Tag archives for Låt den rätte komma in

Closing time. You don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here.

We are finally here, at the end of the road. You are reading my last post in the Sweden.se’s film blog. I do admit that it’s a little emotional. My face isn’t leaking but I am ready with some tissues so if it breaks out I can wipe and type.

As a final goodbye here at the end of the year I do feel the urge to share my thoughts of what I consider being the most interesting and fun films & events of 2010. I didn’t just want to do a regular top 5 list. Those are so easily forgettable after reading. Instead I wanted to mix it up a little. I hope you enjoy.

My three favorite Swedish films of the year are:

Behind Blue Skies (Himlen är oskyldigt blå).
This was easily my number one of 2010. It’s a beautiful film with a huge heart and some fantastic acting.

Simple Simon (I rymden finns inga känslor)
Sweden’s choice in the run for the Oscars is a very lovable film which hopefully will win the love of a lot of people around  the world.

Easy Money (Snabba Cash)
This is a film I haven’t mentioned in the blog. The reason for that is that it had a very early 2010 release. It’s based on a book by the same name by Jens Lapidus. Easy Money is a film that no doubt has flaws but at the same time it showed that Swedish crime film can do more than just watered down cop films.

Films people should have seen but didn’t.

Trust Me (Puss).
A very likable film with True Blood’s own Alexander Skarsgård. It’s directed by Johan Kling who did a film called Darling a few years back. Darling is considered being one of Swedens best films of this decade and Trust Me isn’t that far behind.

Psalm 21.
A film that scared basically everyone that went to see it. Sadly a lot of people skipped this one.

Best film where Swedes were involved.

A Better World (Hämnden).
This film which stars Mikael Persbrandt is my favorite Scandinavian film of 2010. The emotions and actors in this film are just mind blowing.

Shanghai.
Directed with a perfect hand by Swede Mikael Håfström. It’s a film noir that basically makes love to your eyes.

Best event of 2010.

Uppsala Short Film Festival. Even if ticket prices are going up (Buu!) they still deliver a very high standard when it comes to films( Yeay!). Stockholm Film Festival was a great one but the very narrow selection of Swedish films forces this festival to take the backseat.

Where the hell are you hiding?

Lukas Moodysson.
The director that took the world by storm a few years back has put the filmmaking hat on the shelf for a while and will be releasing his first book in 21 years this coming March. The book titled Death & Co is about a boy by the name of Lucas whose dad suddenly dies.

It’s an oldie but goodie. Swedish films that you just can’t miss.

Let The Right One In (Låt den rätte komma in).
The vampire film that already has a Hollywood remake (Let Me In) is considered by the very famous English film magazine Empire to be number 15 when it comes to the 100 Best Films of all time.

In Bed With Santa (Tomten är far till alla barnen)
All I have to say about this one is that if you think you have a dysfunctional family around Christmas, just check this one out.

And there we have it people, the latest of the greatest when it comes to Swedish cinema. I sincerely hope you have enjoyed reading my blog. I hope it’s been a fun read as much of an interesting look at Swedish cinema. Like I wrote in my last post I really don’t know when or even if I’ll be back but with fingers crossed it feel s pretty good.

What will I do now? I’m actually off to Asia for a few months to recharge my batteries. If you would like to follow my journey you may do so here or on my Twitter.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

(And no, that’s NOT me in the video)

Mr Hollywood – Hoyte van Hoytema

PHOTO: Johan Bergmark

Inspired by Julien Bourgeois’s beautiful post about Ane Brun, a Swedish musican born outside of Sweden, I thought why not write about someone in Swedish film. The person I chose is a man whose parents must have really loved the name Hoyte because they named him that twice. Hoyte van Hoytema is a Swedish cinematographer whose career is a true success story.

Hoyte was born on the 4th of October 1971 in Horgen, Switzerland. He’s a son of an architect and he says that he was a really poor student in school and had to repeat a lot of the courses. When he was 17 years old he applied to the Dutch film school but did not get accepted. He then went to Poland and applied to film school in Lodz instead. In a Q&A with Stina Lundberg Dabrowski he said that the school in Lodz couldn’t afford new cameras. Everything was filmed on 35mm with old Arri cameras that the Germans brought during the war and because of the fact that those cameras made as much noise as coffee grinders that forced the students to put more focus on the image without relaying on sound. After 3 years Hoyte dropped out of school because of work. After some work in Holland and Poland he ended up in Norway where he met the producer Malte Forsell who brought Hoyte to Sweden for the production of  The Return of the Dancing Master (Danslärarens återkomst). Today Hoyte van Hoytema is considered being one of the best cinematographer in Swedish history and Hollywood is already knocking on his door.

It’s not by chance that the Swedish Institute says that the films and shows he has shot is some one the best of the last decade. After national and international successes with the mini series The Laser Man (Lasermannen) it didn’t take long until awards started raining on Hoyte. His remarkable work on the films Let the Right One In (Låt den rätte komma in) and The Girl (Flickan) landed him the Guldbagge Award (The Swedish Oscar) two years in a row for best cinematography. The Girl was considered by many being the best Swedish film of 2009 and Let the Right One In is on number 207 on IMDB’s top 250 films of all time.

No wonder Hollywood kept on knocking on his door until he opened. Later this year the world will be able to see Hoytes latest work in a film called The Fighter. A big Hollywood film directed by David O. Russell with big names like Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale and Amy Adams. A funny remark Hoyte said about Hollywood was that he got annoyed sometimes. Due to union rules he is forced to work with two camera operators and that’s not his thing, he liked to be the guy handling the camera. The Fighter hits US theaters in december but the good people of Sweden will have to wait until February next year. Until then we Swedes can sit back, relax and go see Hoyte’s latest work in the Swedish film Bad Faith (Ond tro).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BlOPYsQQuM

Everybody remembers the directors but seldom remember the little guys but this little guy has a big future. See you at the Oscars soon enough Hoyte. You’ll be on the red carpet, I’ll be on my red couch. Want to trade?

Click here to see more of his body of work.