Category Archives: Show Me Cinema

One of the biggest names in terms of the Swedish film industry is the British Colin Nutley (he moved here and settled in the 1980s). He and his wife-acting collaborator Helena Bergström (who’s played the lead in every one of his films/tv shows since 1990’s BlackJack) struck gold with their film House of Angels (Änglagård),Continue reading “Show Me Cinema #11: Under the Sun”

There is a definitive, albeit not too surprising, shortage of really good Swedish horror films. In fact the only ones I can think of that have received some kind of recognition, both abroad and domestically, are Viktor Sjöström’s The Phantom Carriage (Körkarlen) and Ingmar Bergman’s Hour of the Wolf (Vargtimmen). Other than that, the majorityContinue reading “Show Me Cinema #10: Let the Right One In”

For a while, I was thinking of ditching a column on Bo Widerberg’s classic Ådalen 31 simply because I struggled to finish the column. I sometimes struggle with a point of view in my reviews and also how I present my criticisms and how to direct those said criticisms. This also explains why there haven’tContinue reading “Show Me Cinema #9: Ådalen 31”

The 1960s were a time of change, not just politically and socially but also cinematically. Younger filmmakers had grown tired of the big and extravagant films that were produced in Hollywood. This was true not just for American filmmakers, but everywhere else around the world as well. Filmmakers in France, Japan, Britain, Italy and SpainContinue reading “Show Me Cinema #8: Loving Couples”

The very first film I covered in this series of columns/reviews of Swedish cinema was Bo Widerberg’s classic Man on the Roof from 1976. I loved the film and became eager to cover yet another one of his films, but I didn’t want to to it too soon. I wanted to try out a varietyContinue reading “Show Me Cinema #7: Elvira Madigan”

For the last few years, we have seen the rise of right-wing extremism in the world. We have been taught that what happened in Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy during World War II must never be allowed to happen again. Yet, we see or hear about Nazis marching on the streets on a nearly dailyContinue reading “SHOW ME CINEMA #6: THE ANTIFASCISTS”

I mentioned in my review of Bo Widerberg’s The Man on the Roof how Sweden has a virtual overabundance of detective-related fiction, stretching from cinema to literature and television. You know what? Scratch that, we have an overabundance of detective fiction. Likewise you could say the same in regards to coming-of-age or teen fiction. It’sContinue reading “Show Me Cinema #5: Show Me Love”

TW: Discussions of rape and violence.   It was not my intention to review yet another Ingmar Bergman film directly after covering Smiles of a Summer Night in my previous column. I wanted to move into new territory, new director, new actors etc. But I was sucked back into Bergman for a very sad reasonContinue reading “SHOW ME CINEMA #4: THE VIRGIN SPRING”

Once I decided that I would cover mainly Swedish cinema for A Fistful of Film, one of the first thoughts that entered my head was “when are you gonna cover Bergman and where do you start?” Without a doubt the most internationally renowned and influential Swedish filmmaker who’s ever lived, it might’ve seemed obvious toContinue reading “Show Me Cinema #3: Smiles of a Summer Night (1955)”

Right from the beginning of And Then We Danced, we sense that Georgia is a country steeped in tradition. The film begins with black-and-white documentary footage of Georgian dancers performing concerts all over the world are intercut with the first few opening credits, then it cuts to our main characters practicing their own dancing routines.Continue reading “Show Me Cinema #2: And Then We Danced (2019)”