Marie Goranzon Movies

The plight of displaced Finnish children sent to Sweden and Denmark to escape the horrors of World War II are explored in director Klaus Härö's tale of a young boy failing to adapt to his strange, and sometimes harsh, new surroundings. Following the death of his father, nine-year-old Eero (Topi Majaniemi) is sent by his mother to live with a foster family in rural Sweden for the duration of the war. Eero is begrudgingly accepted by a surrogate mother who had been hoping for a young girl to help with the chores, and he's mocked by his classmates for his frightened reaction to passing planes. Eero's already troubled childhood is further complicated when his resentful foster mother takes it upon herself to act as a filter for his mother's incoming letters. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Mikaela has been thinking all sorts of thoughts about her high-school teacher, romantic thoughts, erotic thoughts, and downright sexual thoughts. What's more, she has been transforming those thoughts into essays which she hands in to him. Of course, his name isn't used in them, so perhaps he doesn't know. Then again, maybe he does. The teacher, in turn, is using the girl's stories as the basis for what he does with the women he picks up on a regular basis. When one of the women he has picked up winds up murdered, Mikaela suspects that her teacher may have killed her. At the same time, she has the uneasy feeling that someone outside her household is watching her just a little too closely for comfort. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Eller (Erland Josephson) is a successful, middle-aged married man who becomes a celebrity when he woos the femme reporter Anna (Bibi Andersson) during his mid-life crisis. He goes on the lecture circuit where he encourages avid listeners to abandon the shackles of staid mediocrity and live life to the fullest. His star sinks when Anna turns him down, and Eller returns home to find his daughter has run off to "find herself." Eller's wife tries unsuccessfully to seduce one of her husband's cousins as retribution for her husband's much-publicized dalliance. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

In this Scandinavian melodrama, a Swedish lieutenant journeys to a lonely island off the coast of Lapland for a summer of badly needed rest and relaxation. Once there, the soldier rents a hunting lodge from an aging local. Soon he encounters his landlord's lovely daughter who, while finding the stranger attractive, is put off by her innate distrust of men. With patience, he shows that men can indeed be trusted; he also introduces her to love. Unfortunately, the girl gets quite jealous when her father's lovely mistress also begins flirting with the stranger. The father is an abusive and jealous man; he cannot help but notice that his formerly passive daughter and mistress have begun standing up to him. To get even, he sends for the wealthy baron who once courted his daughter. He then informs his daughter that her lover, the soldier, has also been carrying on with his mistress. The lass disbelieves him until she sees the truth for herself, and the utterly distraught young woman agrees to marry the baron. The father then makes a play for his former mistress who spurns him and flees into the snowy mountains. It is an unfortunate coincidence that the soldier should choose that time to fire a signal shot to his lover, for his gun triggers off a deadly avalanche that sweeps the hapless mistress to her doom. The father goes mad with grief and burns down his hunting lodge. Later the lieutenant tries to smooth it all over with the daughter, but she is disconsolate and rejects him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide