Cinema of Sweden
Encyclopedia
Swedish cinema
is known as producing many critically acclaimed movies, and during the 20th century was the most prominent of Scandinavia. This is largely due to the popularity and prominence of the directors Ingmar Bergman
, Victor Sjöström
, and more recently Lasse Hallström
and Lukas Moodysson
.
(1849-1912) has dominated much of the filmmaking in Sweden, largely because of the close ties there between the film industry and live theater.
to Lidingö
in 1911, which had two star directors: Victor Sjöström
and Mauritz Stiller
. Stiller was responsible for the early popularity of Greta Garbo
, particularly through the film Gösta Berlings saga
(1924). Many of the films made at the Biografteatern had a significant impact on German directors of the silent and early sound eras, largely because Germany was cut off from French, British, and American influences through World War I.
In the mid-twenties, both of these directors and Garbo moved to the United States to work for MGM
, bringing Swedish influence to Hollywood. The departure left a vacuum in Swedish cinema, which went into a financial crisis consequently.
The advent of the talking movie
at the beginning of the 1930s brought about a financial stabilization for Swedish cinema, but artistic and international ambitions were sacrificed for this financial success. Some provincial comedies were filmed that were created for the local market.
and Alf Sjöberg. Cinema had to perform the task of psychological defence during the war.
, rose to prominence in the fifties. He began making films in the mid-forties, and in 1955, he made Smiles of a Summer Night
, which brought him international attention. A year later, he made one of his most famous films, The Seventh Seal
. In the 1960s, Bergman won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
for two consecutive years, with The Virgin Spring
(Jungfrukällan) in 1960 and Through a Glass Darkly
(Såsom i en spegel) in 1961. He won the award again in 1983, for the early twentieth century family drama Fanny and Alexander
(Fanny och Alexander). Bergman has also been nominated for the Best Picture award
once, with the 1973 Cries and Whispers
(Viskningar och rop), the story of two sisters watching over their third sister's deathbed, both afraid she might die, but hoping she does. The film lost to The Sting
, and oddly enough, it was not nominated in the Foreign Language Film category. It also gave Bergman the first of three nominations for Best Director
. Ingmar Bergman also won no less than four Golden Globe Award
s for Best Foreign Language Film
.
Working closely with Bergman, cinematographer
Sven Nykvist
can be said to have had a major impact on the visual aspect of Swedish cinema. Twice the recipient of the Academy Award for Best Cinematography
, for Cries and Whispers and Fanny and Alexander, Nykvist is considered by many to be one of the greatest cinematographers of all time. He also directed The Ox
(Oxen) (1991), nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1992.
Also starting his career working with Bergman, Vilgot Sjöman
debuted in 1962 with The Swedish Mistress (Älskarinnan), but attracted far wider attention in Sweden when his film 491
was originally banned by the Swedish censors due to its explicit sexual content. After some cutting, it was released in 1964. Sjöman went on to cause even wider controversy, depicting sexual intercourse
in his 1967 film I Am Curious (Yellow)
(Jag är nyfiken – gul). In the United States the film was considered pornography and seized by the customs and banned until 1969. When the film was eventually released, the publicity gained from the legal fight and the revolutionary graphic content drew huge crowds, making the film the most successful Swedish film export ever, and the most successful foreign film in the US up to this point. Most probably, it was also instrumental in establishing a view of Swedish cinema – and perhaps even Swedes in general – as having a liberal attitude towards sexuality.
Another Swedish postwar filmmaker of note is Bo Widerberg. His 1963 film Raven's End
(Kvarteret Korpen) and The Man on the Roof
(Mannen på taket) are widely regarded as Swedish film classics. His later works include The Man from Majorca
(Mannen från Mallorca), The Serpent's Way
(Ormens väg på hälleberget) and All Things Fair
(Lust och fägring stor). Widerberg got as many as three Academy Award nominations for Best Foreign-Language Film, for Raven's End, Ådalen 31
and All Things Fair, but never won the award.
Jan Troell started his career as Widerberg's director of photography, but could soon debut with his own film Here's Your Life
(Här har du ditt liv). He went on to direct The Emigrants (Utvandrarna) in 1971 and its sequel The New Land
(Nybyggarna) the following year. The films are based on Vilhelm Moberg
's epic novels about the Swedish emigration to America in the 19th century, books extremely well known in Sweden. The Emigrants was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Director and Best Picture. After that Troell went to Hollywood, where he directed Zandy's Bride
, starring Gene Hackman
, and Hurricane
. He returned to Sweden to make The Flight of the Eagle (Ingenjör Andrées luftfärd), a film about the Swedish explorer Andrée
's disastrous 1897 polar expedition. The film gained an Academy Awards nomination for best foreign language film. Later works include the controversial Il Capitano: A Swedish Requiem
(Il Capitano), Hamsun
, about Knut Hamsun
, As White as in Snow (Så vit som en snö), and several documentaries.
In the 60's Ingmar Bergman
saw a comedic duo's variety show
on Gröna Lund
and told his studio that "There are two funny guys down at Gröna Lund. Why don't you let them do a movie? There aren't too many funny movies these days." The duo was non other than Hans Alfredsson and Tage Danielsson
, in common speech now as Hasseåtage
who made a movie called Svenska Bilder. Their own production company AB Svenska Ord
made many more movies after that one, directed either by Hasse or Tage. They include, among others Docking the Boat
(Att angöra en brygga), The Apple War
(Äppelkriget), The Man Who Quit Smoking
(Mannen som slutade röka), Release the Prisoners to Spring
(Släpp fångarne loss det är vår), Ägget är Löst, The Adventures of Picasso
(Picasso's Äventyr), SOPOR and The Simple-Minded Murder
(Den Enfaldige Mördaren). These movies are considered cult in Sweden today.
