8 Scandinavian Movies You May Not Have Heard Of. But in vain

1. A dove perched on a branch, reflecting on being

En duva satt på en gren och funderade på tillvaron

• Sweden, Germany, Norway, France, Denmark, 2014.
• Fantasy, drama, comedy.
• Duration: 101 minutes.
• IMDb: 7.0.

This is the final installment of the trilogy of the living Swedish classic by Roy Andersson, which also includes Songs from the Second Floor and You Living. Like previous films, this picture consists of short sketches with a kind of humor.

It is simply impossible to retell the plot of the tape, although there are a couple of heroes who appear in many scenes. This film is not for everyone: Andersson's work can either be loved or hated. But it is definitely impossible to remain indifferent to them.

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2. The Centenary Old Man Who Crawled Out The Window And Disappeared

Hundraåringen som klev ut genom fönstret och försvann

• Sweden, Russia, Great Britain, France, Spain, Germany, 2013.
• Comedy, adventure.
• Duration: 114 minutes.
• IMDb: 7.1.

Alan Carlson in his youth traveled half the world and was on a short leg with the leaders of different countries. Now the hero is doomed to live out his life in a boring nursing home.

As a result, right on his birthday, the centenarian climbs out through the window and escapes from the orphanage. Almost immediately he manages to quarrel with bandits and leaves in an unknown direction, and on the way he remembers his bright life.

The film is based on the popularly beloved novel by the Swedish writer Jonas Jonasson "One Hundred Years and a Suitcase of Money in the Bargain." The adaptation was so successful that the United States even acquired the rights to adapt the European hit.

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3. Inappropriate person

Den brysomme mannen

• Norway, Iceland, 2006.
• Fantasy, drama, comedy, detective.
• Duration: 95 minutes.
• IMDb: 7.3.

Andreas somehow falls into the ideal society. People around him are devoid of emotions and do not really live, but exist like robots. The hero, desperate to get out of the city, tries to commit suicide, but he cannot die either. One day he hears music in the basement of one of the houses, which awakens vague feelings in him.

Former musician Jens Lien made an extremely extraordinary film. The picture makes fun of Scandinavian socialism and at the same time tries to answer the question of what will happen if a person is placed in conditions of stability brought to the point of absurdity.

4. Gunda

Gunda

• Norway, USA, UK, 2020.
• Documentary, drama.
• Duration: 93 minutes.
• IMDb: 7.4.

Formally, the film "Gunda" is Norwegian, but it was shot by the Russian documentary filmmaker Viktor Kosakovsky and produced by the actor Joaquin Phoenix. There is no plot, dialogues and even music in the picture - only beautiful shots of animals to the sounds of nature. But its uniqueness is that the director managed to convey the fullness of life to the audience without further ado.

5. Europe

Europa

• Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, 1991.
• Thriller, drama.
• Duration: 112 minutes.
• IMDb: 7.6.

1945th year. A young American Leopold Kessler arrives in post-war Germany to work as a conductor for a passenger train. He is sure that the war is over, but soon realizes that he was wrong.

Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier has built a reputation for himself madmanfilming provocative and even repulsive films. But this prejudice instantly dissipates if you look at Europa.

This subtle and clever picture is stylized as an old black and white movie. But periodically in the narrative there are blotches of color that are important for understanding the meaning.

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6. Uwe's second life

En man som heter ove

• Sweden, 2015.
• Drama, melodrama, comedy.
• Duration: 116 minutes.
• IMDb: 7.7.

An elderly widower, Uwe Lindahl, closes himself off from the world in his house and goes out into the street only to quarrel with passers-by. But suddenly a Swedish-Iranian family appears in the neighborhood and radically changes his life.

The film, directed by Hannes Holm, is based on the famous Swedish bestseller A Man Called Uwe and became a popular hit in his homeland. But at the same time, the tape touches on universal topics that are close to viewers anywhere in the world. The authors carefully dilute the comedy with drama, so that the film will allow you to laugh and cry.

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7. Celebration

Festen

• Denmark, Sweden, 1998.
• Drama.
• Duration: 105 minutes.
• IMDb: 8.1.

The Klingenfelds are going to celebrate the sixtieth birthday of the head of the family, the wealthy steel merchant Helge. In honor of this event, a luxurious celebration is held in a country mansion. The eldest son Christian, the father's favorite, arrives from Paris. The man is asked to make a toast in honor of Helga, and he suddenly gives out a shocking confession. It turns out that in the past, the millionaire repeatedly raped Christian and his sistertwin Linda, who committed suicide.

Once upon a time, the Dane Thomas Winterberg, together with Lars von Trier, founded the Dogma 95 movement, whose rules were used by filmmakers all over the world. The bottom line was to ban artificial lighting, decorations, props and much more.

Later, they both departed from their own principles, and Winterberg became famous in the West for his paintings with Mads Mikkelsen "The Hunt" and "One More Each", far from "Dogma". It is all the more interesting to watch "Celebration" - the work of the times of the manifesto.

8. Autumn Sonata

Höstsonaten

• Sweden, France, Germany (FRG), Great Britain, Norway, 1978.
• Drama, musical.
• Duration: 99 minutes.
• IMDb: 8.2.

The world famous pianist Charlotte and her adult daughter Eva, the pastor's wife, had a quarrel for seven years and did not see each other. The daughter decides to take the first step and invites her mother to visit her. Charlotte is unaware that an unpleasant surprise awaits her: Eva took her paralyzed younger sister from the mental hospital, whom her mother actually abandoned there.

Swedish director Ingmar Bergman has shot 64 full-length films in his life, and staged about 170 performances. You can start getting to know such a rich heritage with any more or less famous work. Or first look at the artist's late painting Autumn Sonata, which combines social and psychological drama.

The plot is built, as always with Bergman, very competently. First, the viewer meets Eve and her husband, then Charlotte, and only then realizes the essence of the conflict between mother and daughter. Moreover, both sides are somehow right and something else to blame.