- Everlasting Moments
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Everlasting Moments 
US theatrical posterDirected by Jan Troell Produced by Thomas Stenderup Written by Niklas Rådström
Jan Troell
Agneta Ulfsäter-TroellNarrated by Callin Öhrvall Starring Maria Heiskanen
Mikael Persbrandt
Jesper ChristensenMusic by Matti Bye Cinematography Jan Troell
Mischa GavrjusjovEditing by Niels Pagh Andersen Distributed by Sandrew Metronome (Nordic countries)
IFC Films (US)
Icon Film Distribution (UK)Release date(s) 5 September 2008 (Toronto Film Festival)
5 September 2008 (Sweden)Running time 131 minutes Country Sweden Language Swedish
FinnishBudget $7 million[1] Everlasting Moments (Swedish: Maria Larssons eviga ögonblick) is a 2008 Swedish drama film directed by Jan Troell, starring Maria Heiskanen, Mikael Persbrandt and Jesper Christensen. It is based on the true story of Maria Larsson, a Swedish working class woman in the early 1900s, who wins a camera in a lottery and goes on to become a photographer.[2] It has been compared to Troell's previous films Here's Your Life and As White as in Snow, which are both set around the same period.[3]
The film won the Guldbagge Award for Best Film and was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 66th Golden Globe Awards. It also made the January shortlist for Best Foreign Language Film at the 81st Academy Awards, but wasn't selected as one of the final nominees.
Contents
Cast
- Maria Heiskanen as Maria Larsson
- Mikael Persbrandt as Sigfrid Larsson
- Jesper Christensen as Sebastian Pedersen
- Emil Jensen as Englund
- Ghita Nørby as Miss Fagerdal
- Hans Henrik Clemensen as Mr. Fagerdal
- Amanda Ooms as Mathilda
- Antti Reini as Captain
- Birte Heribertsson as Aunt Tora
- Claire Wikholm as Grandmother Karna
- Nellie Almgren as Maja age 7-9
- Callin Öhrvall as Maja age 14-22
- Ann Petrén as Ida
- Maria Lundqvist as Miss Petrén
- Sanna Persson as Månse-Lotta
- Maria Kulle as Aunt Anna
- Hans Alfredson as Prison Guard
- Livia Millhagen as Ingeborg's Mother
- Max Eskilsson as Sven age 14-17
- Rickard Nygren as Police
- Alexander Kathy as Anton Nilson
- Lukas Wägbo as Algot Rosberg
Production
With financing from 26 organisations from five different countries; Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Germany; the film was Troell's largest project since The Emigrants in the early 1970s.[4] Agneta Ulfsäter-Troell, Jan Troell's wife, started doing research and interviews in 1986 with Maja Larsson, Maria Larsson's daughter, who was a cousin to Ulfsäter-Troell's father. During her research she found Maria's pictures, which were used as inspiration for the pictures seen in the film. The material wasn't organized, but when a person at the Swedish Film Institute heard about the story and how Jan Troell was interested in turning it into a film, an early process for a manuscript was started.[5]
The first official meeting took place in early 2004. Troell said that the casting choice of Maria Heiskanen and Jesper Christensen, both of whom had starred in Troell films previously, had always been "obvious."[6] Two years before filming started, Troell met Mikael Persbrandt at a film festival in Sweden and started to imagine him in the role of Sigfrid. Persbrandt then contacted Troell himself and persuaded him into giving him the role.[7] A major difference between the film and the actual story is that the real Maria Larsson lived in Gothenburg, while the film takes place in Malmö, where Jan Troell himself comes from.[8]
Filming took place between 26 February and 1 June 2007 in Malmö and Luleå, Sweden,[9] and Vilnius, Lithuania.[10] The film was shot on 16 mm film, and then blown up to 35 mm. "Then you get a little grainy picture that fits the turn of the century era and also relates to the early silent cinema. I have deliberately kept the colours down and used similar sepia tones as those in for example Victor Sjöström's films," Troell explains this idea.[3]
Release
The film premiered as part of the Masters selection at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival.[11] On 24 September the same year it was released in Sweden.[12] IFC Films aqcuired the American distribution rights and gave the film a limited release on 6 March 2009. At its peak it was running in 30 theatres during the same weekend.[13] It was released in the United Kingdom on 22 May 2009 through Icon Film.[14] A US DVD and Blu-ray was released in June 2010 through The Criterion Collection, as part of a collaboration between The Criterion Collection and IFC Films.[15]
Reception
The film has a 91% "fresh" rating at Rotten Tomatoes based on 97 reviews, with an average rating of 7.5 out of 10, including a 100% "Cream of the Crop" rating from top critics, based on 23 reviews.[16]. The average rating from 21 reviews collected at the Swedish-language site Kritiker.se was 4.0 out of 5.[17]
Awards and nominations
In addition to the awards and nominations, Everlasting Moments was also Sweden's submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 81st Academy Awards.[18] It was among the nine films that made it to the January shortlist, but wasn't selected as one of the final nominees.[19]
Award Category Name Outcome 66th Golden Globe Awards Best Foreign Language Film Nominated Guldbagge Awards[20][21] Best Film Thomas Stenderup Won Best Actress Maria Heiskanen Won Best Actor Mikael Persbrandt Won Best Supporting Actor Jesper Christensen Won Special Achievement - Best Music Matti Bye Won Best Direction Jan Troell Nominated Best Supporting Actress Amanda Ooms Nominated Best Screenplay Niklas Rådström, Jan Troell and Agneta Ulfsäter-Troell Nominated Best Cinematography Jan Troell and Mischa Gavrjusjov Nominated Valladolid International Film Festival Best Actress Maria Heiskanen Won Best Director of Photography Jan Troell and Mischa Gavrjusjov Won Golden Spike Jan Troell Nominated References
- ^ EVERLASTING MOMENTS: Characters unfold
- ^ Trust Film Sales
- ^ a b Gustafsson, Annika (21 June 2008). "Jan Troell hyllar fotot och familjen." (in Swedish) Sydsvenskan. Retrieved on 12 February 2009.
- ^ Mälarstedt, Kurt. (2 June 2007) "Jan Troell jagar de eviga ögonblicken." (in Swedish) Dagens Nyheter. Retrieved on 12 February 2009.
- ^ Ulfsäter-Troell, Agneta. Förlaget Ulfsäter-Troell. (in Swedish) Retrieved on 12 February 2009.
- ^ Gentele, Jeanette (31 January 2007) "Jan Troell satsar stort igen." (in Swedish) Svenska Dagbladet. Retrieved on 14 May 2009.
- ^ Sundholm, Magnus (11 January 2009) "– Jag är bra på att förlora." (in Swedish) Aftonbladet. Retrieved on 14 May 2009.
- ^ Bengtsson, Hans (27 August 2008) "Troell västerut med nya filmen." (in Swedish) Skånska Dagbladet. Retrieved on 14 May 2009.
- ^ Maria Larssons eviga ögonblick - Inspelningsplatser at the Swedish Film Institute
- ^ Thorsén, Tjerstin (17 May 2006) "Troell gör ny film." (in Swedish) Helsingborgs Dagblad. Retrieved on 14 May 2009.
- ^ (2008-07-10) "Toronto | more films to Masters and World Cinema sections." Variety. Retrieved on 2009-09-06.
- ^ Maria Larssons eviga ögonblick - visningar (in Swedish). Swedish Film Institute. Retrieved on 2009-09-06.
- ^ Everlasting Moments - Weekend Box Office. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2009-09-06.
- ^ (2009-05-22) "Awaydays breaks UK, Spain sees Good." Screen Daily. Retrieved on 2009-09-06.
- ^ Kay, Jeremy (2009-09-01) "IFC Films teams up with Criterion Collection for prestige DVD series." Screen Daily. Retrieved on 2009-09-06.
- ^ Everlasting Moments at Rotten Tomatoes
- ^ Maria Larssons eviga ögonblick (in Swedish). Kritiker.se.
- ^ Kuprijanko, Alexander (2008-09-16) "Sveriges Oscarshopp står till Jan Troell." (in Swedish) Sydsvenskan. Retrieved on 2009-05-24.
- ^ (13 January 2009) "9 Foreign Language Films Advance in 2008 Oscar Race." Oscar.org. Retrieved on 14 May 2009.
- ^ 2008 års Guldbaggevinnare. Swedish Film Institute. (Swedish)
- ^ 2008 års Guldbaggenomineringar. Swedish Film Institute. (Swedish)
External links
- Everlasting Moments at the Internet Movie Database
- Everlasting Moments at AllRovi
- Everlasting Moments at Rotten Tomatoes
- Everlasting Moments at Metacritic
- Everlasting Moments at Box Office Mojo
Films directed by Jan Troell Fiction films Here's Your Life · Who Saw Him Die? · The Emigrants · The New Land · Zandy's Bride · Bang! · Hurricane · Flight of the Eagle · Il Capitano: A Swedish Requiem · Hamsun · As White as in Snow · Everlasting Moments · Truth and Consequence
Documentaries Land of Dreams · A Frozen Dream · Presence
Categories:- 2008 films
- Swedish films
- Swedish-language films
- Films directed by Jan Troell
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