Sven Wollter Movies

Ole Christian Madsen follows up on his debut Pizza King with this Dogma 95 approved character study of a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown. At the film's outset, Mads (Lars Mikkelsen) dumps his girlfriend and picks up his wife at the local mental asylum. Upon being cast out of the peace and quiet of the institution, Mads' wife Kira (Stine Stengade) is noticeably agitated about being out in the real world. Of course, the lavish surprise "welcome home" party that Mads planned for her does little to allay her jitters. She quickly flees from the party and runs into her estranged, diffident father (Reine Brynolfsson). Embarrassed and furious at his wife's behavior, he tracks her down and drags her back home. Over the following days, Kira finds herself increasingly incapable with dealing with life's little agitations. Mads in turns responds by withdrawing from his wife, often with their children in tow. Eventually, Kira's fragile psyche collapses and as the source of her psychological trouble is revealed. This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

A cultured diplomat joins a band of savage warriors in time to meet an even more fearsome enemy in this historical adventure. In 922 A.D., Ibn Fadlan (Antonio Banderas) is a Muslim emissary from Baghdad en route to meet with the King of Saqaliba when he is captured by a gang of Vikings. While Ibn and his people are intelligent and well-mannered, the Vikings are a rowdy and sometimes unpleasant lot, with an unquenchable appetite for food, alcohol, and women. However, in time he develops an understanding and respect for the Viking warriors and is welcomed into their society by their leader, Buliwyf. However, Ibn must now join them as they return to their homeland once they receive word of an invasion by a huge pack of bloodthirsty invaders who will destroy and eat anything in their path -- including the flesh of the men they have killed. The 13th Warrior was based on the book Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton, which was in turn adapted from tales of Viking folklore. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A group of messianic pilgrims abandon their native Sweden and emigrate to Palestine. This fact-based episodic Swedish drama looks at the events leading up to the trek and the immigrants' experiences after they arrive in the holy land. The story begins in Sweden and is introduced by the death of Big Ingmar, the leader of a small farming community. Shortly thereafter, his eldest daughter Karin sends Ingmar's namesake son to be raised by another family so she can control the family farm. Years pass and Ingmar grows up to fall in love with his beauteous "step-sister" Gertrud. But the romance never fully blooms, for Ingmar must leave to earn the money he needs to buy his father's farm back from Karin. About this time, the local village is plagued by a series of ominous disasters that begin with Karin's sudden paralysis. In the midst of the ensuing superstition and chaos, a charismatic, hellfire-and-brimstone preacher shows up, and some family members begin converting to his cause. Karin becomes a true follower when the preacher prays and she is "miraculously" healed. Ingmar eventually returns to find a very different village. With not enough money to buy the farm, he marries a wealthy young woman. Broken-hearted Gertrud immediately joins the preacher's cult and decides to follow him to Palestine to await Christ's Second Coming. Three months after she leaves, a recently divorced Ingmar arrives in Palestine to try to win her back. That is but one story line among many that transpire as the pilgrims struggle with survival in their strange new homeland. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

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, Rovi

House of Angels is a comedy about prejudice in a small Swedish town. The owner of the farm Änglagård is killed in an automobile accident, and the community is surprised and outraged when his granddaughter turns up at the funeral to claim the farm. Fanny (Helena Bergström) is a leather-jacketed cabaret performer from Berlin, and she lives with her gay biker buddy, Zac (Rikard Wolff). Many members of the community are horrified and make no bones about it. Appearances aren't everything, however. Fanny and Zac are far from the drugged-out weirdos they seem to be, and slowly but surely, the community accepts them. Expat British director Colin Nutley manages to forge strong, well-developed characters from these stereotypical origins. ~ John Voorhees, Rovi

Stage-designer Stig Strom (Sven Wolter) used to cut quite a figure among the women of his acquaintance. He virtually had his pick of lovers. Now he is well into middle age, and suddenly he notices that they aren't there for him any more. They don't hover around, they don't call, they don't listen to him. He's a romantic has-been. As the reality of his situation gradually becomes clearer to him, he frantically attempts to regain some shred of his former identity as a ladies' man. A brief dalliance with a younger woman doesn't spark anything much, and even his daring theft of a famous necklace for his ex-wife has little effect. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

John (Dennis Christopher) is a legal assistant who investigates divorce cases in this offbeat comedy drama. He looks forward to marriage to his fiancee Sally (Edita Brychta), but his daydream is interrupted when a model plane crashes through his window. A bratty kid enters the room, followed by the child's parents, another brother, two daughters and the grandmother. The family ignores John's protests and threats to call the police. Although he has never seen these people before, everyone assures John he is among friends. He is seduced by the oldest daughter, and the son make a pass at Sally before the youngest daughter makes a pass at John. His once-predictable world is turned upside down with the arrival of his mysterious "friends." ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

In this romantic drama, the divorced father of two meets a young woman who has recently married a businessman. The businessman was a single father of one child. All three adults converge at a school graduation, and they decide to get together again during their vacations in Mallorca. There, the divorced man and the recently married woman consummate an affair right under the nose of her new husband. However, they give it up quickly and return to their usual lives. Nonetheless, the three children have by now become fast friends, and they are not able to give up seeing one another entirely. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

This police thriller is set in a Stockholm precinct and centers on the issue of drugs and police brutality. Three male cops (Stefan Sauk, Marvin Yxner, and Sven Holm) and one patrolwoman (Pia Green) play fast and loose with their billy clubs against any addicts, punks, or alcoholics that might be disturbing the high-rent district near their precinct station. The station Captain has his job cut out for him trying to keep the four rogue, over-the-edge cops in line, as well as managing the renegade chief narc officer, and still having time for his trombone and love life. According to this film and Stockholm statistics, charges of police brutality are commonly dismissed (in 1986, 95 out of 100 such cases in Stockholm were thrown out). ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

This suspenseful thriller by Bo Widerberg (Man On The Roof) is based on a novel by Leif G.W. Persson about two plainclothes detectives out to solve a robbery and some murders that appear to involve a corrupt government minister. The police inspectors' suspicions increase when some authorities start blocking their investigation. The setting is Christmastime in Stockholm, and as the two detectives brave the cold, their time-honored techniques of surveillance and a few chases add to the building suspense. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Politics and crime cross paths in this action drama in which the police are attempting to capture alive the murderer of a police official who grievously abused his power. The official was murdered in his hospital bed, and his murderer's identity is carefully uncovered by painstaking police work. However, before long the culprit announces himself in a bold way by shooting down every policeman he sees from his rooftop perch in Stockholm. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi