***

AND THEN WE DANCED-sp

This was the Swedish Oscar entry for best film. It is the brainchild of writer-director, Levan Akin, who is telling a story about dancers in Georgia, formerly part of the Soviet Union, which is his native country. The film introduces the viewer to a very particular style of dancing, which we learned is practically a national sport in Georgia. We meet our main character, Merab (Levan Gelbakhiani), as he is auditioning for a professional Georgia Dance Company. He meets Irakli (Bachi Valishvili), who is also trying out for a position in the dance company. They ultimately are attracted to each other and have a forbidden sexual affair. The storyline gives us a glimpse into Georgian culture and particularly, the struggle of the main characters. The dancing although unique to our eye is nevertheless quite powerful. Although, we could appreciate the tensions between the various protagonists and their families, the film was unnecessarily long in trying to depict the societal pressures again gay individuals. We watched several characters as they grapple with and ultimately come to terms with who they really are, which while enlightening and poignant was just overly drawn-out.(2020)

****

Force Majeure- rm– This is Swedish film with English subtitles and some English dialogue. Since it is quite clever and subtle, much of the credit should go to the Director and writer Ruben Ostlund. A couple and their two children go for a ski holiday at a French resort. They are suddenly faced with what seems to be a terrifying avalanche and how they act in a split second occupies much of this film. The film stars included Johannes Kchnke, Clara Wettegren and Kristofer Hivju. What emerges from this seven day holiday is an examination of relationships as well as the question of how comfortable are we with our self image especially when it is reflected back to us by someone we care about. The frank portrayal between the husband and the wife, another forty something man and his 20 year old girl friend as well as still another married women at the resort with a boyfriend all are viewed through a lens that is perhaps more Swedish then contemporary USA, if one can generalize. When the characters are in conflict they tell us or show us what they are feeling as well as the horns of their dilemmas. Several of the scenes, especially those with tension, seem to be drawn several beats longer that we thought were necessary. This seemed to lead us to be intellectualizing the action rather than feeling it. In any case we felt we were in the hands of a skilled filmmaker who kept us thinking about the characters and empathizing with their pain. There also was much to talk about after the credits rolled which is always the sign of a stimulating film (2014).

* * * *
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo – nf – This is the Swedish portrayal of the first of the three popular novels by Stieg Larsson. There is an American film of this novel due out in 2011. One of us read the trilogy and the other did not. When you have read the book, you are aware of all the subplots, relationships, twists and turns that are left out and of course you pretty much know how the mystery is solved. With a few exceptions, the movie followed the book fairly closely. The one of us who didn’t read the book was pretty much able to keep track of the somewhat complicated plot and the various Vanger family members which could be a tad confusing. The male lead here is not a crusty or a brilliant detective but rather an investigative journalist by the name of Mikael Bolmkvist (Michael Nyqvist) who has just been convicted of libel with a pending jail sentence and has been asked to investigate the disappearance of a the niece of wealthy Henrik Vanger which occurred about 40 years before. The female lead is not the typical beautiful women you might expect to see in this situation but rather a very unusual 26 year old girl name Lispeth Sallander (Noomi Rapce), boyish, attractive, body piercings, dresses in black, rides a motorcycle. and has the huge dragon tattoo on her back. As a child she has had some type of psychiatric care and requires a guardian to manage her finances but is a brilliant computer hacker and has a photographic memory. There is violence, sex and nudity at times in combination but all in the service of the plot, not overdone, but enough to clearly deserve the R rating. The story will pull you in and the direction by Niels Arden Oplev captures the gamut from the beautiful outdoors in Sweden to the effects of painful violence. Despite it being almost 2 and half hours, the film does not drag at all. If you like this movie and are a fan of the late Stieg Larsson who didn’t get a chance to see the great success of his work, there are two more Swedish movies in the can which complete his trilogy and then there is the American version of the first book which is coming out next year. I also heard that additional stories were found on the author’s computer. The Netflix DVD which we viewed had an interview with Noomi Rapace who was quite impressive as she described how she approached her role and inhabited Lispeth for 1 1/2 years while the three films were being made. 2009

* *
Everlasting Moments – sp – This is Swedish movie which follows a women through her poverty, abuse and the discovery of her special gift which is being a sensitive photographer of the people and the times. The movie is one of the longest we have seen in awhile (132 minutes) and felt like it. Jan Treoll is a skillful director but the movie is having difficulty getting distribution in the US . We can understand why it hasn’t been picked up yet as it wasn’t quite our cup of tea. (In Swedish with subtitles) 2008