Bertil Norstrom Movies

The primary two loves of Alfred Nobel's life provide the basis of this Swedish biopic. Alfred Nobel was the inventor of dynamite and the founder of the prestigious Nobel Prize, which he created as a way to assuage his conscience after unleashing such a destructive force upon the world. One of Nobel's lovers was Bertha von Suttner, an Austrian woman he loved, but never made love to. The other was the adulterous Sophie Hess with whom he had a passionate affair. Also examined are some of the things leading up to Nobel's inventions. The big-budget story was shot at many scenic locations in Sweden, France and Austria. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this Swedish comedy and satire, a gentle and shy man is fired from his job by an obnoxious yuppie. When that same yuppie challenges him to learn golf in a week's time, the beleaguered man seeks the help of a friend, who takes him to Scotland to learn the game in its spiritual homeland. Along the way, he not only picks up the basics but falls in love with the daughter of a Scottish golf pro. Meanwhile, his path crosses that of some of the snobbiest and most class-conscious individuals ever to have teed up for a round of golf. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Originally created as a six-part series for television, this film -- widely regarded as one of Ingmar Bergman's most powerful later works -- offers a close-up examination of a relationship as it slowly falls apart, and investigates the toll it takes on both parties. Johan and Marianne (Erland Josephson and Liv Ullmann) are a seemingly successful professional couple who have juggled careers as (respectively) a doctor and an attorney with marriage and children; when we first encounter them, they're being interviewed by a television reporter about what makes their marriage a success, an event contrasted by a later meeting with an openly bitter and combative couple (Bibi Andersson and Jan Malmsjö). But things are not always what they seem on the surface, and Johan announces he has become involved with a younger woman. Johan seems to give little thought to the harm he has done to Marianne, while she is devastated by his abandonment of her. After a stay in Europe, Johan returns to Sweden and visits Marianne; eventually, the divorced couple briefly comes together, but the damage done is too severe to mend. Focusing less on narrative than on a deep-focus portrayal of the thoughts and emotions of two characters, Scenes From a Marriage originally ran nearly 300 minutes in its original television edition; Bergman later edited the film to 168 minutes for theatrical release in Europe and North America. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The director of this film, Vilgot Sjoman, is better-known for his film I Am Curious, Yellow. Here he explores the situations arising from the efforts of a naive, or perhaps only rather stupid, young man as he attempts to cope with notions of love, honor and responsibility. These notions are thrust upon him in the form of a pregnant woman living on his houseboat with him. Though he is not the father, he gallantly offers to marry her. She refuses but lets him become involved with her in a left-wing protest effort, which he doesn't understand. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This Swedish feminist drama focuses upon three women in a traveling troupe of thespians performing Aristophanes' Lysistrata. Each of the women has some serious problems and fears to overcome. The husband of one has two lovers. The lover of another will not marry her, and the third's husband stays home to care for the kids. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide