Dir: Jan Troell / Sweden / 2008 / 131 mins / Cert: 15A
Much revered in his native Sweden, writer-director Jan Troell returns to the international spotlight at the age of 77 with this beautifully measured portrait of an ordinary woman whose photographs captured the workers’ lot in Malmo before and after WW1.
Based on a real-life relative of the filmmaker’s wife, it recreates a time past — and indeed time passing — with the sort of languid glow that even Terrence Malick would be proud to claim as his own.
With an ever-growing brood of kids, and a husband who’s a handful when he’s sober, a nightmare when he’s drunk, Maria Heiskanen’s doughty heroine has a lot to contend with.
Discovering an unused box camera won in a lottery, her first thought is to sell it, but when the proprietor of the local photographic shop finds an exposed plate within and develops it, the result sparks some hidden inspiration in her.
Shot in 16mm for a persuasive vintage look, this film compels our emotional investment. In the end, we haven’t just watched these people, we feel as if we’ve lived alongside them. A future classic. — Trevor Johnston / Irish Film Institute.
