Loading

Tag archives for Stockholm Film Festival

Recycled films & Simon. Not the one as in & Garfunkel

16 comments

The line outside the movie theater was stretched about 50 meters.

I’m back! After a couple days of shaking off the festival I’m ready to write again. As I mentioned the other day I went to this event where one of Sweden’s most beloved movie theaters turned 70 years old. To celebrate this SF (Sweden’s largest movie theater chain) gave two previews, unlimited popcorn, candy and soda. Yeah I know. The wet dream of any 15 year old.

I sat down, pretty excited over what films would be previewed. Carnage? The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo? Avatar 2? Of course I didn’t think of the fact that I just spent over 10 days at Stockholm Film Festival. Do I need to say more?

Of course SF recycled two of the films that were shown there. We do love our recycling in this country.

The Swedish film Simon and the Oaks was first out, followed by Hysteria. Both good films but come on. Twice in less than a week! Who even changes clothes that often? Oh, you do? Expecting a visit from the Queen are we?

I quickly want to shine some more light on Simon and the Oaks (this is a SWEDISH film blog after all). This is possibly the best looking film to come out of Sweden this year. It looks absolutely gorgeous. The cinematography by Dan Laustsen will carry this film a long way around the world. Dan Laustsen has previously done the cinematography to Hollywood films like The League and Silent Hill.

I would have liked this film soooo much more if it didn’t have a problem with pace. This is a slow film, not a lot of things happen. That’s of course fine. I like films that takes its time. But it also takes way too many freedoms with skipping in the story and it starts a bunch of storylines that never really get to pass the finish line.

Director Lisa Ohlin however saves  a lot of my issues with great directing. Simon and the Oaks has a very nice and innocent feeling to it. Just that is very impressive since the film brings up the poor way a lot of Swedes treated Jews during World War II.

 

Chris Gardner - Film

November 23, 2011

The winners of Stockholm Film Festival

18 comments

Yesterday was probably my favorite day at the festival. I rushed through 3 films. Hysteria, Circumstance and Like Crazy. All about love in one way or the other. Hysteria has been the most mainstream of films that I’ve seen this festival. It was funny and had a nice tone to it. Not exactly what I was expecting from a film about the invention of the vibrator.

Director Maryam Keshavarz explains that she respected her parents opinions but didn't agree with them.

Circumstance (Förbjuden kärlek) is a fantastic little film about a forbidden love in an Iranian family. Right before the film started we were told that the director and some of the actors were present so they squeezed in a good Q&A after the film. As it turns out, both the actors were Swedish.

Circumstance brings up the topic of homosexuality in an arab world and for the writer/director Maryam Keshavarz this was something that was very close to her heart and wanted to make a film about it. When asked what next, Maryam said jokingly she was going to try out for American Idol.

It’s the last day of the festival but that’s not stopping them from announcing the festival winners. I only had one film to see today, then I was done. It’s been an amazing week with a whole lot of great films. Some surprises, some disappointments and some unforgettable film moments.

I will wrap everything up during the week. I just need a day or two to soak it in and digest. But until then, here are the festival winners. Congratulations to Norway for getting Best Picture!

Tomorrow one of Stockholm’s most beloved movie theaters, Park, turn 70 years old and I’ll attend to make sure it blows out all those candles. To celebrate it they are going to show 2 previews (surprise films) and accompany that with some food and beverage. More about that tomorrow.

Happy birthday Park, you don’t look a day over 68.

Chris Gardner - Film

November 20, 2011

A depressing porno or a Hemingway iceberg?

2 comments

That was what my friend asked me after yesterday’s red carpet event for the film Shame. The remark made me laugh for two reasons. First of course because Shame is a about a sex addict (played brilliantly by Michael Fassbender). For the second it was a spot on remark of the way this film plays out. The troubles and weight the characters all carry around with is nothing they put on display, it’s all underneath, very beautifully.

Without going too deeply into this subject Shame is not a film for everybody. I’m not even sure I enjoyed it to its fullest. I generally had a problem with its pace and about halfway in I was hoping for Titanic to hit that iceberg of conflicts. And for real, how many times do we need to see Fassbender’s penis? Haven’t they seen old Swedish films? We invented that shot.

But I’m not here to write about Steve McQueen’s latest film.  I’m here to share some festival joy. We are more than halfway through. On Monday Stockholm goes back to being the awesome yet frozen city it is, just a little less film.

For me, quite a lot less film. Every day now until Sunday my schedule is packed with film.  I’ll have to find some kind of film-rehab afterwards. Maybe a place where they’ll show Monty Python for 16 hours straight and then you get to go home with a dead parrot (it’s only sleeping).

Tomas Alfredson is going on tour in America to promote his film for a chance of an Academy Award. Photo © Joel Ryan/Sydsvenskan

Tonight I’m off to see another Fassbender film, A Dangerous Method, by David Cronenberg. Tomorrow however is a big day for Swedish filmmakers. First I’m gonna hit the Swedish film Simon and the Oaks, which I wrote about in a previous post, and then it’s off to Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. The latest Hollywood film by our very own Tomas Alfredson (Let The Right One In).I’m very thrilled about that one.

So tomorrow is a big day. I’ll be wearing my T-shirt with “I heart Swedish film” on. However, it will be under about 8 layers of clothes because it’s getting really damn cold.

So far I’m very happy with the festival over all. It’s a great feeling to it, everywhere you turn there’s a discussion about film, and thank God everybody is excellent with turning off their cellphones,
hurray!

 

Chris Gardner - Film

November 16, 2011

A look at Ruben Östlund’s latest film – Play

14 comments

Ruben Östlund directing his cast. PHOTO ©Film i Väst

I was lucky enough to catch the red carpet premiere of Play. And even if the champagne was nice and the company even better this is possibly one of the hardest reviews I’ve had to write to date. It’s not the actual text that’s difficult, it’s the subject matter and the execution of it that I don’t want to show in the wrong light. One wrong step and it’s ruined. So here’s my souffle review of Play.

It’s easy to see why during its Cannes premiere people asked Ruben Östlund if he was a racist. It’s because on the surface Play is about 5 black immigrant kids that rob 3 Swedish kids from upper middle class. But as soon as you scratch the skin of Play you’ll see that it’s about much, much more.

The clip above doesn’t have subtitles but it’s a little peak into the world Ruben Östlund invites you into. With a steady camera and most shots lasting several minutes this style adds to the realism of his stories. Not only is it based on true events but Play also isn’t just a film that you just sit back and relax to. It’s a film that hopefully provokes you and raises questions within yourself and your view on racism.

In an interview Östlund points out that while researching this film he not only read the court reports, but also met the police, victims and perpetrators of these events. And even if these black kids only were between 12 and 14, they still knew that they could use the race issue to their advantage while robbing kids. This is something that fascinated him and that’s how Play came to life.

I used to say truth is duller than fiction but if Ruben is going to continue his slice of life filmmaking I might need to reconsider. Souffle anyone?

 

Chris Gardner - Film

November 12, 2011

5 films you don’t want to miss during Stockholm Film Festival

15 comments

First off I want to point out that these are not in any particular order. These are just 5 films I want to shine some extra light on. The festival is absolutely packed with great cinema enjoyment and it’s easy to miss some of the highlights.

50/50 by Jonathan Levine
Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays a 27 year old who gets cancer and has a 50/50 chance of beating it. I’m a huge fan of JGL and this film is getting great reviews so this is a must.

Drive by Nicolas Winding Refn
Okay, I’m cheating a little bit here. I’ve already seen Drive but the Danish director has really made a uniqe film. He has created an homage to 80′s films but in a very stylish and confident way. Mind you that this is a pretty brutal film but if you’ve got the stomach, you have to check it out.

Play by Ruben Östlund
Östlund was the talk of the town last year during Uppsala Short Film Festival with his one-shot short film Incident by a Bank (Händelse vid bank). Before that his 2008 feature Involuntary (De ofrivilliga) was considered one of Sweden’s best films that year. In other words, he has some pretty huge shoes to fill, his own. Did he fill them? A review of Play will be online before the weekend.

Bill Skarsgård as Simon.

Simon and the Oaks by Lisa Ohlin
The film takes place during the 1940’s and is a depiction of the Jewish people’s situation during World War II here in Sweden. The film is based on the bestselling book by the same name, written by Marianne Fredriksson.

The Lady by Luc Besson
I think the festival itself wrote it best so I will let them tell you why you need to see this film. “Luc Besson has often depicted strong women, but this is the first time since »Jeanne D’Arc« that his heroine is based on a real person. »The Lady« is the daunting, exciting and tragically absurd story of Aung San Suu Kyi and her road to power”

I’ll be back with more lists soon.

P.S. I want to share the great news that Swedish actor Ola Rapace is under discussion for a role in the upcoming James Bond movie, Skyfall. Read more about it here.

Chris Gardner - Film

November 9, 2011