Margreth Weivers Movies

Director Harald Hamrell makes his sophomore effort with this spooky thriller for kids. Eight-year old Maria's (Karin Bogaeus) younger brother Lillen is a major nuisance, so when her best friend Makka (Rebecca Scheja) claims that she can make a crystal ball that makes wishes come true, Maria wishes for her brother to vanish. The next day, an old woman named Gerda (Margerth Weivers) gets hired as Maria's new babysitter. Soon Maria and Rebecca are convinced that Gerda is a witch summoned by the ball to seize little Lillen and eat him for dinner. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

This biting satire of high-level military corruption concerns the problems of a small town located next to a training camp. Army regulars make a quick profit by replacing an old engine of a farm vehicle with the new one stolen from the base. When the group is confronted by their commander, they cut him in on the profits and avoid being disciplined. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

This well-executed biographical docudrama is a plunge into the madness (and the sanity) of a writer living life on its rawest edges. Agnes Von Krusenstjarna (Stina Ekbland) was a Swedish novelist (1894-1940) whose works ranged from the idyllically romantic to crushingly sardonic, sexually explicit autobiography. Von Krusenstjarna teamed up with the eccentric bisexual David Sprengel (Erland Josephson) and continued to suffer bouts of mental instability that Sprengel felt were best cured by sexual abandon. Von Krusenstjarna was not a model of emotional health when she first met Sprengel. She had inherited madness from her family while at the same time passionately rebelled against the narrow-minded mores of her genteel but poor parents. With his own wildly unorthodox behavior, Sprengel both helped and hindered Von Krusenstjarna throughout their turbulent relationship. Audiences will be enthralled by the clash of Von Krusenstjarna's inner and outer realities, but should be aware there is an abundance of sexually explicit material here. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Majken Cullborg's novel Barbacka was adapted for the screen by Cullborg in 1947. The story is an anecdotal account of life in a tiny Swedish village, with emphasis on the romantic lives of its denizens. Leisurely paced, the film is sublimely attuned to Scandinavian tastes, though American audiences probably found the project rather slow going. Critics weren't as impressed by the acting as they were by the evocative cinematography of Harald Berglund. Gunnel Brostroem, Erik Hell and Sven Lindberg are the principal standouts in the well-chosen cast. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi