Category Archives: Sweden

Forbidden Love: “Syskonbädd 1782” [1966 Sweden]

Vilgot Sjöman was no stranger to controversy even before his ground-breaking films “I am Curious [Blue, and Yellow]”. Made a year earlier, “Syskonbädd 1782” [Eng. Title: My Sister My Love] – a costume melodrama set in the seventeenth century and … Continue reading

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Romanticizing social politics: “Ådalen 31” [1969 Sweden]

Bo Widerberg’s social drama “Ådalen 31” [Eng. Title: Adalen Riots] concerns itself with a working class family during a tragic 1931 strike in the industrial town of Ådalen. The strike spread nationwide and was a turning point in Swedish politics … Continue reading

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The love, the horror: “Vi” [2013 Sweden]

Mani Maserrat’s daring second feature, “Vi” [Eng. Title: Us] takes an intimate look at the disintegration of a passionate but tragic relationship. The violence and destruction is not as much physical as it is psychological. Krister and newly arrived Ida … Continue reading

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“Happy End” – a brief review [2011 Sweden, Denmark]

Björn Runge’s melodrama “Happy End” forces the issue upon four characters through their individual story-lines interacting with the central character Joanna (Ann Petrén), a widowed driving instructor whose personal life has hit a road-block after the husband’s passing, and her … Continue reading

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Private lessons in applied biology, and life: “Lust och fägring stor” [1995 Sweden, Denmark]

Coming of age is a bankable subject for cinema, and even mediocre productions tend to fare well at the box office. But just occasionally, a film comes along to delve deeper than the customary hormonal overflows and infatuations. Bo Widerberg, … Continue reading

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