A Rational Solution

Colour, 35 mm
Sweden, Germany, Italy, Finland, 2009, 104 min
Section: Horizons

Synopsis

Erland and his best mate Sven-Erik live in a small industrial town in north Sweden. Both are happily married and contented. In their spare time, Erland and his wife May run a "counselling course” in the local church, a discussion forum for everyone who aspires to the perfect relationship they themselves enjoy based on mutual respect, understanding and an awareness that all problems must be discussed openly. Erland himself has to confront a potentially thorny problem when he falls in love with Sven-Erik’s wife, Karin. Erland’s next, utterly rational step is to suggest that all four should talk about it and consider his plan, in his view the only viable solution: the four of them should live under one roof together according to ten rules which they would draw up themselves. This unconventional experiment sends shockwaves through the entire small-town community. How far are our heroes prepared to go in the name of love? Will fiery passion triumph over years of carefully nurtured marriage? This wonderfully written piece with superb performances was premiered in Venice during Critics’ Week in 2009.

About the director

Jörgen Bergmark (b. 1964, Sundvall, Sweden) studied at the University of Stockholm and then worked in theatre, film and television. He gained considerable recognition for the comedy by Bent Hamer Kitchen Stories (Salmer fra kjokkenet, KVIFF 2003), on which he was co-scriptwriter and co-producer. He directed and wrote the short feature A Love Affair (En kärleksaffär, 2002), which was nominated for a Guldbagge Award, Sweden’s national film prize. He also made the short films Time Out (Vad ska du ut och göra?, 2005) and Mentor (2006). He works with Swedish television as a screenwriter and director. He produced Jens Jonsson’s short Linerboard, screened at, among others, the KVIFF and the Rotterdam IFF in 2006 and, in turn, Jonsson wrote the script for Bergmark’s feature debut A Rational Solution.