Everlasting Moments

Colour, 35 mm
Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, 2008, 130 min
Section: Horizons

Synopsis

Simple yet naturally intelligent Maria lives in prewar Sweden with her husband Sigfrid and their expanding family. The more threatened their life becomes, the more calmly she accepts things. But conciliation does not mean resignation, and Maria gradually gets hooked on photography as a means of creating enchantment at a time when magic is unwelcome. As unhurried as its protagonist, the movie allows for the gradual adjustment to a lifestyle rhythm which is inconceivable today. Director Troell observes his characters with indulgent love. He does not capitalize on their pain, and offers careful measures of joy. In the period of the First World War, inauspicious events happened to the characters less from evil intentions than our contemporary experience would lead us to believe. While it is impossible to accept Sigfrid’s aggression, we can identify with his malevolence. The movie is also surprising for its resistance to traditional melodramatic forms, and the characters act according to their natures and not to generic rules.

About the director

Jan Troell (b. 1931, Limhamn), one of the most important Scandinavian filmmakers, came to directing through his work as a director of photography. In 1971 he shot The Emigrants (Utvandrarna), which received five Oscar nominations and inspired a sequel entitled The New Land (Nybyggarna, 1972). In the USA he made, among others, Zandy’s Bride (1974) starring Gene Hackman. Il Capitano (1991) took the Best Director Silver Bear at the Berlinale, and two of his documentaries, Their Frozen Dream (En frusen dröm, 1997) and Presence (Närvarande, 2003), were screened in competition at Karlovy Vary. As is customary, Troell stood behind the lens of this film as well, a work that garnered five Swedish national awards. Everlasting Moments is based on a novel written by the director’s wife Agneta Ulfsäter-Troell.