In 1968, Stefan Jarl
's and Jan Lindqvist's documentary They Call Us Misfits
(Dom kallar oss mods) was released. The film, the first in what would become a trilogy, is an uncompromising account of the life of two alienated teenagers. Stefan Jarl went on to make several other celebrated documentaries in the 1980s and 1990s.
had a breakthrough with his first feature-length film, A Swedish Love Story
in 1969, and was awarded four prizes at the International Film Festival in Berlin the same year. Following the financial and critical disaster of his 1975 film Giliap
he took a two-decade break from film directing. In March 1996, Andersson began filming Songs from the Second Floor
, that premiered at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival
, winning the Special Jury Price. Andersson's return to filmmaking was a major success with the critics, earning him five Guldbagge Award
s in Sweden for best film, direction, cinematography, screenplay and sound.
Director Lasse Hallström
made his feature-length film debut in 1975 with the comedy A Guy and a Gal
(En Kille och en tjej) featuring the well-known Swedish comic duo Magnus Härenstam
and Brasse Brännström. He was the man behind most of ABBA
's music videos, as well as the film ABBA: The Movie
. My Life as a Dog
, released in Sweden in 1985, was nominated for two 1987 Academy Awards
, for directing
and for adapted screenplay
. In 1987, it won the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film
. Following the film's international success, Hallström has worked on American films
– What's Eating Gilbert Grape
, The Cider House Rules
, Chocolat and Casanova
, among others.
In the comedy genre Lasse Åberg
has directed and also starred in some successful films that, although not praised by film critics, were box-office successes and have received cult status. The first one was Repmånad
in 1979, followed by Sällskapsresan
in 1980 and its four sequels. Although not part of the Sällskapsresan series, Repmånad was very similar in style, depicting an inept outsider in various situations and traditions typical for Sweden in a humorous way.
Lukas Moodysson
's first feature-length film, Show Me Love (aka Fucking Åmål) was a huge success in Sweden. The lovingly depicted teenage angst of the main characters played well with the audience and won four Guldbagge Award
s in 1998. The follow-up Together
(Tillsammans) (2000) was an upbeat comedy, albeit with some darkly satirical undertones, set in a 1970s Stockholm
commune. But Moodyson's filmmaking then took a radically different direction. The 2002 Lilya 4-ever
(Lilja 4-ever) is a dark, tragic story about trafficking in human beings, and the 2004 A Hole in My Heart
(Ett hål i mitt hjärta) deals with an amateur porn
movie recording, causing some controversy due to its shocking and disturbing footage.
Other young Swedish filmmakers that have seen major success in recent years include Lebanon
-born director Josef Fares
, with the comedies Jalla! Jalla!
(2000) and Kopps
(2003), and the refugee
drama Zozo
(2005), Iran
ian-born Reza Parsa
with the drama Before the Storm (Före stormen) (2000), and Maria Blom, with the comedy Dalecarlians (Masjävlar) (2004).
More recently, Tomas Alfredson
's (son of Hasse Alfredson) romantic vampire film Let the Right One In (Låt den rätte komma in) (2008) received widespread acclaim from critics all around the world, becoming one of the best reviewed films of the year. In this particular tale, a bullied boy falls in love with a vampire girl who has just moved in next door. Also in the same year, director Jan Troell returns with yet another period drama, Everlasting Moments
(Maria Larssons Eviga Ögonblick) (2008).
In 2009, the feature films The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Män som hatar kvinnor), The Girl Who Played with Fire
(Flickan som lekte med elden) and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest
(Luftslottet som sprängdes) became international hits with the first film making more than $100 million worldwide. All three films were based on the hit novels of the same names that together comprise the "Millennium series" by Swedish author/journalist Stieg Larsson
.
was founded in 1963 to support and develop the Swedish film industry. It supports Swedish filmmakings and allocates grants for production, distribution and public showing of Swedish films in Sweden. It also promotes Swedish cinema internationally. Furthermore, the Institute organises the annual Guldbagge awards.
Through the Swedish Film Agreement, between the Swedish state and the film and media industry, the Government of Sweden
, the TV companies which are party to the agreement, and Sweden's cinema owners jointly fund the Film Institute and thus, indirectly, Swedish filmmaking. The current agreement runs from 1 January 2006, until 31 December 2010.
At a rate of, currently, 20 films a year the Swedish film industry is on par with other comparable North European countries.
In Trollhättan Municipality
there is a film production facility known as Trollywood
; movies shot there include Show Me Love, Dancer in the Dark
and Dogville
. The movie studio Film i Väst
centered here produces about half of Sweden's full-length films.
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
is known as producing many critically acclaimed movies, and during the 20th century was the most prominent of Scandinavia. This is largely due to the popularity and prominence of the directors Ingmar Bergman
Ingmar Bergman
Ernst Ingmar Bergman was a Swedish director, writer and producer for film, stage and television. Described by Woody Allen as "probably the greatest film artist, all things considered, since the invention of the motion picture camera", he is recognized as one of the most accomplished and...
, Victor Sjöström
Victor Sjöström
Victor Sjöström was a Swedish actor, screenwriter, and film director.- Biography:Born in Silbodal, in the Värmland region of Sweden, he was only a year old when his father, Olof Adolf Sjöström, moved the family to Brooklyn, New York. His mother died when he was seven years old in 1886...
, and more recently Lasse Hallström
Lasse Hallström
Lars Sven "Lasse" Hallström is a Swedish film director. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director for My Life as a Dog and later for The Cider House Rules .-Life and career:...
and Lukas Moodysson
Lukas Moodysson
- External links :*...
.
