World of Glory
Encyclopedia
World of Glory is a 1991 Swedish short film written and directed by Roy Andersson
. Its original Swedish title is Härlig är jorden, which means "Lovely is the Earth", and is the Swedish title of the hymn "Fairest Lord Jesus
". The narrative portrays a man in white make-up who guides the viewer through his life in a bleakly stylised world. The film was Andersson's critical comeback to cinema, after many years in advertising.
had forced him to disappear from the cinema scene and instead work as a director of advertisements. Several of his commercials eventually gained critical acclaim for their idiosyncratic style. Andersson said it was the Polish director Krzysztof Kieślowski
who finally made him regain faith in cinema and return to filmmaking. World of Glory was commissioned by the Gothenburg Film Festival
as an entry for a short-film series called 90 minuter 90-tal ("90 minutes 90s"). The budget was four million kronor
.
Roy 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...
. Its original Swedish title is Härlig är jorden, which means "Lovely is the Earth", and is the Swedish title of the hymn "Fairest Lord Jesus
Fairest Lord Jesus
There is little information on the origin of this Christian hymn. Although there are several popular myths that go along with it, they cannot always be substantiated by research. There are some accounts that say it was called "Crusader's Hymn" because it was sung by German Crusaders as they made...
". The narrative portrays a man in white make-up who guides the viewer through his life in a bleakly stylised world. The film was Andersson's critical comeback to cinema, after many years in advertising.
Production
In 1975, Andersson's critical and commercial failure GiliapGiliap
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...
had forced him to disappear from the cinema scene and instead work as a director of advertisements. Several of his commercials eventually gained critical acclaim for their idiosyncratic style. Andersson said it was the Polish director Krzysztof Kieślowski
Krzysztof Kieslowski
Krzysztof Kieślowski was an Academy Award nominated influential Polish film director and screenwriter, known internationally for The Double Life of Veronique and his film cycles The Decalogue and Three Colors.-Early life:...
who finally made him regain faith in cinema and return to filmmaking. World of Glory was commissioned by the Gothenburg Film Festival
Gothenburg Film Festival
Göteborg International Film Festival is an annual film festival in Gothenburg, Sweden, launched in 1979. The first year the festival showed 17 films on 3 screens, and had 3 000 visitors. Today, the film festival is the biggest in Scandinavia and takes place 10 days every year between January and...
as an entry for a short-film series called 90 minuter 90-tal ("90 minutes 90s"). The budget was four million kronor
Swedish krona
The krona has been the currency of Sweden since 1873. Both the ISO code "SEK" and currency sign "kr" are in common use; the former precedes or follows the value, the latter usually follows it, but especially in the past, it sometimes preceded the value...
.