay, Mia abruptly left her date and begged Emil to give her two minutes to explain herself. She regretted her past actions; she was not thinking straight and was driven by overwhelming emotions that made her feel that she was someone who didn’t deserve to be loved. Emil was heartbroken; he knew Mia had been going through a rough patch, but he hadn’t realized how painful it was. He told her that he never wanted her to think that way, because he adored her even at her worst.
Mia and Emil decided to put aside the pressure that they were previously dealing with and focus on their relationship. Emil could sense that Mia was emotional when she learned that her editor and friend, Rikke, was pregnant. Mia could not help but grieve over her situation, and that was when Emil proposed they try to conceive again. Mia was afraid that going through the same process would pull them further apart, and she was not ready to lose him again. Emil promised that he would stay no matter what and that they must give it another shot. As she underwent the IVF treatment again, Mia wrote her book, because she strongly believed that she would not be able to describe all her emotions if she looked back at her journey. She had to write while she was experiencing it to keep it completely honest.
In A Copenhagen Love Story’s ending, a tense Mia tried to distract herself from checking her phone. A call from the hospital would mean that the eggs hadn’t fertilized, and no call meant it worked. It was past 9.30 am, and there were no calls, but just to be completely sure, Emil contacted the hospital to find out where they stood, and he was informed that the fertilization procedure was a success. There was no limit to Mia and Emil’s happiness; they had withstood a storm together, and their love and perseverance resulted in a happy ending.