Characteristics of Swedish cinema
Swedish films, and Scandinavian films in general, are known for stark landscapes and slow pacing. The playwright August StrindbergAugust Strindberg
Johan August Strindberg was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg's career spanned four decades, during which time he wrote over 60 plays and more than 30 works of fiction, autobiography,...
(1849-1912) has dominated much of the filmmaking in Sweden, largely because of the close ties there between the film industry and live theater.
Early Swedish cinema
Swedish filmmaking rose to international prominence when Svenska Biografteatern moved from KristianstadKristianstad
Kristianstad is a city and the seat of Kristianstad Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 35,711 inhabitants in 2010.-History:The city was founded in 1614 by King Christian IV of Denmark, the city's name literally means 'Town of Christian', as a planned city after the burning of the town of Vä...
to Lidingö
Lidingö
Lidingö is an island in the inner Stockholm archipelago, located north east of central Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. It is also the seat of Lidingö Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 44,000 inhabitants in 2011....
in 1911, which had two star directors: Victor Sjöström
Victor Sjöström
Victor Sjöström was a Swedish actor, screenwriter, and film director.- Biography:Born in Silbodal, in the Värmland region of Sweden, he was only a year old when his father, Olof Adolf Sjöström, moved the family to Brooklyn, New York. His mother died when he was seven years old in 1886...
and Mauritz Stiller
Mauritz Stiller
Mauritz Stiller was a Finnish-Swedish actor, screenwriter and silent film director, who was mostly active in Sweden.-Life:...
. Stiller was responsible for the early popularity of Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo , born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, was a Swedish film actress. Garbo was an international star and icon during Hollywood's silent and classic periods. Many of Garbo's films were sensational hits, and all but three were profitable...
, particularly through the film Gösta Berlings saga
Gösta Berlings saga (film)
The Saga of Gosta Berling is a 1924 Swedish romantic drama film directed by Mauritz Stiller and released by AB Svensk Filmindustri, starring Lars Hanson, Gerda Lundequist and Greta Garbo in her native break-out role on film. The film is based on the 1891 debut novel of the same name by the Swedish...
(1924). Many of the films made at the Biografteatern had a significant impact on German directors of the silent and early sound eras, largely because Germany was cut off from French, British, and American influences through World War I.
In the mid-twenties, both of these directors and Garbo moved to the United States to work for MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
, bringing Swedish influence to Hollywood. The departure left a vacuum in Swedish cinema, which went into a financial crisis consequently.
The advent of the talking movie
Sound film
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades would pass before sound motion pictures were made commercially...
at the beginning of the 1930s brought about a financial stabilization for Swedish cinema, but artistic and international ambitions were sacrificed for this financial success. Some provincial comedies were filmed that were created for the local market.
Swedish cinema through WWII
During World War II Swedish cinema gained artistically, mainly due to the directors Gustaf MolanderGustaf Molander
Gustaf Harald August Molander was a Swedish actor and film director. His parents were the director Harald Molander, Sr. and the singer and actress Lydia Molander, née Wessler, and his brother was the director Olof Molander...
and Alf Sjöberg. Cinema had to perform the task of psychological defence during the war.
Post-war
The most famous and influential Swedish filmmaker, Ingmar BergmanIngmar Bergman
Ernst Ingmar Bergman was a Swedish director, writer and producer for film, stage and television. Described by Woody Allen as "probably the greatest film artist, all things considered, since the invention of the motion picture camera", he is recognized as one of the most accomplished and...
, rose to prominence in the fifties. He began making films in the mid-forties, and in 1955, he made Smiles of a Summer Night
Smiles of a Summer Night
Smiles of a Summer Night a.k.a. Smiles on a Summer Night is a 1955 Swedish comedy film directed by Ingmar Bergman. It was the first of Bergman's films to bring the director international success, due to its exposure at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival...
, which brought him international attention. A year later, he made one of his most famous films, The Seventh Seal
The Seventh Seal
The Seventh Seal is a 1957 Swedish film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Set during the Black Death, it tells of the journey of a medieval knight and a game of chess he plays with the personification of Death , who has come to take his life. Bergman developed the film from his own play...
. In the 1960s, Bergman won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
for two consecutive years, with The Virgin Spring
The Virgin Spring
The Virgin Spring is a 1960 Swedish drama film directed by Ingmar Bergman. Set in medieval Sweden, it is a revenge tale about a father's merciless response to the rape and murder of his young daughter. The story was adapted by screenwriter Ulla Isaksson from a 13th century Swedish ballad, "Töres...
(Jungfrukällan) in 1960 and Through a Glass Darkly
Through a Glass Darkly (film)
Through a Glass Darkly is a 1961 Swedish film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman, and produced by Allan Ekelund. The film is a three-act "chamber film", in which four family members act as mirrors for each other. It is the first of many Bergman films to be shot on the island of Fårö...
(Såsom i en spegel) in 1961. He won the award again in 1983, for the early twentieth century family drama Fanny and Alexander
Fanny and Alexander
Fanny and Alexander is a 1982 Swedish fantasy drama film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. It was originally conceived as a four-part TV movie and cut in that version, spanning 312 minutes. A 188-minute version was created later for cinematic release, although this version was in fact the...
(Fanny och Alexander). Bergman has also been nominated for the Best Picture award
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
once, with the 1973 Cries and Whispers
Cries and Whispers
Cries and Whispers is a 1972 Swedish film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman and starring Harriet Andersson, Kari Sylwan, Ingrid Thulin and Liv Ullmann. The film is set on a mansion at the end of the 19th century and is about two sisters who watch over their third sister on her deathbed, torn...
(Viskningar och rop), the story of two sisters watching over their third sister's deathbed, both afraid she might die, but hoping she does. The film lost to The Sting
The Sting
The Sting is a 1973 American caper film set in September 1936 that involves a complicated plot by two professional grifters to con a mob boss . The film was directed by George Roy Hill, who previously directed Newman and Redford in the western Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.Created by...
, and oddly enough, it was not nominated in the Foreign Language Film category. It also gave Bergman the first of three nominations for Best Director
Academy Award for Directing
The Academy Award for Achievement in Directing , usually known as the Best Director Oscar, is one of the Awards of Merit presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to directors working in the motion picture industry...
. Ingmar Bergman also won no less than four Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
s for Best Foreign Language Film
Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the awards presented at the Golden Globes, an American film awards ceremony.Until 1986, it was known as the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film, meaning that any non-American film could be honoured...
.
Working closely with Bergman, cinematographer
Cinematographer
A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...
Sven Nykvist
Sven Nykvist
Sven Vilhem Nykvist was a Swedish cinematographer. He worked on over 120 films, but is known especially for his work with director Ingmar Bergman...
can be said to have had a major impact on the visual aspect of Swedish cinema. Twice the recipient of the Academy Award for Best Cinematography
Academy Award for Best Cinematography
The Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work in one particular motion picture.-History:...
, for Cries and Whispers and Fanny and Alexander, Nykvist is considered by many to be one of the greatest cinematographers of all time. He also directed The Ox
The Ox
The Ox is a 1991 Swedish film directed by Sven Nykvist. He wrote the script with Lasse Summanen.- Cast :* Stellan Skarsgård - Helge Roos* Ewa Fröling - Elfrida Roos* Lennart Hjulström - Svenning Gustavsson* Max von Sydow - Vicar* Liv Ullmann - Mrs...
(Oxen) (1991), nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1992.
Also starting his career working with Bergman, Vilgot Sjöman
Vilgot Sjöman
David Harald Vilgot Sjöman was a Swedish writer and film director. His films deal with controversial issues of social class, morality, and sexual taboos, combining the emotionally-tortured characters of Ingmar Bergman with the avant garde style of the French New Wave...
debuted in 1962 with The Swedish Mistress (Älskarinnan), but attracted far wider attention in Sweden when his film 491
491 (film)
491 is a 1964 Swedish black-and-white drama film directed by Vilgot Sjöman, based on a novel by Lars Görling. The story is about a group of youth criminals who are chosen to participate in a social experiment, where they are assigned to live together in an apartment while being supervised by two...
was originally banned by the Swedish censors due to its explicit sexual content. After some cutting, it was released in 1964. Sjöman went on to cause even wider controversy, depicting sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
in his 1967 film I Am Curious (Yellow)
I Am Curious (Yellow)
I Am Curious is a 1967 Swedish drama film written and directed by Vilgot Sjöman and starring Sjöman and Lena Nyman. It is a companion film to 1968's I Am Curious ; the two were initially intended to be one 3½ hour film...
(Jag är nyfiken – gul). In the United States the film was considered pornography and seized by the customs and banned until 1969. When the film was eventually released, the publicity gained from the legal fight and the revolutionary graphic content drew huge crowds, making the film the most successful Swedish film export ever, and the most successful foreign film in the US up to this point. Most probably, it was also instrumental in establishing a view of Swedish cinema – and perhaps even Swedes in general – as having a liberal attitude towards sexuality.
Another Swedish postwar filmmaker of note is Bo Widerberg. His 1963 film Raven's End
Raven's End
Raven's End is a 1963 Swedish drama film directed by Bo Widerberg, about an aspiring working-class writer in Malmö. The story bears some similarities to Widerberg's own background, although he claimed it to be entirely fictional.-Plot:...
(Kvarteret Korpen) and The Man on the Roof
The Man on the Roof
The Man on the Roof is a 1976 Swedish film directed by Bo Widerberg, based on the 1971 novel The Abominable Man by Sjöwall and Wahlöö. The film is a crime thriller about the police officer Martin Beck trying to catch a killer, and it reaches its climax when the killer barricades himself on a roof...
(Mannen på taket) are widely regarded as Swedish film classics. His later works include The Man from Majorca
The Man from Majorca
The Man from Majorca is a 1984 Swedish film directed by Bo Widerberg. The film is based on the novel Grisfesten by Leif G. W. Persson. The novel has big similarities with the Geijer affair . Leif G.W...
(Mannen från Mallorca), The Serpent's Way
The Serpent's Way
The Serpent's Way is a 1986 Swedish drama film directed by Bo Widerberg. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Stina Ekblad - Tea Alexisdotter* Stellan Skarsgård - Karl Orsa Markström...
(Ormens väg på hälleberget) and All Things Fair
All Things Fair
All Things Fair is a 1995 Swedish drama film directed by Bo Widerberg, about a sexual relationship between a teacher and her 15 year old student in southern Sweden during World War II. Bo Widerberg's son Johan Widerberg stars as the boy and Marika Lagercrantz plays the teacher...
(Lust och fägring stor). Widerberg got as many as three Academy Award nominations for Best Foreign-Language Film, for Raven's End, Ådalen 31
Ådalen 31
Ådalen 31 is a 1969 Swedish drama film directed by Bo Widerberg. It depicts the 1931 Ådalen shootings, in which Swedish military forces opened fire against labour demonstrators in the Swedish sawmill district of Ådalen killing five people, including a young girl.The film was X-rated in the United...
and All Things Fair, but never won the award.
Jan Troell started his career as Widerberg's director of photography, but could soon debut with his own film Here's Your Life
Here's Your Life
Here's Your Life is a 1966 Swedish drama film directed by Jan Troell, based on the second of Eyvind Johnson's semi-autobiographical series of four novels Romanen om Olof, about a working-class boy growing up in northern Sweden.-Selected cast:...
(Här har du ditt liv). He went on to direct The Emigrants (Utvandrarna) in 1971 and its sequel The New Land
The New Land
Nybyggarna is a 1972 Swedish film written by Bengt Forslund and directed by Jan Troell. It stars Max von Sydow, Liv Ullmann and Eddie Axberg....
(Nybyggarna) the following year. The films are based on Vilhelm Moberg
Vilhelm Moberg
Karl Artur Vilhelm Moberg was a Swedish author and historian, most commonly associated with his four novels known as The Emigrants Series.-Early life:...
's epic novels about the Swedish emigration to America in the 19th century, books extremely well known in Sweden. The Emigrants was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Director and Best Picture. After that Troell went to Hollywood, where he directed Zandy's Bride
Zandy's Bride
Zandy's Bride is a 1974 American film directed by Jan Troell. It stars Gene Hackman and Liv Ullmann.The film is also known as For Better, for Worse in the USA . It was filmed on location near Big Sur, California.- Plot summary :...
, starring Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman
Eugene Allen "Gene" Hackman is an American actor and novelist.Nominated for five Academy Awards, winning two, Hackman has also won three Golden Globes and two BAFTAs in a career that spanned five decades. He first came to fame in 1967 with his performance as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde...
, and Hurricane
Hurricane (1979 film)
Hurricane is a 1979 romance, epic-adventure film featuring an all-star cast and impressive special effects, produced by: Dino De Laurentiis and Lorenzo Semple Jr, and directed by Jan Troell...
. He returned to Sweden to make The Flight of the Eagle (Ingenjör Andrées luftfärd), a film about the Swedish explorer Andrée
Salomon August Andrée
Salomon August Andrée , during his lifetime most often known as S. A. Andrée, was a Swedish engineer, physicist, aeronaut and polar explorer who died while leading an attempt to reach the Geographic North Pole by hydrogen balloon...
's disastrous 1897 polar expedition. The film gained an Academy Awards nomination for best foreign language film. Later works include the controversial Il Capitano: A Swedish Requiem
Il Capitano: A Swedish Requiem
Il Capitano: A Swedish Requiem is a 1991 Swedish-Finnish biographical drama film directed by Jan Troell, about the 1988 Åmsele murders where a family of three was murdered by Juha Valjakkala over a stolen bicycle. Antti Reini stars as Valjakkala, renamed Jari in the film, and Maria Heiskanen as...
(Il Capitano), Hamsun
Hamsun (film)
Hamsun is a 1996 Danish-Swedish-Norwegian-German drama directed by Jan Troell, about the later life of the Norwegian author Knut Hamsun , who together with his wife Marie Hamsun , went from being national saints to national traitors after supporting Nazi Germany during their occupation of Norway...
, about Knut Hamsun
Knut Hamsun
Knut Hamsun was a Norwegian author, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1920. He was praised by King Haakon VII of Norway as Norway's soul....
, As White as in Snow (Så vit som en snö), and several documentaries.
In the 60's Ingmar Bergman
Ingmar Bergman
Ernst Ingmar Bergman was a Swedish director, writer and producer for film, stage and television. Described by Woody Allen as "probably the greatest film artist, all things considered, since the invention of the motion picture camera", he is recognized as one of the most accomplished and...
saw a comedic duo's variety show
Gröna hund
Gröna hund, complete title Gröna Hund på Gröna Lund , was the first variety show produced by AB Svenska Ord. After that the writers/actors Hans Alfredsson and Tage Danielsson became known as Hasseåtage to the Swedish people....
on Gröna Lund
Gröna Lund
Tivoli Gröna Lund or Grönan is an amusement park in Stockholm, Sweden. It is located on the seaward side of the Djurgården island and is relatively small compared to other amusement parks, mainly due to its central location, which limits expansion. Gröna Lund is a popular venue for concerts during...
and told his studio that "There are two funny guys down at Gröna Lund. Why don't you let them do a movie? There aren't too many funny movies these days." The duo was non other than Hans Alfredsson and Tage Danielsson
Tage Danielsson
Tage Danielsson was a Swedish author, actor, poet and film director. He was born in Linköping and died in Stockholm...
, in common speech now as Hasseåtage
Hasseåtage
Hasseåtage is the commonly used name for the popular Swedish comedy-duo featuring Hans "Hasse" Alfredson and Tage Danielsson. The term was created by the Swedish press in the 1960s, and was never used by the duo themselves...
who made a movie called Svenska Bilder. Their own production company AB Svenska Ord
AB Svenska Ord
AB Svenska Ord was the name of a well-known entertainment company in Sweden, run by comedy-duo Hasseåtage. It was established in 1961.-Productions:Svenska Ord published a series of cabarets, films, and books, among them some of the following:...
made many more movies after that one, directed either by Hasse or Tage. They include, among others Docking the Boat
Docking the Boat
Docking the Boat is a Swedish dark comedy film from 1965 directed by Tage Danielsson. The film stars Gösta Ekman, Monica Zetterlund, Hans Alfredson, Lars Ekborg and Birgitta Andersson have acquired a mild cult following in Sweden for their acting in this film...
(Att angöra en brygga), The Apple War
The Apple War
The Apple War is a 1971 Swedish comedy-drama film directed by Tage Danielsson, starring Gösta Ekman, Hans Alfredsson, Tage Danielsson, Monica Zetterlund and Max von Sydow. The political theme of the film is the battle between nature on the one hand and commercialisation and industrialisation on...
(Äppelkriget), The Man Who Quit Smoking
The Man Who Quit Smoking
The Man Who Quit Smoking is a 1972 Swedish film comedy directed by Tage Danielsson, starring Gösta Ekman, Grynet Molvig, Carl-Gustaf Lindstedt and Gunn Wållgren, a.o. The film is known as "a Hasseåtage-film" and is a great cult classic in Sweden.-Plot:The Plot focuses on Dante Alighieri, a young...
(Mannen som slutade röka), Release the Prisoners to Spring
Release the Prisoners to Spring
Release the Prisoners to Spring is a 1975 Swedish film comedy directed by Tage Danielsson....
(Släpp fångarne loss det är vår), Ägget är Löst, The Adventures of Picasso
The Adventures of Picasso
The Adventures of Picasso is a 1978 Swedish film comedy directed by Tage Danielsson, starring Gösta Ekman, as the famous painter...
(Picasso's Äventyr), SOPOR and The Simple-Minded Murder
The Simple-Minded Murder
The Simple-Minded Murder is a 1981 Swedish drama film directed by Hasse Alfredson, starring Stellan Skarsgård, as the feeble-minded Sven Olsson.-Plot:...
(Den Enfaldige Mördaren). These movies are considered cult in Sweden today.
In 1968, Stefan Jarl
Stefan Jarl
Stefan Jarl is a Swedish film director best known for his documentaries. He made the Mods Trilogy, three films which follow a group of alienated people in Stockholm from the 1960s to the 1990s, They Call Us Misfits , A Respectable Life and Det sociala arvet...
's and Jan Lindqvist's documentary They Call Us Misfits
They Call Us Misfits
They Call Us Misfits is a 1968 Swedish documentary film directed, produced and written by Stefan Jarl and Jan Lindqvist. The film is an uncompromising account of the life of two alienated teenagers, Kenneth "Kenta" Gustafsson and Gustav "Stoffe" Svensson...
(Dom kallar oss mods) was released. The film, the first in what would become a trilogy, is an uncompromising account of the life of two alienated teenagers. Stefan Jarl went on to make several other celebrated documentaries in the 1980s and 1990s.
Contemporary Swedish cinema
Roy AnderssonRoy Andersson
Roy Andersson is a Swedish film director, best known for his films A Swedish Love Story and Songs from the Second Floor. More than any other, Songs from the Second Floor succeeded in cementing his personal style — a style characterized by long takes, absurdist comedy, stiff caricaturing of...
had a breakthrough with his first feature-length film, A Swedish Love Story
A Swedish Love Story
A Swedish Love Story is a 1970 Swedish romantic drama directed by Roy Andersson, starring Ann-Sofie Kylin and Rolf Sohlman as two teenagers falling in love. Inspired by the Czechoslovak New Wave, the film was Andersson's feature film debut and was successful in Sweden and abroad. It was entered...
in 1969, and was awarded four prizes at the International Film Festival in Berlin the same year. Following the financial and critical disaster of his 1975 film Giliap
Giliap
Giliap is a 1975 Swedish drama film directed by Roy Andersson, starring Thommy Berggren as a man who takes a job as a waiter at a run-down hotel. It was a financial and critical failure, and it led to Andersson's not making another feature film for 25 years...
he took a two-decade break from film directing. In March 1996, Andersson began filming Songs from the Second Floor
Songs from the Second Floor
Songs from the Second Floor is a 2000 Swedish film written and directed by Roy Andersson. It presents a series of disconnected vignettes that together interrogate aspects of modern life. The film uses many quotations from the work of the Peruvian poet César Vallejo as a recurring motif...
, that premiered at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival
2000 Cannes Film Festival
The 2000 Cannes Film Festival started on May 14 and ran until May 25. The Palme d'Or went to the Danish film Dancer in the Dark by Lars von Trier.-Jury:* Luc Besson, President * Jonathan Demme * Nicole Garcia...
, winning the Special Jury Price. Andersson's return to filmmaking was a major success with the critics, earning him five Guldbagge Award
Guldbagge Award
The Guldbagge Award is an official Swedish film award awarded annually since 1964 by the Swedish Film Institute.-Etymology:Guldbagge is the Swedish name for Cetonia aurata, a beetle also known as rose chafer. The name of the award could also be interpreted as a play on the Swedish word skalbagge,...
s in Sweden for best film, direction, cinematography, screenplay and sound.
Director Lasse Hallström
Lasse Hallström
Lars Sven "Lasse" Hallström is a Swedish film director. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director for My Life as a Dog and later for The Cider House Rules .-Life and career:...
made his feature-length film debut in 1975 with the comedy A Guy and a Gal
A Guy and a Gal
A Guy and a Gal is a 1975 Swedish film directed by Lasse Hallström....
(En Kille och en tjej) featuring the well-known Swedish comic duo Magnus Härenstam
Magnus Härenstam
Johan Herbert Magnus Härenstam is a Swedish television host, actor and comedian. Härenstam hosted the Swedish version of the game-show Jeopardy! for 14 years before being replaced by Adam Alsing...
and Brasse Brännström. He was the man behind most of ABBA
ABBA
ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
's music videos, as well as the film ABBA: The Movie
ABBA: The Movie
ABBA: The Movie is a 1977 film about the pop group ABBA's Australian tour. It was directed by Lasse Hallström, who directed most of the group's videos. The film has become a cult film among ABBA fans...
. My Life as a Dog
My Life as a Dog
My Life as a Dog is a 1985 Swedish drama film directed by Lasse Hallström, based on a novel by Reidar Jönsson. It tells the story of Ingemar, a young boy sent to live with relatives...
, released in Sweden in 1985, was nominated for two 1987 Academy Awards
60th Academy Awards
The 60th Academy Awards were presented April 11, 1988 at the Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, California. The ceremony was the first to be held there since the 20th Academy Awards...
, for directing
Academy Award for Directing
The Academy Award for Achievement in Directing , usually known as the Best Director Oscar, is one of the Awards of Merit presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to directors working in the motion picture industry...
and for adapted screenplay
Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay
The Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. It is awarded each year to the writer of a screenplay adapted from another source...
. In 1987, it won the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the awards presented at the Golden Globes, an American film awards ceremony.Until 1986, it was known as the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film, meaning that any non-American film could be honoured...
. Following the film's international success, Hallström has worked on American films
Cinema of the United States
The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
– What's Eating Gilbert Grape
What's Eating Gilbert Grape
What's Eating Gilbert Grape is a 1993 film directed by Lasse Hallström and starring Johnny Depp, Juliette Lewis and Leonardo DiCaprio. Peter Hedges wrote the screenplay adapted from his 1991 novel of the same name...
, The Cider House Rules
The Cider House Rules (film)
The Cider House Rules is a 1999 American drama film directed by Lasse Hallström, based on John Irving's novel of the same name. The film won two Academy Awards, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, along with four other nominations at the 72nd Academy Awards...
, Chocolat and Casanova
Casanova (film)
Casanova is a 2005 American romantic film directed by Lasse Hallström starring Heath Ledger and loosely based on the life of Giacomo Casanova.-Plot:...
, among others.
In the comedy genre Lasse Åberg
Lasse Åberg
Lars Gunnar Åberg , better known as Lasse Åberg, is a Swedish actor, musician, film director and artist. He was born in the small town Hofors, but grew up in Stockholm...
has directed and also starred in some successful films that, although not praised by film critics, were box-office successes and have received cult status. The first one was Repmånad
Repmånad
Repmånad is a 1979 Swedish comedy film directed by Lasse Åberg. The plot revolves around a group of men called in for refresher exercise in the Swedish army, and who did their national service together some years earlier.-Cast:...
in 1979, followed by Sällskapsresan
Sällskapsresan
Sällskapsresan, which translates from Swedish as The Charter Trip, is a 1980 Swedish comedy film and the first in a series directed by Lasse Åberg...
in 1980 and its four sequels. Although not part of the Sällskapsresan series, Repmånad was very similar in style, depicting an inept outsider in various situations and traditions typical for Sweden in a humorous way.
Lukas Moodysson
Lukas Moodysson
- External links :*...
's first feature-length film, Show Me Love (aka Fucking Åmål) was a huge success in Sweden. The lovingly depicted teenage angst of the main characters played well with the audience and won four Guldbagge Award
Guldbagge Award
The Guldbagge Award is an official Swedish film award awarded annually since 1964 by the Swedish Film Institute.-Etymology:Guldbagge is the Swedish name for Cetonia aurata, a beetle also known as rose chafer. The name of the award could also be interpreted as a play on the Swedish word skalbagge,...
s in 1998. The follow-up Together
Together (2000 film)
Together is a 2000 comedy/drama film. It is Swedish director Lukas Moodysson's second full length film. Set in a Stockholm commune called "Tillsammans" in 1975, it is a satirical view at socialist values and a bittersweet comedy....
(Tillsammans) (2000) was an upbeat comedy, albeit with some darkly satirical undertones, set in a 1970s Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
commune. But Moodyson's filmmaking then took a radically different direction. The 2002 Lilya 4-ever
Lilya 4-ever
Lilja 4-ever is a 2002 Swedish drama film. It is director Lukas Moodysson's third feature film which marks a sharp change of mood from his previous two films, the uplifting love story Show Me Love and Together, set in the 1970s...
(Lilja 4-ever) is a dark, tragic story about trafficking in human beings, and the 2004 A Hole in My Heart
A Hole in My Heart
A Hole in My Heart is a 2004 Swedish drama film written and directed by Lukas Moodysson, starring Thorsten Flinck, Sanna Bråding, Björn Almroth and Goran Marjanovic...
(Ett hål i mitt hjärta) deals with an amateur porn
Amateur pornography
Amateur pornography is a category of pornography that features models or actors performing without pay, or for whom this material is their first or only paid modeling work. Reality pornography is professionally made porn which seeks to emulate the style of amateur pornography...
movie recording, causing some controversy due to its shocking and disturbing footage.
Other young Swedish filmmakers that have seen major success in recent years include Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
-born director Josef Fares
Josef Fares
Josef Fares is a Crystal-Simorgh winning Swedish film director with Assyrian/Syriac origin. His brother is the actor Fares Fares, who has appeared in many of his films....
, with the comedies Jalla! Jalla!
Jalla! Jalla!
Jalla! Jalla! is a 2000 Swedish comedy film directed by Josef Fares starring Fares Fares, Torkel Petersson, Tuva Novotny and Laleh Pourkarim as the main roles. Jalla! Jalla! is the debut film by Josef Fares and one of his most well-known...
(2000) and Kopps
Kopps
Kopps is a 2003 Swedish film directed by Josef Fares. The name itself is a pun on pronouncing the English word "Cops" with a Swedish accent....
(2003), and the refugee
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
drama Zozo
Zozo
Zozo is a 2005 Swedish-Lebanese film about a Lebanese boy during the civil war, who gets separated from his family and ends up in Sweden. It was directed by Swedish-Lebanese director Josef Fares. The story is mostly inspired by Fares' real life immigration to Sweden during the war.The film was...
(2005), Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian-born Reza Parsa
Reza Parsa
Reza Parsa is a Swedish film director. At the age of 22 he was admitted to the 4-year directing program at the legendary National Film School of Denmark and directed the most award winning graduation film, Never , in the history of the school.To date Reza Parsa has won more than 30 national and...
with the drama Before the Storm (Före stormen) (2000), and Maria Blom, with the comedy Dalecarlians (Masjävlar) (2004).
More recently, Tomas Alfredson
Tomas Alfredson
Tomas Alfredson is a Swedish film director, best known internationally for directing the 2008 vampire film Let the Right One In...
's (son of Hasse Alfredson) romantic vampire film Let the Right One In (Låt den rätte komma in) (2008) received widespread acclaim from critics all around the world, becoming one of the best reviewed films of the year. In this particular tale, a bullied boy falls in love with a vampire girl who has just moved in next door. Also in the same year, director Jan Troell returns with yet another period drama, Everlasting Moments
Everlasting Moments
Everlasting Moments is a 2008 Swedish drama film directed by Jan Troell, starring Maria Heiskanen, Mikael Persbrandt and Jesper Christensen. It is based on the true story of Maria Larsson, a Swedish working class woman in the early 1900s, who wins a camera in a lottery and goes on to become a...
(Maria Larssons Eviga Ögonblick) (2008).
In 2009, the feature films The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Män som hatar kvinnor), The Girl Who Played with Fire
The Girl Who Played with Fire (film)
The Girl Who Played with Fire is a 2009 Swedish thriller film directed by Daniel Alfredson, and the sequel to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It is based on the best-selling novel of the same name by the late Swedish author and journalist Stieg Larsson, the second in his "Millennium series".The...
(Flickan som lekte med elden) and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest (film)
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest is a 2009 Swedish thriller film directed by Daniel Alfredson. It is based on the bestselling novel of the same name by the late Swedish author and journalist Stieg Larsson, the third and final entry in his "Millennium series". More were to follow, but because...
(Luftslottet som sprängdes) became international hits with the first film making more than $100 million worldwide. All three films were based on the hit novels of the same names that together comprise the "Millennium series" by Swedish author/journalist Stieg Larsson
Stieg Larsson
Karl Stig-Erland Larsson , who wrote professionally as Stieg Larsson, was a Swedish journalist and writer, born in Skelleftehamn outside Skellefteå. He is best known for writing the "Millennium series" of crime novels, which were published posthumously...
.
The Swedish film industry
The Swedish Film InstituteSwedish Film Institute
The Swedish Film Institute was founded in 1963 to support and develop the Swedish film industry. The institute is housed in the Filmhuset building located in Gärdet, Östermalm in Stockholm...
was founded in 1963 to support and develop the Swedish film industry. It supports Swedish filmmakings and allocates grants for production, distribution and public showing of Swedish films in Sweden. It also promotes Swedish cinema internationally. Furthermore, the Institute organises the annual Guldbagge awards.
Through the Swedish Film Agreement, between the Swedish state and the film and media industry, the Government of Sweden
Government of Sweden
The Government of the Kingdom of Sweden is the supreme executive authority of Sweden. It consists of the Prime Minister and cabinet ministers appointed by the Prime Minister. The Government is responsible for their actions to the Riksdag, which is the legislative assembly...
, the TV companies which are party to the agreement, and Sweden's cinema owners jointly fund the Film Institute and thus, indirectly, Swedish filmmaking. The current agreement runs from 1 January 2006, until 31 December 2010.
At a rate of, currently, 20 films a year the Swedish film industry is on par with other comparable North European countries.
In Trollhättan Municipality
Trollhättan Municipality
Trollhättan Municipality is a municipality in Västra Götaland County in western Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Trollhättan....
there is a film production facility known as Trollywood
Trollywood
Trollywood is the informal name for a film production facility in Trollhättan Municipality, Sweden. Movies shot there include Fucking Åmål, Dancer in the Dark and Dogville...
; movies shot there include Show Me Love, Dancer in the Dark
Dancer in the Dark
Dancer in the Dark is a 2000 Danish musical drama film directed by Lars von Trier and starring Icelandic singer Björk, Catherine Deneuve, David Morse, Cara Seymour, Peter Stormare, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, and Joel Grey...
and Dogville
Dogville
Dogville is a 2003 drama written and directed by Lars von Trier, and starring Nicole Kidman, Lauren Bacall, Chloë Sevigny, Paul Bettany, Stellan Skarsgård, Udo Kier, and James Caan...
. The movie studio Film i Väst
Film i Väst
Film i Väst is a film company located in Trollhättan, Sweden, founded in 1992. Lars von Trier used its facilities in his movies, such as Dogville and Manderlay.-Walk of Fame:...
centered here produces about half of Sweden's full-length films.
See also
- Cinema of the world
- Swedish Film InstituteSwedish Film InstituteThe Swedish Film Institute was founded in 1963 to support and develop the Swedish film industry. The institute is housed in the Filmhuset building located in Gärdet, Östermalm in Stockholm...
- World cinemaWorld cinemaWorld cinema is a term used primarily in English language speaking countries to refer to the films and film industries of non-English speaking countries. It is therefore often used interchangeably with the term foreign film...
- List of Swedish film directors
External links
- Watch — Sweden's official film player – Swedish film streamed online
- Film: Swedish film in focus – Fact sheet on Sweden.se, Sweden's official website, published by the Swedish InstituteSwedish InstituteThe Swedish Institute is a Swedish government agency with the responsibility to spread information about Sweden outside of Sweden. It exists to promote Swedish interests, and to organise exchanges with other countries in different areas of public life, in particular in the spheres of culture,...
- Sweden.se film room – Films and features about Swedish film on Sweden.se, Sweden's official website
- european-films.net – Reviews, trailers, interviews, news and previews of recent and upcoming European films (in English)
- Scandinavian cinema: Bergman, Dreyer and beyond – Focus Feature on the Criterion Collection web.