Change Your Image
markus-elfstrom
Reviews
En kärlekshistoria (1970)
First love
I've been waiting for a long time to relive Roy Andersson's masterful debut film. The last time I saw it I was a teenager myself, today I am a parent of teenagers. It becomes almost uncomfortable to realize how extremely realistic this movie is.
I was not at all prepared for the film to bring me to tears on a couple of occasions. But when the classic scene comes, where he throws the moped away and goes to hug her, it totally blew me away. It is one of the finest scenes of all time, both for the meaning of their love but also the way it is filmed and acted. I would say pure perfection. Young Ann-Sofie Kylin and Rolf Sohlman are absolutely incredible.
It is also perfection that became Roy Andersson's future hallmark. He is one of Swedish film's greatest directors and this debut film is one of the best Swedish films ever.
Easy to forget that beyond the main track with the young couple, we also get a tragicomic depiction of the adult world and even if it is at least as professionally told, it drags on for too long towards the end. There the film loses a bit of its strength, but I can still give it nothing but top marks.
By far one of the world's best depictions of first love.
Gummo (1997)
Something good in the end
Gummo is the directorial debut of Harmony Korine, who wrote the screenplay for Larry Clark's acclaimed and highly provocative youth film Kids (1995). Here he descends into even more misery, now among some misfit souls for a couple of summer days in the more seedy neighborhoods of Nashville.
It is in a way both extremely provocative and cynical. Many would turn off the movie after a while. Applies to having a hell of a lot of patience to just bear and even want to take part in this surreal mess of everything and nothing. At first glance, it is extremely difficult to find any common thread or even see a sense of the film.
At the same time, it is difficult to look away, as it has something unique in the documentary structure. It is still a reality that exists out there. Which should perhaps be made clear even within the regular feature film. A reality many people close their eyes to and which shows what class society has created.
Today, Gummo is both iconic and cult, so from a film historical perspective it is still quite significant. I think that sometimes these "artworks" of hopelessness and sadness still create thoughts and reflections that give people more understanding and that give birth to something good in the end.