Siv Ericks Movies

Harriet Andersson stars as Marianne Croneman, the bored wife of bourgeois Arvid Croneman (Ulf Palme). Marianne prefers the company of family doctor Lennart Hagg (Erik Strandmark), who reciprocates her feelings. Together, Marianne and Lennart plot the murder of Arvid, making it look like natural causes. While on their own honeymoon, the homicidal couple is brought to justice through an elaborate charade, staged by the dead man's relatives. Also known as Woman in a Fur Coat, Kvinna I Leopard manages to keep the audience guessing from start to finish. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Director Gustav Wiklund absconded with much of the cast of Kyrkoherden (for which he served as assistant director) for this tawdry exploitation roughie released the same year. Christina Lindberg, the beautiful and perpetually victimized star of Thriller -- en Grym Film and Wiklund's later Saengkamrater, stars as Lena, who hitchhikes home from a party only to find herself abducted by sex-crazed perverts. They rape her and force her to pose for pornographic photos until she finally gets away, leaving the obligatory carnage in her wake. The lurid American ad campaign, which trumpeted that the film was "banned in 27 countries" and had to wait for "the permissive 1970s" to be released, is actually far more entertaining than the film. Janne "Loffe" Carlsson, who plays a sadistic psychopath here, went on to mainstream films like The Battle of Sweden. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

Though he made allusions to his own life in all of his films, Fanny and Alexander was the first overtly autobiographical film by Ingmar Bergman. Taking his time throughout (188 minutes to be exact), Bergman recreates several episodes from his youth, using as conduits the fictional Ekdahl family. Alexander, the director's alter ego, is first seen at age 10 at a joyous and informal Christmas gathering of relatives and servants. Fanny is Alexander's sister; both suffer an emotional shakedown when their recently-widowed mother (Ewa Froling) marries a cold and distant minister. Stripped of their creature comforts and relaxed family atmosphere, Fanny and Alexander suddenly find their childhood unendurable. The kids' grandmother (Gunn Wallgren) "kidnaps" Fanny and Alexander for the purpose of showering them with the first kindness and affection that they've had since their father's death. This "purge" of the darker elements of Fanny and Alexander's existence is accomplished at the unintentional (but applaudable) cost of the hated stepfather's life. Ingmar Bergman insisted that Fanny and Alexander, originally a multipart television series pared down to feature-film length, represented his final theatrical film, though within a year after its release he was busy with several additional Swedish TV projects, and his final work, the 2003 Saraband (also produced for Swedish television), eventually received global theatrical distribution. Oscars went to Fanny and Alexander for Best Foreign Film, Best Cinematography (Sven Nykvist), Best Costume Design and Best Art Direction/Set Decoration. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This Swedish thriller focuses on a love triangle and insurance fraud. Christer, a cab driver, finds his peaceful life in upheaval after a new couple moves into his small town. The woman is a quadriplegic and despite that, Christer finds himself falling in love with her. A graphic murder ensues and Christer is blamed. But did he do it? ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide