Björn Kjellman Movies

Veteran Swedish director Jan Troell returned to fiction features after several years directing documentaries with this drama, based on a true story about a pioneering female aviator. Elsa Andersson (Amanda Ooms) was born near the dawn of the 20th century and raised by her father Sven (Bjorn Granath), a successful farmer, after her mother passed on at an early age. Elsa is brought up to believe it is her lot in life to marry another local farmer and raise a family, but as a teenager she becomes fascinated with airplanes, and at 21 she defies her family and enrolls in a school for pilots. While a student, Elsa meets fellow aspiring aviator Erik (Bjorn Kjellman) and they soon fall in love. But Erik dies in a plane crash not long after Elsa discovers she is pregnant with his child; Elsa is crushed, but forces herself to complete her pilot's training. After earning her licensee, Elsa develops an interest in parachuting; she also finds herself taking comfort in the arms of another woman. Jan Troell served as cameraman on Sa Vit Som En Sno, as well as directing and collaborating on the screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A frustrated thespian tries to bring the joys of the theater to a group of convicts in this Swedish comedy. Reine (played by Bjorn Kjellman) is an out-of-work actor in dire need of a job; as a last resort, he takes a position at a high-security prison. He discovers the prison has a room that is set up like a theater, prompting a brainstorm -- he can organize a prison theatrical troupe. A handful of inmates volunteers, though their interest has less to do with a love of drama and more to do with the possible opportunity to escape. But the drama club becomes just popular enough that Ekman (Thomas Hanzon), a long-term inmate who is the unofficial leader of the criminal population behind bars, feels his "authority" is being challenged, and he's not shy about using violence to restore the proper balance of power. Based in part on a true story, Vagen Ut (aka Breaking Out) was the debut feature from TV director Daniel Lind Lagerlof; it was shown to critical and public acclaim at the 1999 Gothenburg Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, 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

Mikaela has been thinking all sorts of thoughts about her high-school teacher, romantic thoughts, erotic thoughts, and downright sexual thoughts. What's more, she has been transforming those thoughts into essays which she hands in to him. Of course, his name isn't used in them, so perhaps he doesn't know. Then again, maybe he does. The teacher, in turn, is using the girl's stories as the basis for what he does with the women he picks up on a regular basis. When one of the women he has picked up winds up murdered, Mikaela suspects that her teacher may have killed her. At the same time, she has the uneasy feeling that someone outside her household is watching her just a little too closely for comfort. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

It is the turn of the century in Russia, and the revolution (at this time not yet a communist one) has sentenced government minister Joel Birkman (Etienne Glaser) to be assassinated for his role in quelling a student rebellion. To that end, they have arranged for one of their number, Jacob (Philip Zanden), to do the deed. In order to get close enough to accomplish this, he takes a job as the minister's secretary, and joins him and his family at his summer home. As he grows acquainted with the man and his family, he discovers that this is not a case of black versus white, but rather of varying shades of gray. Nonetheless, by the end of the film it is clear that no matter how much Jacob likes the man and his family, he is going to do what he believes to be his duty. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This plodding, depressing drama concerns the 19th-century painters who were collectively know as the Skaw (or Skagen) Colony. The group rejected the Impressionist style of painting, opting for the realism of natural light and using the lives of the poor fishing villagers as their inspiration. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide