Johan Hison Kjellgren Movies

A man finds the road back to happiness is long and difficult after losing his wife and child in this drama from Sweden. Lasse (Michael Nyqvist) is a contented man with a loving wife and two healthy children until an auto accident claims the lives of his spouse and his youngest son. The death takes a terrible toll on Lasse, and while his teenage son Jonas (Anastasios Soulis) tries to help him get through the days, much of the time he'd prefer to stay in bed rather than face the world, and eventually he attempts suicide. Jonas's grandparents (Sten Ljunggren and Anita Wall) are uncertain about Lasse's ability to look after his son, and look into taking custody of Jonas; Lasse, however, wants another chance to reconnect with Jonas and reality, and they travel to Gothenburg to spend a few weeks at the family's seaside vacation house. Lasse emotionally connects with Simon (Philip Zanden) and Lotta (Catherine Hansson), a couple next door who help him sort out his feelings of loss and grief, and Jonas enjoys a youthful romance with beautiful Helena (Moa Gammel). However, when the grandparents pay a visit to celebrate midsummer, Lasse goes on a drunken bender and they become convinced he's beyond help. Underbara Alskade (aka Suddenly) was the first feature film from writer and director Johan Brisinger. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Filmmaker Lisa Ohlin, known for her TV work and short films, directed this Swedish drama. Author Thomas (Johan Hison Kjellgren) argues with his wife, visits a bar, and runs into his childhood friend Hoffman (Krister Henriksson), now a cancer-ridden alcoholic. The two haven't seen each other in 35 years. Hoffman recalls Thomas' play Waiting for a Tenor and suggests they film it with Hoffman in the leading role -- the opera-lover Henning. Thomas finds funding, and they collaborate on a screenplay, set during the summer of 1961, recalling their own childhood experiences. Ohlin intertwines the present with the past -- when Thomas' father Henning, his wife, and Thomas are at their summer house, and the father promises his son that an internationally famous Swedish tenor will soon visit. The film combines color (present-day sequences) with black and white (childhood scenes). ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide