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Swedish Films

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Swedish Films

All Things Fair Bo Widerberg A young man and his teacher become wrapped up in an extremely volatile romance in the impressive final film from director Bo Widerberg (Elvira Madigan), who died two years after its release. Set in Sweden during WWII, the coming-of-age story unfolds as 15-year-old Stig (Johan Widerberg, Bo's son) falls madly in love with his older, married teacher, Viola (Marika Lagercrantz), who readily returns the boy's affections. The relationship takes a bitter, violent turn when Stig attempts to break it off. Winner of the Blue Angel and Silver Bear Awards at the 1966 Berlinale Film Festival. The DVD is letterboxed, and includes director and actor filmographies and liner notes by film critic Wheeler Winston Dixon. In Swedish with English subtitles. Sweden, 1995, 125 mins. DVD $37.95

The Dancer Donya Feuer Called "the ballet world's equivalent of Hoop Dreams" (Miami Herald), this documentary follows young ballerina Katja Bjourner on her journey as a student at The Royal Swedish Ballet School as she develops toward a promising professional career. Swedish with English subtitles. Sweden, 1994, 96 mins. DVD $44.95

Evil Mikael Hafstrom Reminiscent of Young Toerless, this powerful, Oscar-nominated drama stars Andreas Wilson as a teenager in 1950s Sweden who's packed off to boarding school because of his involvement in a series of fights. Within the rigid confines of Stjarnsberg, Erik (Wilson) discovers an inflexible student hierarchy enforced by sadistic violence. At risk of being expelled, Erik is forced to use guile to survive--until the possibility of friendship and love presents him a means of escape. "Watching this time bomb ticking is never less than riveting" (Scott Tobias, The Onion). In Swedish with English subtitles. Sweden/Denmark, 2003, 113 mins. DVD $44.95

Faithless Liv Ullmann With the understanding only intimacy can bring, Liv Ullmann brings to the screen Ingmar Bergman's unsparingly honest script about an infidelity from his past. Although fictional in some respects, there is no effort to mask the autobiographical nature of the story (a central character's name is Bergman), nor any attempt to soften what is clearly a harsh self-critique. Erland Josephson (Scenes from a Marriage) plays Bergman, who calls upon his muse - the ghost of a former lover - to share her reasons for having the affair that now haunts him so. "It looks just as Bergman might have filmed it: formal, precise and demanding of its cast an astonishing surrender to a gallery of unflinching close-ups" (Philip Strick, Sight & Sound). With Lena Endre (Best Intentions), Krister Henriksson and Thomas Hanzon (Private Confessions). In Swedish with English subtitles. Sweden, 2000, 142 mins. DVD $44.95

The Girls Mai Zetterling The fourth film from unsung feminist director Mai Zetterling (Loving Couples) features three supremely talented actresses best known for their performances in Ingmar Bergman classics. Harriet Andersson, Bibi Andersson, and Gunnel Lindblom star as actresses preparing to go on the road with a theatrical production of Aristophanes' classic comedy Lysistrata. As they scrutinize their roles, the women discover that certain real-life resonances cast the play in a tragic light. "A film which no man could have made, but which gains an added dimension from the fact that its maker is a woman" (The Times, UK). Includes Lines From the Heart (Christina Olofson, 1996, 73 mins.) film homage to Mai Zetterling, filmographies, and English and French subtitle options. In Swedish with English subtitles. Sweden, 1968, 100 mins. DVD $44.95

Good Evening Mr. Wallenberg Kjell Grede A moving and sensitive portrait of Raoul Wallenberg, the heroic Swedish businessman who saved thousands of Jews from extermination in Nazi-dominated Hungary. Despite his amazing courage and luck in his self-appointed mission, his own fate remains a mystery. Stellan Skarsgard stars as Wallenberg. "The most passionate and best re-creation of Wallenberg and his moment. Skarsgard is merely perfect" (The New York Post). In Swedish, German and Hungarian with English subtitles. Sweden, 1990, 115 mins. DVD $44.95

Hamsun Jan Troell Max Von Sydow (Hannah and Her Sisters, The Seventh Seal) delivers a "career-crowning performance" (The New York Times) in this complex portrait of Knut Hamsun, the Nobel Prize-winning Norwegian author who stunned the world by siding with Hitler and the Nazis. With Ghita Norby. In Swedish, Danish and Norwegian with English subtitles. Germany/Norway/Sweden/Denmark, 1996, 154 mins. DVD $44.95

