Janne Carlsson Movies

Over the course of a single year, the disparate lives of several modern Swedes gradually intersect. Based on a short story series by Reider Jonsson (best known for "My Life as a Dog) and directed by Daniel Bergman (son of Sweden's greatest director Ingmar Bergman), the focus is on the more mundane aspects of the character's lives, and the tone is low-key and laid back. The various characters are introduced aboard a train. One passenger is returning home to make peace with his father, a fisherman. Elsewhere, a husband and wife argue in front of their daughter about a pending divorce while a pair of young Slavic tourists bill and coo. In another spot, a young woman flirts with a handsome older man. All that subsequently occurs between the characters is reflected in the deep blue eyes of a beautiful woman. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This uneven comedy is set in the 1920s and stars Janne Carlsson, one of Sweden's favorite comics, in the role of Albert Jansson, a fisherman who turns from fish to foul in order to make a better living. In a near-parody of its cinematic predecessors, Smugglarkungen is also set in a bucolic coastal community where love and the forces of virtue face heavy-duty challenges. Albert is an honest fisherman until he succeeds with a vengeance at bootlegging and cannot but enjoy the happy consequences of his success: namely, the physical attractions of the fair Sickan (Nina Gunke) and equally appealing Grethe (Sanne Salomonsen, one of Denmark's more popular rock stars). Albert's love-life is rudely interrupted when the "smuggling king" Strauss (Ernst Gunther) and his minions resent his intrusion on their lucrative turf, and to make matters worse, Lt. Winkel (Bjorn Skifs) is sent from Stockholm to investigate possible customs violations in the area. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Saudi Arabia has decided to order 1000 yachts from Swedish yacht-builders, the difficulty being how to choose between two competitors and the solution being to set them off in a boat race against each other with the winning team walking away with the lucrative contract. A Saudi prince will be there to watch the eventful race, and tensions are running high. Complications arise from the fact that one of the teams could not build their way out of a paper bag without major mishaps, while the other team is so sophisticated it could fold the same bag up as an origami ship and float it out to sea. Naturally, the good guys tend to be the misfits and the chances for them winning the race seem so dim...... ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

The true story of the last two criminals to suffer capital punishment in Sweden is the basis for this historical drama. In 1876, Tector and Hjert (Janne Calsson and Hans Klinga) had come to the end of their liberty and awaited execution for an accidental murder they committed. For years before that, they had tried to make a living of some kind by petty theft, bouncing into and out of prison, all the while dreaming of getting enough money to migrate to America. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide