Marika Lagercrantz Movies
- 2000
Nine of Sweden's leading actresses are brought together in this unconventional comedy-drama about a group of actresses awaiting a casting announcement. A major American film producer is looking for a Swedish actress to play the title role in a big-budget remake of the classic Greta Garbo vehicle Queen Christina, and a handful of women who were in talks for the role wait with bated breath for the decision to be declared. Rebecca (Lena Endre), married to hunky matinee idol Ake (Mikael Persbrandt), is spending her 40th birthday waiting for word on the role. Alexandra (Suzanne Reuter) will be shooting a TV commercial, to be directed by Rolf (Brasse Brannstrom). Rolf used to be involved with Cecilia (Marie Richardson), who lately is nearly as well known for the fact that she's pregnant and not identifying the father as she is for her acting. Cecilia appears on a morning chat show with Georgina (Ewa Froling), who used to be in love with Gregor (Peter Haber), Alexandra's current husband. Stella (Helena Bergstrom) is a defiantly out lesbian who is having an affair with Karin (Marika Lagercrantz), the wife of film director Magnus (Rolf Lassgard). Stella also happens to be starring in Magnus' latest project, along with Ake and Molly (Pernilla August). Meanwhile, Git (Gunilla Roor) is in a session with her analyst, trying to come to terms with her feelings about her work, and Evior (Stina Ekblad) is in rehearsal for a musical, and reaching the regrettable conclusion that she can neither dance nor sing. In keeping with the film's tangled onscreen relationships, Helena Bergstrom, who plays a lesbian sleeping with her director's wife, is married to Colin Nutley, Gossip's writer and director. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pernilla August, Helena Bergström, (more)
- 2000
Swedish filmmaker Maj Wechselmann directs this biopic about Mahatma Gandhi as a young man. The future leader of the non-violence movement comes to South Africa to practice law, but he is quickly confronted with the deeply ingrained racism there. During the Boer War, he volunteers for military duty, forming a group of Indian doctors and nurses. Later, he witnesses the white government allowing Indian plague victims to die without treatment and black warriors getting tortured to death. These experiences form his resolve to seek justice without violence. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill W. Curry
- 1999
- NR
In this visually inventive thriller, Hanna (Angieszka Koson) is a struggling journalist who works for a sleazy newspaper while searching for something better and has fun making life difficult for her editor, Hasse (Yvonne Lombard). One day, Hanna discovers that the police have found the remains of three severely burned corpses in a bonfire; detectives are wondering if this might have anything to do with the mysterious disappearance of several women in town. Dan (Fredrik Dolk), whose girlfriend recently went missing, has written a letter to Hanna's editor about this situation; Dan is upset about the pattern of disappearances, but he has enough on his mind, as he's working two jobs trying to pay the alimony demanded by his ex-wife Margareta (Marika Lagercrantz). In time, Hanna meets Dan and finds herself drawn into his increasingly complex world as she tries to avoid her obsessive former boyfriend Martin (Johan Widerberg) and finds herself learning more about what could be happening to the missing women. Director David Flamholc and cinematographer Marten Nilsson took a unique approach to this film's photography; it was shot in 16mm using reversal stock, and then blown up to 35mm widescreen format, using various processing techniques to give it an unusual color balance and texture. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Agnieszka Koson, Fredrik Dolk, (more)
- 1999
- NR
In this romantic comedy from Denmark, Sam (Tommy Kenter) is having problems with both his professional life and his marriage. His career as a film director has dried up and he's been forced to take work as an editor, while at home he can't shake the feeling that his new bride is having an affair. He loves her, and she seems to love him, but there were a lot of men in her past before they tied the knot and he's just not sure that she's being faithful. It turns out Sam's fears have a basis in fact, as she's started seeing a dentist who likes his sex rough. I Wonder Who's Kissing You Now was directed by Henning Carlsen, who draws strong and witty performances from his cast. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tommy Kenter, Marika Lagercrantz, (more)
- 1997
In this black comedy, a charming family man's response to his own tendency to take on too much work is to periodically indulge in bouts of drinking. Rather than say that he is drunk, his family has taken to saying "Dad's tired and emotional again." One of the highlights of the film is Gosta Ekman's bravura performance as the alcoholic father. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1996
A Swedish air force pilot and his girl friend attempt to keep their relationship together after a freak accident paralyzes him from the waist down in this drama. The tragedy occurs shortly after surviving a terrible accident in flight. Feeling cocky and good, he goes for a swim, dives and breaks his neck. At first he is too bitterly angry and filled with self-pity to believe that his lover would still care. He pushes her away at every turn and eventually he succeeds in getting her to leave. Fortunately, he quickly realizes that she does love him and that he loves her. A reconciliation occurs and the story ends happily. The film contains a lot of male and female nudity. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1995
In this violent Swedish action drama, based on the popular novels of Jan Guillou and filmed in Sicily, super-spy Carl Hamilton and his partner Lundwall must negotiate with the Mafia to ensure the release of two Swedish hostages. During talks, Lundwall is shot to death and Hamilton vows that he will exact his revenge upon the powerful family who killed his friend. Hamilton is assisted by two other spies. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
A young man growing up at a difficult time enters into a relationship that only makes his life more complicated in this acclaimed coming-of-age drama. Stig (Johan Widerberg) is a 15-year-old boy growing up in Malmo, Sweden, in 1942. While WWII rages in Europe, Sweden remains politically neutral, though it's all but impossible for the people of Malmo not to have an opinion about the conflict, and Stig's own brother intends to volunteer to serve on a submarine. Stig has fallen in love with his schoolteacher Viola (Marika Lagercrantz), who is 22 years his senior. To his great surprise, Viola confesses that she's also attracted to Stig; she's stuck in a failing marriage to Kjell (Tomas von Bromssen), a depressive alcoholic salesman, and there's something in Stig's naive desire that touches her. The two become involved in a passionate love affair, which Viola makes little effort to disguise from Kjell; in fact, Kjell becomes friendly with Stig and tries to teach him about his great passion in life, classical music. Eventually, Stig becomes attracted to Lisbet (Karin Huldt), a girl from school his own age, and when they become involved, Stig breaks off his affair with Viola. Viola is not eager to give up Stig, and in time, she retaliates with violence. Lust Och Fagring Stor was the final film from noted Swedish director Bo Widerberg; he died two years after its release -- at the age of 56. Jonah Widerberg, who played Stig, is Bo's son, and was 21 at the time the film was released. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johan Widerberg, Marika Lagercrantz, (more)
- 1993
The famous literature professor Martin Lamm (Max von Sydow) has an overprotective wife (Mai Zetterling) who guards him as though he were a national treasure (which he is) and extremely fragile (which he is not). Into this tense but loving household comes the professor's grandson Göran (Carl Svenson), whose divorced parents are too busy to cope with him. Despite the rather grim daytime regime, at night, when his grandmother isn't looking, the boy and his grandfather sneak out of the house for some modest adventures. One day the professor discovers that he has put the wrong letters into the wrong envelopes, and the two of them have an even more extensive and lengthy adventure that takes them all over Stockholm, an adventure which prompts worry on the part of the entire family. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Max von Sydow, Mai Zetterling, (more)
- 1993
Rita Hayworth was the idol of Rita's dad (Per Oscarsson). So much so that he once began a relationship with a woman simply because she looked like the star - and, of course, he also named his daughter for her. Now that his wife is dead, Rita's father is determined to discover what became of his former mistress, though he is not in the best of health. Rita, worried about her ailing father, leaves her newborn son with her yuppie husband, and goes off after him. Rita's husband is unhappy at being saddled with sole responsibility for the newborn, and soon takes off after Rita. Eventually they all meet up and reconcile with each other: mistress, father, daughter and husband. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marika Lagercrantz, Per Oscarsson, (more)
- 1993
This dark melodrama overcomes its grim storyline through the rich and closely observed depiction of each of its characters, according to reviewers. Niels Uldahl-Ege (Ole Ernst) is a haughty and arrogant man, in addition to being impressively wealthy. He has power and authority in the nation and in his family, and uses it entirely to suit himself. His female servants are the mothers of several illegitimate children of his, and he can also boast of having a beautiful, elegant woman as his wife, and four entirely presentable daughters. Another good point about them, as far as he is concerned, is that they are all thoroughly cowed - except for his youngest daughter, who does not seem nearly as afraid of him as he feels she should be. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ole Ernst, Marika Lagercrantz, (more)
- 1989
This drama is an attempt to bring to the screen the 1927 Nobel Prize-winning novel of Norwegian Knut Hamsen, Landstrykere. The story concerns Edevart (Trond Peter Stamso Munch), a young man who is learning about life an his place in it. In the story, he at first takes up with August (Helge Jordal), a charming trader who is at least half con-man. After trailing along with him for a while, he decides that August is not a man he wants to model his life after. He becomes acquainted with and falls in love with Lovise Margrete (Marika Lagercrantz) a woman living alone on a sheep farm. She has feelings for him also, but she remains true to her missing husband and their acquaintance does not progress to being a full-fledged romance. It is not until her husband returns to her life that any resolution to Edevart's frustration (which lasts for years) can be achieved. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marika Lagercrantz, Helge Jordal, (more)
- 1989
- PG
In this action drama, after putting in a full shift, two deep sea divers return to the deep to perform a quick repair to a piece of equipment and wind up trapped 100 yards below the surface for hours, and before long they are cut off from the lines which connect them to the surface. Frantic efforts are made by those on the surface to find some way to rescue them before their air completely runs out. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Kitchen, Björn Sundquist, (more)
- 1989
In this detective mystery based on the novel Kronvittnet or Experiment in Murder by Maarten Hart, a respected scientist is suspected of murder when a young woman who has recently visited his laboratory is discovered to be missing. Police detective Lambert (Gosta Ekman) investigates the case, and finds plenty of evidence of the visit, but no body. He also finds clues that lead him to suspect that the scientist's laboratory is a front for a drug ring's manufacturing plant. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marika Lagercrantz, Gösta Ekman, Jr., (more)
- 1987
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, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Thomas Hanzon, Tomas Fryk, (more)
