Daybreak

Colour, 35 mm
Sweden, 2003, 108 min
Section: Horizons

Synopsis

The three main stories focus on three couples. Each of the protagonists is undergoing difficult and painful times, as are their kids, lovers, friends, and even the chance witnesses to their troubles. Anita forcibly enters the home of her ex-husband and his new wife in order to berate him for the bitterness she feels in having been tossed aside. At a social gathering (and in the presence of his two sons) it comes out that Rickard has been cheating on his wife with his best friend´s partner. Anders understands the value of good family relations upon witnessing the decrepit state of someone else´s marriage... Sensitive camerawork, sometimes seemingly glued to the characters´ bodies, promotes the Bergmanesque festering of the film´s personal tragedies. Shot within a narrowly defined space, the film forces its characters to acknowledge their failures, lies, self-deception, selfishness and solitude before allowing them to go on.

About the director

Björn Runke (b. 1961, Uddevale, Sweden) graduated in film from Stockholm’s Dramatiska Institutet (1989). Prior to this, however, he gained experience shooting commercials and short TV movies. He continues to work in television, and in addition to his interest in short film he has also worked on several features, among others Roy Andersson’s Songs from the Second Floor (Sånger från andra våningen, 2000). The exceptionally mature work Daybreak (Om jag vänder mig om, 2003) was preceded by two other feature attempts – Steward Gustaffsons julafton (1986) and Harry och Sonja (1996).