Hunger Henning Carlsen Per Oscarsson gives his greatest performance as Pontus, a starving writer in Norway circa 1890, in Henning Carlsen's filming of a Knut Hamsun novel. Pontus stumbles through the streets in search of his own fantasies. His articles are continually refused by editors, and by autumn he is left penniless and without food. "Every tic, every gesture appears to have been with him for years rather than just assumed for a film part" (Peter Cowie). Winner of the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival. Includes director interview, filmed conversation between author Paul Auster and Regine Hamsun, granddaughter of Knut Hamsun, director filmography, stills gallery, and English and French subtitle options. In Swedish with English subtitles. Sweden, 1966, 112 mins. DVD $44.95

I Am Curious--Yellow/I Am Curious--Blue Vilgot Sjoman This set contains both I Am Curious features - groundbreaking films that shocked American viewers with their nudity and sexual content while also playing with narrative and documentary conventions. In I Am Curious--Yellow (121 mins.), a sociologist explores issues of class and politics in Swedish society while having a passionate affair that leads to sex in several interesting locations, including in front of the Royal Palace. I Am Curious--Blue (107 mins.) also links sexual and political themes, moving out to the deserted wilderness to look at a less modern Sweden. The colors in the titles refer to the country's flag. The first film caused a scandal when it was seized by U.S. customs agents and declared "indecent" in a trial. When that verdict was overturned the film was released and became a box office hit, marking a new era of liberal sexuality in film. This is a two-disc Criterion Collection edition set and includes a director's introduction and commentary, a documentary and interviews about the censorship trials, an essay by critic Gary Giddins, excerpts from Sjoman's Self Portrait documentary, trailers and more. Swedish with English subtitles. Sweden, 1967, 228 mins. DVD $59.95

Inga (Jag - En Oskuld)
Joseph Sarno
This provocative exploitation film about a young girl's sexual awakening made an international sex symbol out of its star, former ballerina Marie Liljedahl. Liljedahl plays Inga, a nubile girl who goes to live with her aunt and disrupts the household with her sensual presence. The film seems rather mild by today's standards, but Inga created an uproar upon its original release due to the title character's sexual activity. The videocassette includes the "uncut" English language version, theatrical trailers and outtakes; the DVD contains both the "uncut" English and "uncut" Swedish language versions, theatrical trailers, outtakes, commentaries, interviews, full color booklet and more. Sweden, 1967, 86 mins.
Videocassette
$37.95  
DVD
$37.95  

Kitchen Stories Bent Hamer A wonderfully odd and sardonic little comedy, Kitchen Stories explores the friendship that develops between a scientist and a test subject who meet during a study of Norwegian bachelors' daily routines. Director Bent Hamer exposes hilarious fissures in the prided Scandinavian reserve, and lead actors Tomas Norstrum and Joachim Calmeyer delight with their droll profundities and deadpan humor. Swedish and Norwegian with English subtitles. Sweden/Norway, 2004, 95 mins. DVD $44.95

Loving Couples Mai Zetterling Lensed by Sven Nykvist, this 1965 Swedish drama boasts an ensemble cast that includes Harriet Andersson, Gunnel Lindblom, and Gunnar Bjornstrand, but it's not by Ingmar Bergman. Instead, actress Mai Zetterling helmed the project--an adaptation of Agnes von Krusenstijerna's The Misses von Pahlen--and the director's feminist convictions shine through the material. Set in a Swedish hospital in 1915, Zetterling's film explores the lives of three pregnant woman, each from a different social strata. By illuminating their backgrounds, ideologies, and emotional states, Zetterling paints a bittersweet, ironic, and powerful portrait of gender relations. "A fascinating film. Stunning, frank, bold and beautiful" (World Journal Tribune). Letterboxed. Includes short film by Mai Zetterling (The War Game: 1962, 15 mins.), biography and filmography, and printed essay by Zetterling. In Swedish with English subtitles. Sweden, 1965, 117 mins. DVD $44.95

Miss Julie Alf Sjoberg Swedish filmmaker Alf Sjoberg directs the definitive version of August Strindberg's riveting 1888 play concerning social and sexual domination. Miss Julie (Anita Bjork) is a noblewoman who allows her father's butler (Ulf Palme) to seduce her after her engagement is broken. Filmed in a style best described as poetic naturalism, Sjoberg's visual artistry was overshadowed by the film's illicit content upon its release in the United States. Costarring Anders Henrikson as Julie's father, Count Carl, and featuring Max von Sydow in his second film role. Criterion Collection Edition. Newly restored hi-def digital transfer. Includes new video essay by film historian Peter Cowie, archival TV interview with Sjoberg, a 2006 TV documentary about the play Miss Julie, theatrical trailer, improved English subtitle translation, and a booklet with new essays by film scholars Peter Matthews and Birgitta Steene. In Swedish with English subtitles. Sweden, 1950, 90 mins. DVD $59.95

The Seduction Of Inga Joseph Sarno Inga, heartbroken and poor, searches for someone to satisfy her love. After rebuffing the affection of Rolf, a musician, she becomes the secretary and lover for Stig, a handsome and affluent older writer. However, she finds herself alone while Stig travels on business and finds herself drawn to Rolf. Then she is confronted by Greta, who tells her she is having an affair with Stig, and professes her attraction to Inga as well. How will she reconcile her aching heart and passion? Sweden, 1972, 80 mins. DVD $44.95

Slim Susie Ulf Malmros A sleepy Swedish hamlet experiences an unwelcome jolt when its pride and joy--the charming beauty queen Susie (Tuva Novotny)--goes mysteriously missing. Her brother Erik (Jonas Rimeika) returns from Stockholm to investigate the disappearance, and he soon finds himself in a complicated tangle of greed, lies, and extortion. Director Ult Malmros uses lightning-fast dialogue and vibrant visuals to inject energy and excitement into his film's provincial setting. "Humorous, vulgar, sexy and violent" (Variety). In Swedish with English subtitles. Sweden, 2003, 101 mins. DVD $44.95

A Song for Martin Bille August A man and woman who discover late in life that they are soulmates see their perfect love become marred by uncontrollable forces in this film from Swedish director, Bille August (Pelle the Conqueror). Unlike August's past films, A Song for Martin is a scaled back, intimate story that focuses on the true love between a composer-conductor and a gifted violinist and the challenges they face when Alzheimer's disease disrupts their union. In Swedish with English subtitles. Sweden, 2001, 113 mins. DVD $37.95

Songs from the Second Floor Roy Andersson Roy Andersson's absurdist dark comedy about the bleakness of the post-modern world is a wholly original endeavor. Told through 46 surreal, single-shot vignettes, Songs from the Second Floor follows the fractured population of a dreary Swedish town being disrupted by a series of bizarre events. A strange, macabre and perversely funny depiction of society in meltdown. Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival. In Swedish with English subtitles. Sweden/France, 2000, 98 mins. DVD $44.95

Together Lukas Moodysson Eager to escape her abusive husband, a suburban housewife gathers her two children and retreats to a commune in Stockholm run by her brother. Awash in the laid-back, mid-1970's vibe of free love, free thought, nudity, and recreational drug use, the crazy commune turns out to be less-than-ideal for its new members. Director Lukas Moodysson (Show Me Love) lends an essential dose of humanity to the absurdity, creating very real characters, touching moments and well-deserved laughs. "Relaxed, intimate, wonderfully clear-eyed and altogether charming" (Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times). In Swedish with English subtitles. Sweden, 2000, 107 mins. DVD $37.95

Under the Sun Colin Nutley Set in 1956 in rural Sweden, Under the Sun is the sympathetic story of lonely farmer Olof (Rolf Lassgard), a 40-year-old illiterate virgin who places an ad for a housekeeper in the local newspaper, but it is obvious that he is looking for more than a housekeeper. When beautiful 34-year-old Ellen (Helena Bergstrom) accepts the job, it is love at first sight for Olof. When she accepts his amorous advances, it seems too good to be true, especially for Olof's young friend and farmhand Erik (Johan Widerberg), a former sailor who now digs graves. Erik, who is also attracted to Ellen, attempts to put doubt in Olof's head: is Ellen the wonderful woman she appears to be? Nominated in 2000 for a best foreign language film Oscar. In Swedish with English subtitles. Sweden, 1998, 118 mins. DVD $44.95

The White Lioness Pelle Berglund When a young woman is found brutally murdered in the Swedish countryside, a small town cop finds himself in way over his head, as what seems like a simple murder case proves to be only the tip of an international incident with grave political consequences. The investigation leads to Russia and then South Africa, as the complications lead to even greater danger. Based on a best-selling crime novel by Henning Mankell, this Interpol murder mystery features a cameo appearance by South African President Nelson Mandela. Swedish with English subtitles. Sweden, 1996, 104 mins. DVD $44.95

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