Ove Porath Movies
- 1985
In this tour-de-force, an amusing and successful low-budget crime-comedy, Tobbe (Gosta Ekman) gains consciousness in his bed one morning with a world-class hangover, and groaning, realizes that there is a woman sleeping next to him. In pops Bertil (Sten Ljunggren), who was also at the party but is much less the worse for the wear-and-tear of the evening's celebrations. Bertil is a doctor, and when he notices the woman he checks her inert form out and quickly discovers that she is not sleeping, she is dead. Now the two buddies have a serious problem on their hands, and as they exchange lies about what their relationships to the dead woman really were, the lies start slipping and sliding until the truth comes out -- and the two men have to figure out how to dispense of the corpse. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gösta Ekman, Jr., Sten Ljunggren, (more)
Inspired by a medieval Swedish ballad, Ingmar Bergman's The Virgin Spring (Jungfrukallan) begins with a scene of unspeakable brutality and ends with an image of uncommon beauty. 15-year-old Birgitta Peterson, on her way to church to light candles for the Virgin Mary, is raped and murdered by two older men. The men look for shelter at the home of Birgitta's father (Max Von Sydow), who murders the bestial killers in cold blood. When the deed is done, Von Sydow, a deeply religious man, begins to question the efficacy of a God that would allow his daughter's death, then permit so bloody a retribution. Then, a fresh, virgin spring bubbles from the ground where his daughter had been lying a few moments before. Taking this natural phenonenon as a sign from above, Von Sydow vows to erect a church on the spot where Birgitta met her doom. The winner of the "best foreign picture" Academy Award, The Virgin Spring currently exists in several versions of varying lengths; the longest, and most graphic, is the original Swedish cut. Believe it or not, this hauntingly beautiful film served as the basis of The Last House on the Left (1972). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Max von Sydow, Birgitta Valberg, (more)
