Michal Leszczylowski Movies

A young boy faces challenges both funny and terrifying in this drama from writer and director Josef Fares. It's 1987, and Zozo (Imad Creidi) is a ten-year-old boy whose parents are struggling to flee Beirut as warfare in the streets accelerates. Zozo's grandparents have emigrated to Sweden, and his mother and father plan to follow as soon as their passports and exit visas are approved. On the day that their papers finally come through, Zozo's mother asks him to go outside and get something for her -- and just misses being killed by the shell that explodes into their home. With his parents dead and his older brother missing, Zozo sees little choice but to fetch his passport and airline ticket and make his way to the airport on foot. With his pet bird in tow and a young girl named Rita (Antoinette Turk) who is running away from home for company, Zozo sets out on the long walk that will be the first leg in his journey to a new home. In time, Zozo makes his way to Sweden, where he's taken in by his grandmother (Yasmine Awad) and grandfather (Elias Gergi). However, Zozo feels like a fish out of water in his unfamiliar surroundings, and the increasingly eccentric behavior of his grandparents does nothing to make him feel more comfortable in this strange land. Zozo was loosely inspired by the youthful experiences of Josef Fares, who himself emigrated to Sweden when he was ten. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Lukas Moodysson wrote and directed this disturbing and controversial allegorical drama. Eric (Björn Almroth) is a teenager who lives in a shabby flat with his father, Rickard (Thorsten Flinck). Eric spends most of his time holed up in his room, blaring industrial music in order to drown out what's going on around him. Eric has just cause to be a bit disturbed by his surroundings -- Rickard is an amateur filmmaker specializing in extreme sex videos, and he's taken over the living room, where his emotionally disturbed friend Geko (Goran Marjanovic) and a blank young woman named Tess (Sanna Bråding) are "starring" in his latest project. As shooting progresses over the course of several days, Rickard and his cast lose track of the outside world and become increasingly desensitized to their own decadence. As the sexual play becomes more and more extreme, edging into violence, Eric feels no choice but to intervene. Both celebrated and criticized for its unflinchingly explicit sexual content, Ett Hål I Mitt Hjärta (aka A Hole in My Heart) received its North American premier at the 2004 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A teenager abandoned by her family slips into a downward spiral of sex and degradation in this frank drama from Sweden. Lilya (Oksana Akinshina) is a 16-year-old girl growing up in poverty in the former Soviet Union. Lilya's mother (Lyubov Agapova) is moving to the United States with her new boyfriend, and Lilya has been told she'll be coming with them. However, at the last minute Lilya is informed she'll be staying behind with her aunt Anna (Liliya Shinkaryova), and she'll be joining her mother later on. Anna immediately takes over the apartment Lilya shared with her mother, and moves her niece into a much smaller (and dirtier) flat several blocks away. For the most part left on her own, Lilya spends much of her time with her best friend, Natasha (Elina Benenson), and comes to the rescue of Volodya (Artiom Bogucharski), a suicidal 14-year-old boy who has been thrown out of his home and has a serious problem with alcohol and drugs. One night at a nightclub, Natasha meets a man who is willing to pay her for sex; when her father finds the money, Natasha claims it belongs to Lilya, and the story soon spreads that Lilya is a prostitute. When Lilya learns that her mother has no intention of bringing her to the United States, she becomes despondent and begins sleeping with men for money. Not long after taking up the sex trade she meets Andrei (Pavel Ponomaryov), who promises her a better and easier life if she'll come to Sweden with him. However, Lilya learns the hard way that there's no truth in Andrei's words as she is subjected to the lowest and most degrading levels of the sex-for-hire business. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The second feature from Lukas Moodysson, who directed the internationally acclaimed Fucking Åmål, Tillsammans is the tale of life on a Stockholm commune in the mid-'70s. After suffering more than her share of abuse from her husband, Rolf (Michael Nyqvist), Elisabeth (Lisa Lindgren) takes her two children, Stefan (Sam Kessel) and Eva (Emma Samuelsson), to a commune run by her brother Göran (Gustav Hammarsten). Life at the commune is crowded with people with laid-back attitudes towards sex, nudity, and recreational drug use, prompting plenty of political debate. Göran's partner, Lena (Anja Lundkvist), is a particular proponent of free-spirited bed-hopping, something Göran doesn't really like but tolerates. Lena duly gets involved with the rebellious Erik (Olle Sarri) and finds fulfillment in the form of her first orgasm, something that leads her to confess to Göran that she was always faking it with him. Meanwhile, various dramas are at work amongst the other commune members, including the once-married Lasse (Ola Norell) and Anna (Jessica Liedberg) (who split up when Anna announced she was a lesbian) and Klas (Shanti Roney), whose advances to Lasse are continually rebuffed. The goings-on of the commune are observed and commented on by a pair of neighbors, Margit (Therese Brunnander) and Ragner (Claes Hartelius), whose marriage is so lackluster that Ragner masturbates compulsively. Their son, the fat and miserable Fredrik (Henrik Lundström), befriends Elisabeth's daughter, Eva, who longs to have a family again. When Rolf appears on the scene seeking reconciliation, it seems Eva may get her wish. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide

A young man thinks he's found the girl of his dreams, until he learns that his father has different ideas in this fast-paced Swedish comedy. Roro (Fares Fares) is the teenaged son of a Lebanese expatriate living in Sweden; Roro has a job as a park attendant where he minds the grounds with Måns (Torkel Petersson). One day while working, Roro meets a pretty girl named Lisa (Tuva Novotny). They talk, and before long, a romance has blossomed between them. But Roro's father (Jan Fares) wants his son to marry a nice Lebanese girl, and before Roro can work up the courage to tell his father about Lisa, he learns that he has been pledged to marry fellow immigrant Yasmin (Laleh Pourkarim). Yasmin is no more enthusiastic about this idea than Roro, but they both feel they have to play along for the sake of their families. However, Yasmin quickly becomes fond of Roro, and she's crushed when Roro introduces her to Lisa as his cousin; Lisa is just as devastated when she learns the truth about Roro's relationship with Yasmin. Måns, meanwhile, is having problems of his own -- he's suddenly become impotent, and as he and his girlfriend, Jenny (Sofi Ahlström Helleday), try an increasingly elaborate variety of sexual gymnastics in hopes of restoring Måns' virility, they start to wonder if their relationship can survive the ordeal. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Show Me Love is a coming-of-age comedy set in a sleepy little Swedish town called Amal -- the most boring place on earth according to adolescent Agnes, who moved there a year and a half ago. Agnes is not able to make friends at school; the fact she has to sit next to a girl in a wheelchair doesn't help, either. She's in love with Elin, but no one knows about it except her computer. The title comes from Elin's frequent comment about her new home town. For Agnes' birthday, her parents organize a big party, but she is convinced that no one will come. For lack of anything better to do on a Saturday night, 14-year-old Elin and her older sister arrive at Agnes' door, but Agnes is busy crying her eyes out. Left alone in Agnes' bedroom, the mischievous sisters take a look at the computer and what they discover prompts them to play a dirty joke. If Elin can let Agnes kiss her, her sister will pay her 20 krona. The deed is done; Agnes is flabbergasted and soon humiliated when she finds out that she's been had. Rumors spread around the school like wildfire, and Agnes is the talk of the town. But super cool Elin begins to feel guilty; moreover, she has to admit she was not exactly indifferent to the kiss. In his first feature film, Lukas Moodysson shows the pains of growing up, particularly for a lesbian. Show Me Love was screened as part of the "Panorama" section of the 49th Berlin International Film Festival in 1999 and received the Teddy Award for Best Gay/Lesbian Film. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide

Finnish director Pirjo Honkasalo directed this Finnish-Swedish circus drama, tracing the lives of three women from WWII to the present day. Abandoned by their mother Sirkka (Tiina Weekstrom), Helena (Elena Leeve) and her twin sister Irene (Elsa Saisio) are raised by their communist grandmother. One day Sirkka returns, bringing along Spanish trapeze artist Ramon (Jordi Borrell), who sees Irene as a potential circus star, delegating the "untalented" Helena to backstage obscurity. As it develops, Helena is actually more talented, secretly studying the art of fire-eating. Shown at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

This medieval period drama from Norway is based on Scandinavian-author Sigrid Undset's classic novel. The story is set in Norway's Gudbrandsdal valley during the 14th century. The tale begins when Kristin is 7-years-old and living a peaceful, relatively happy life with her family. It has not always been so happy though, as her parents have already buried three sons and nearly lost Kristin's little sister in a logging accident. Though still quite young, Kristin has been betrothed to marry Simon Darre, a wealthy neighbor's son. Unfortunately, the young girl already prefers the company of Arne to Simon. Time passes and Kristin suffers an attempted rape in the forest. She is confused by the act and asks her family to send her to a convent. Later the young woman sees a handsome knight, Erlend Nikulausson, and falls head-over-heels. Unfortunately, Erlend has more pressing romantic problems trying to deal with his previous lover. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Modern-day Sweden has its share of racist punk skinheads, as this movie shows. In the story, one such punk (Simon Norrthon) has just gathered with his friends to beat up a black boy and he has hoped on board a train. There, an elderly man, quite obviously Jewish (Etienne Glaser), insists on striking up a conversation with him, despite his clear hostility. The old man wants to know what motivates him, and invites him to come to his home sometime in the future so they can continue talking. Curiously, the boy accepts his invitation, and as he talks, we see images of his current activities with his gang. They don't always win in their battles with minorities, and are sometimes beaten up. Eventually, the boy recognizes the older man as the kind of father and mentor he never had and had always wanted, and their arguments turn into real discussions, as he puts his demons to rest. ~ 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 documentary of Andrei Tarkovsky was done by the co-editor of his last movie The Sacrifice. Michal Lecszylowski interviews Tarkovsky, considered the most important and influential Soviet director of the post-World War II era. Interviews with his widow in addition to television interviews of the legendary director give insight into the vision and inspirations for his films. The last days before his death from cancer in December 1986 were spent in Paris, France. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide