Midsummer Delights

When the eves of lightness stand long and fair in the Swedish summer it is a good time to be alive. As introspective and melancholic as the Swedish species can be in the darkness of November these characters opens up to the light as a sun-thirsty flower craving some D-vitamins. And before you know it, it is an absolutely bearable lightness of being all around.

What kicks off this metamorphosis can normally be located at the base of the maypole. It is something about picking those wild flowers of gentle colours, alluring fragrances and petal fragility, it is something about the plumpness of the strawberries from the local strawberry farmer, it is something about the singing, the playing of old folklorish songs that continues to be passed down from generation to generation, it is something about the promise of summer delights, the magic of lightness, the shades of blue as the sky very slowly changes its ever-present glory of summer nights. It is something of about the feeling that it gives meaning and adds to the sum of who you are, a sense of belonging, a sense of a precious gift of beauty and a time when nature and humans celebrate unanimously the sense of possibilities in the circle of life, when we know that it won’t last forever, therefore embrace the moment and saviour the sweetness of the here and now.

So join the spirit, raise your glasses, dip that herring, clear your throats, sing from the heart, smile at the summer night, dance like the true hedonist we all are at heart and embrace life to the fullest on these long long days and light light nights of midsummer delights.

No time like ‘filmtajm’

Swedish movies in the eyes of the rest of the world, and including many of our own Swedish species, cannot appreciate, or imagine, Swedish film beyond the Bergman hurdle. With the greatest respect, as I do agree that Mr Ingmar Bergman without doubt was one of the all time best filmmakers, however, we collectively need to acknowledge that there are other Swedish filmmakers worth their celluloid. In a time when you have to stand out in the crowd, Swedish films may not grab the non-speaking audience that easily. It requires an effort and a willingness to seek out something different. The current exception to this sweeping statement is ‘The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo’. Still, but without the best-selling book trilogy, who knows how many moviegoers would have taken their chances on this movie.

So let’s start this movie promotion mini-bonanza at the Sydney Film Festival. The Swedish contribution this year is two short films. ‘Incident by a Bank’ by Ruben Östlund, picked up the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film festival 2010. It will be a little golden nugget of a short film. The second movie is ‘Tusselago’ by Jonas Odell, a lighthearted number where ‘The ex-girlfriend of a West German terrorist, Norbert Krocher, tells her story.’ As I written before, Swedes are jolly people!

So let’s move on to comedy then, shall we. Why not treat yourself to something that I almost guarantee is different to most things you’ve ever seen. This particular thing is called ‘You, the Living’ by Roy Andersson. You either love it or hate it. Further in the comedy cupboard, it is hard to pass on the classic film ‘Four Shades of Brown’ directed by Thomas Alfredson. Judging by the titles I can anticipate a stampede towards arthouse movie rental places such as Dr What in Bondi Junction to find these rare treasures. Otherwise your best chances might be online.

Finally, to go back in history, I would love to see a re-release of a Swedish thriller classic called ‘The Man on the Roof’ by Bo Widerberg from 1976. A true thriller gem that still stands out to this day, many moons later. These little suggestions are only scraping the surface, just a little spot of movies to wet your appetites, but these wintry days are perfect for some movie watching, at home or in the cinema, and be brave, stray away from the big H movies, you might even stumbled upon something unpredictable!