Mari Maurstad Movies
- 1992
Based on the 1932 novel Mendel Philipsen and Son by Henri Nathansen, Sofie was adapted for the screen by celebrated actress Liv Ullmann, making her directorial debut. Beginning in Copenhagen during the late 1880s, Sofie (Karen-Lise Mynster) is a devoted Jewish daughter who falls in love with the Gentile painter Hojby (Jesper Christensen). Her parents, Semmy (Erland Josephson) and Frederikke (Ghita Nørby), don't approve of the relationship, so they encourage her to marry her mentally ill cousin, a Swedish shopkeeper named Jonas (Torben Zeller). She gives birth to a son, but their already loveless marriage becomes further complicated when Sofie develops an interest in her brother-in-law Gottleib (Stig Hoffmeyer). Jonas is inconsolable after the death of his mother (Kirsten Rolffes), so much so that Sofie has him institutionalized and takes over his business. Years later, Sofie returns to Copenhagen with her son to help her aging parents and attend an auction where she reunites with Hojby. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Karen-Lise Mynster, Erland Josephson, (more)
- 1987
In the beginning of this dour comedy, Roger (Dag Fröland) was a simple man doing a simple job and enjoying the simple and inexpensive pleasures of life. Occasionally he would supplement his wages by working on the tax-free "gray market" (as it is known in Norway) as a house painter. When he suddenly becomes a millionaire, he also becomes aware that practically everyone he meets is out to milk him of his money in one way or another, except his formerly affectionate son, who is now much more interested in listening to his Walkman than in palling around with his dad. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anders Hatlo, Mari Maurstad, (more)
- 1986
The message in this excellent second part of a trilogy on the young people involved in widespread, 1968 political demonstrations, is that ideals have a way of crumbling under the pressures of human foibles. The time is the mid-'70s, and three couples with a total of six children start a communal living experiment in a large, middle-class house. They are all professionals and share the dream of cooperative living, a dream that works out with no problem for their children. But cooperation is not easy every day of the year, and the close quarters aggravate small differences until couples start arguing more frequently and in earnest. A young punk rocker in their midst (a brother of one of them) slams their growing hypocrisy, and in general, the experiment starts sliding downhill. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Oyvin Berven, Brigitte Victoria Svendsen, (more)
