As it is in Heaven
 
The most highly appreciated of Swedish films from 2004 was undoubtedly Kay Pollak’s “As it is in Heaven” (“Så som i himmelen”), both in purely mercantile terms and among audiences and critics. It was nominated as one of five for an Oscar in the “best foreign language film” category, yet it received not a single national Swedish film award, no Gold Bug (Guldbagge).

Director Kay Pollak’s first film in eighteen years had attracted more than 1.5 million people in Sweden (population nine million) to movie theatres by the end of April 2005, after premiering in September 2004. During its first four months, it even drew a larger Swedish audience than the final film in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The DVD version is one of Sweden’s most frequently rented and purchased films.

It is interesting to try to interpret the reasons for this unprecedented success. Pollak tells the story of an internationally acclaimed conductor (Michael Nyqvist) who, after a heart attack, returns to his childhood village in northern Sweden. Long ago, he left there with painful memories of ostracism and bullying. Upon his return, he reluctantly becomes involved in the amateurish church choir. Pollak shows how the conductor – using a mixture of religious metaphorics, his own management philosophy and a laying on of hands – transforms both the choir and young Lena (Frida Hallgren).

Where most audience members have seen an inspiring, engaging story about the unique value of each individual, some critics have seen a manipulative, dubious tale of salvation through self-effacement before an exalted, brilliant leader. Without a doubt, however, “As it is in heaven” has struck a chord with many Swedes, perhaps due to a need for spirituality.

Dalecarlians

The competitors for the 2004 Gold Bug awards were quite different. Dramatist and theater director Maria Blom made her film debut with the tragicomedy “Dalecarlians” (“Masjävlar”), chosen by the Gold Bug jury as Sweden’s best film of the year. It, too, is about homecoming, this time from Stockholm to a small village in Dalecarlia (Dalarna) province, north central Sweden.


A homecoming to a small childhood village is skillfully portrayed in Maria Blom’s tragicomedy “Dalecarlians.” Photo: © Per-Anders Jörgensen/Memfis Film.

“Dalecarlians” deals with a set of themes that have often recurred in Swedish films over the past few years, partly due to the regionalization of Swedish cinematic production, resulting in new, more rural shooting locations (and correspondingly, to a temporary shortage of urban settings). For decades, Swedish life has been dominated by a massive migration from rural areas to the largest cities. New fields of economic activity have replaced the old ones based on agriculture, forestry and mining. These changes, fraught with conflicts, are obviously a fruitful topic for films.

In “Dalecarlians” such themes are used in an entertaining way to create an updated version of Checkhov’s “Three Sisters” – a touching, psychologically deft, well-played melodrama about those who went away and those who stayed put. It also borrows elements from Swedish burlesque comedy.

Four Shades of Brown

Several Gold Bug awards – as well as the Swedish film critics’ prize for best film of 2004 – went to Tomas Alfredson’s “Four Shades of Brown” (“Fyra nyanser av brunt”). A well-known comedy troupe, "Killing-gänget", made their first feature film together. It turned out not be such a funny film, but instead a very serious story revolving around the relationship between fathers and sons.

More than three hours long, it fuses four separate stories into a stylized panorama on the current state of Sweden. It is both an aesthetically courageous and highly skillful film by one of Sweden’s foremost directors, mainly featuring the comedy actors in "Killing-gänget", who turn out to possess a broad dramatic range.

Gender discussions and coming-of-age films

Still focusing on 2004, it was a year not only dominated by homecomings and departures – this also includes Reza Bagher’s screen version of Mikael Niemi’s best-selling novel “Popular Music from Vittula” – but also by gender discussions and coming-of-age films.


Reza Bagher’s screen version of Mikael Niemi’s much-admired novel “Popular Music from Vittula” was among films screened at Swedish movie theaters during 2004. Photo: © 2004 HAPPY END FILMPRODUCTIONS AB

Many young girls grow up in these films, which are often directed by rather young women. In a fresh, immediate, surprising collective effort called “Fourteen Sucks” (”Fjorton suger”), the quartet of Filippa Frejd, Martin Jern, Emil Larsson and Henrik Norrthon were behind the camera. A film by another first-time director was Teresa Fabik’s “The Ketchup Effect” (”Hip, hip hora!”). Daniel Espinosa directed “The Babylon Disease” (”Babylonsjukan”) and Kristina Humle directed “Love & Happiness” (“Krama mig”).

Arriving in 2005, the best of the bunch is Henrik Georgsson’s ”Sandor Slash Ida”. This is a screen version of one of the most widely read Swedish youth novels of the past decade, written by Sara Kadefors. It is a cut above the others largely because it manages to avoid making clumsy, one-dimensional stereotypes out of the adults who appear as parents, teachers or neighbors.

Crime novels

But if 2004 saw a striking number of women film directors and young women in leading roles, this was an extremely short parenthesis. In 2005, only men are awaiting the premieres of their films in Sweden, and they are of the most internationally saleable kinds. A whole series of new screen versions of Henning Mankell’s crime novels about Inspector Wallander in Ystad, some made directly for television, begin with Kjell-Åke Andersson’s “Before the Frost” (”Innan frosten”). For the first time, we will see feature film versions of the equally internationally acclaimed Håkan Nesser’s crime novels about the fictional city of Maardam.


 “Before the Frost” will be the first film made from Henning Mankell’s new series of novels about Inspector Kurt Wallander. Photo: © 2004 YELLOW BIRD FILMS AB, ARD/DEGETO FILM GmbH, TV4 AB, FILM I SKÅNE AB.

Documentary films

The documentary that captured the most plaudits in the past two years among audiences and critics was not a portrayal of the gap between poor and rich, or an examination of some global flashpoint. It was a wonderfully loving, upbeat portrayal of Heidi Andersson, a longtime world champion in women’s arm wrestling, who lives in the tiny village of Ensamheten in the Lapland countryside of northern Sweden. Helen Ahlsson and Lisa Munthe’s film “The Armwrestler from Solitude” (“Armbryterskan”) follows Heidi and her family – also arm wrestlers – for a while. It gives us an idea of everyday life in the most rural of rural areas, as well as the fine points of arm wrestling.

High-quality acting

Swedish feature films have always been able to count on a high-quality cadre of actors. To confirm this, we only need to look at the ensemble acting of Pernilla August, Ann Petrén, Marie Richardson, Jacob Eklund, Leif André and Peter Andersson in Björn Runge’s “Daybreak” (”Om jag vänder mig om”). Or Peter Dalle, Robert Gustafsson and Gösta Ekman in Dalle’s black and white absurdist railroad story “Illusive Tracks” (”Skenbart – en film om tåg”). Unfortunately, Gösta Ekman has wrapped his final movie role. After his wife Marie-Louise Ekman’s film “Asta Nilsson’s Company” (”Asta Nilssons sällskap”), he has declared his retirement from acting after countless memorable roles, not least as a comedian. 

Uncertain future

The Swedish cinematic community is worried. The agreement between the film industry and the Swedish government is expiring on December 31, 2005- It is an agreement that, instead of taxing movie tickets, channels a portion of box office receipts directly to the Swedish Film Institute (Svenska Filminstitutet), a necessary partner in all Swedish film production. No new agreement is yet in sight. The government has admittedly assumed an ever-larger role in financing of films via direct subsidies. And it is true that films whose financing was already arranged are under production. By the end of 2005, no fewer than 38 films  – features, documentaries and short films – will have premiered at Swedish movie houses. But after that, the impact of having no agreement in place will begin to be felt. A shortage of money will not be discernible until fiscal 2006/2007 (starting in July 2006). Is it possible that the system of collaboration between the government – through the Film Institute – and the film industry that has been in operation since the 1960s will completely cease, and be replaced by a system of purely governmental film subsidies? Swedish filmmakers are waiting with anticipation.

Related links

www.sfi.se - Swedish Film Institute
www.statensbiografbyra.se - National Board of Film Censors
Related links on Sweden.se - Film & Photography
www.films.si.se - Film database of the Swedish Institute

Related publications

New cinema in Sweden - Publication
Film in Sweden - Fact sheet
Ingmar Bergman: World-renowned Swedish film director - Article
Swedes in Hollywood: not just Greta Garbo - Article

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Eva af Geijerstam is Senior Film Critic for Dagens Nyheter, Sweden’s largest morning daily.

The author alone is responsible for the opinions expressed in this article.

Translation: Victor Kayfetz

© Photos:
Photo 1: © Anders Birkeland.
Photo 2: © Per-Anders Jörgensen/Memfis Film.
Photo 3: © 2004 HAPPY END FILMPRODUCTIONS AB
Photo 4: © 2004 YELLOW BIRD FILMS AB, ARD/DEGETO FILM GmbH, TV4 AB, FILM I SKÅNE AB.

Classification: A105ENa