Arne Sucksdorff Movies
Swedish filmmaker Arne Sucksdorff was for nearly fifty years a standard bearer in the realm of the documentary. After studying natural history in Stockholm and Germany, Sucksdorff took a long trip to Italy. He returned with a full portfolio of scenic shots and nature studies, which won him a prize when they were reprinted in a Swedish film magazine. From still photography, Sucksdorff graduated to films, turning out a series of consummately photographed Swedish short subjects (one hesitates to characterize these with the demeaning label "travelogue"): An August Rhapsody (1939), A Summer Tale (1941), Reindeer Time (1942) and many others. Travelling to other lands for photogenic material, Sucksdorff won a Cannes Film Award for the 1951 short Indian Village; he has also filmed extensively in Brazil. Another Cannes award was bestowed upon Arne Sucksdorff for his 1957 home-grown feature The Flute and the Arrow. Never selling his name to a sponsor or cause, Arne Sucksdorff wrote, directed and photographed movies essentially for his own personal pleasure; it just so happened that they also provided limitless enjoyment to millions of others. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A great deal of director Al Viola's version of this film was pruned away for its general release. The missing portions are not only the heart of the story, but they are the heart of the novel by Graham Billings which gave rise to the film. The whole story is that Forbush (John Hurt) is going nowhere in his romance of Tara (Hayley Mills) because he is basically an uninteresting, shallow man. In desperation, he decides to go off to Antarctica and study penguins. He hopes that his heroism in doing this will prove his sincerity to Tara. Once there, he grows genuinely enchanted by his project and develops a real interest in penguins. It is this, rather than his courage, which wins him Tara's affections. The truncated version omits most of the film's reputedly spectacular and affecting Antarctic footage (shot by Arne Sucksdorff) in order to concentrate on the love story. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Hurt, Hayley Mills, (more)
- 1965
Homeless children in the slums of Rio are driven out of their temporary shelters by ruthless gangsters in this somber drama. The kids survive by shining shoes, stealing, and cutting the strings of the kites to sell them later to others. Tired of life on the streets, one boy turns himself over to the police in hopes he will be sent to reform school in a last desperate attempt to survive. This feature from acclaimed Swedish director Arne Sucksdorff appeared at the 1965 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cosme Dos Santos
- 1962
Framed around an idea with great potential, this routine melodrama by Swedish director Arne Sucksdorff does not quite live up to its central concept. Gote (Tomas Bolne) is a young teen who seems to be at odds with his family and may not know his own mind that well either. Discontented and rebellious, Gote joins up with two mean-spirited game poachers in spite of the fact that he loves animals and nature. This contradiction between his own feelings and his need to rebel reaches a climax when a forest ranger starts to track down the young men in ever-tightening circles. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anders Henrikson
- 1953
Cited by many as the most "personal" effort of Swedish filmmaker Arne Sucksdorff, The Great Adventure is also one of his few films to tie together its magnificent images with a dramatic narrative. "Adventure" means "life" to Sucksdorff, and that life is experienced by a group of Swedish farm children, two of whom are played by the director's own sons. The kids save a wild otter from a hunter, then attempt to tame the animal. When spring comes, the children realize without remorse that the otter will be happier roaming free in the wilderness. That is all there is to The Great Adventure (Det stora aventyret), but it was so gorgeously photographed and sublimely assembled that it earned the "superior technique" award at the 1954 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anders Norborg, Kjell Sucksdorff, (more)
