Hata Göteborg (2007, Robert Lillhonga)

 Streaming services are in eed of good films. They need to dig up films for our viewing pleasure. Most often these films managed to be under the radar when they were around. It is unlikedly that we will meet underrated masterpieces, but some might get a second chance. 

Hata Göteborg is about hooliganism. I have the idea that it is supposed to be a drama, but to me it is surprizinglu unengagimg. There are various scenes of beating ups, binge drinking and foul talking. At the end one of the gang might quit violence.

Disappointing.

(6/10)

Amatörer (2018, Gabriela Pichler)

So many films I have seen - so little I have written. I should try to fight laziness - also for my own sake, as many things I should have noted are just buried somewhere in my memory.
I saw this yesterday on Blockbuster.
You live in a region that once had been prosperous, but now it's just a hole in the ground. Now a foreign investor (in Swedish films this kind of foreigner is often impersonated by Germans) want to build a mega discount shop in your community. Or maybe they will prefer the neighbouring town? Now you should try to present your place as attractive. There is no budget for cultural activities, so they decide to make a competition among the young people at the local school. As the incoming contributions are of uneven quality. So they remember that a former citizen of the town is a film producer. He is to present the official image of the community.
Two teenagers, Aida and Dana, are not happy with this decision and they make there own film about their vision of the town.
Jonas Hassen Khemiri wrote the script together with Pichler. It shows the community as multicultural community. Musse, who works for the community. He has a Tamil background and speaks only Swedish. His mother is suffering from dementia and has lost her Swedish, so now nobody can talk to her.
Who is telling the story of the place?
8/10

Play (2011, Ruben Östlund)

Welcome to the politically correct world of Ruben Östlund. Welcome to multi-cultural Gothenburg. Welcome to the modern class-warfare.
Play is about a group of immigrants in Africa. They hang out in a shopping mall and select some kids for bullying. They claim that the kid's mobile phone has exactly the same scratches as those on the phone of his kid brother. Only that phone was stolen - so please prove that this is your phone. The Africans are from the beginning on the verge of mobbing. They play only one card - the victim's card with great virtuosity. The kids are from the beginning in the position of the loser. They are white, which means in this context that they are on the side of the privileged. The haves against the have-nots. So they have not much to counter the attack from the immigrant gang. Instead they try to de-escalate and to come out of the conflict on the terms of the aggressor. Of course, appeasement does not work in this context.
In Sweden they debated whether or not this film was racist or not. This is a devious debate, because this film is based on "true events". It must be possible to make a film about the actual happening reality without being accused as racist. Östlund tries to apply the persepective of an observer. The camera is static, observing with very few movements. So, no dramatic enhancement was intended. People go in and out of the range of vision. Sometimes you see only partially what is going on. This minimalistic approach goes on my nerves after some time. Looking out of a bus for two hours could be visually more interesting and rewarding than watching Östlund's film.
Then there is the ungainly last scene, when we see what would happen if the roles were switched. However, this scene is not enough to balance the imbalance we have seen.
Östlund has a inauspicious tendency to point didactlicy at the modern world. This film is almost designed to serve as a mirror for modern Swedish society. They may look into it and wonder, if they recognize themselves.
However, good intentions are not necessarily the recipe for a good film. Although I didn't expect a lot from it, I was amazed how awful this actually is. It is not taking up the "heritage of Tati and Haneke" as I read in a program note. Östlund joins the league of boredom, where he is in the company of Seidl and Loach.
2/10

Vi är best (2013, Lukas Moodysson)

This is coming of age and finding one's way. A drama about three girls, outcasts in their own way, who find their strength in rebellion and music. Without any musical experience, let alone education, they decide to start a band, mainly in opposition to some bullies from their school. They are joined by an outcast of another type, Hedvig, who comes from a Christian family. She influences both girls and is also influenced by them. At last they perform publicly and the consensus there is that they are the worst. However, they have gained enough confidence to confirm to themselves that they are the best.
Moodysson uses in this movie actors  who seem to be unknown. It will be a pleasure to follow the career of the three girls; they perform with distinction and great credibility.
The script is, as I have learned, based on a  graphic novel and works very well on its own  The scene is set in the beginning od the 1980s. Only few clues indicate that the tale is not ageless, most spectacularly for present-day young viewers the use of land-line phones.
7/10

I skuggan av värmen (2009, Beata Gårdeler)

The main problem with this film was for me the premise: how can somebody work as a guardian and be a heroin addict at the same time. But as this movie is based on an autobiographical novel it is obviously possible anyway.
The movie follows the well-known schemes: neglected as child Eva starts an early career as addict. Once she became drug-free, but then the alleged voidness of life throws her back into the world of artificial dreams. - Can Erik prove that love is stronger than addiction? This movie gives the obvious answer.
The interesting part is to dive into this shadow world of drug addicts; miserable lives altogether.
The main actors (Malin Crépin and Joel Kinnaman) have become sort ofhalf-famous in the mean-time, Crépin through film versions of Markelund novels, Kinnaman as supporting actor in Hollywood.
There is not much to say about this film: 4/10.

Maybe the book had a quality the film is lacking.

Force Majeure (Sweden 2014)

The original title of this film is Turist - quite trivial as opposed to the hinting at unleashed powers in the international title.
The life of Tomas and Ebba changes in less than a second while they are on a ski holiday in the Alps. An avalanche seems to approach the hotel. Tomas runs away, saves his I-Phone and forgets about his family. This triggers a conflict  between the couple. At last Tomas realizes, that he ran away like a coward. This leads to a complete break down of his macho image. He reconstructs his status as role model when he saves his wife who had an accident.
There is an epilogue glued to the main story. The holiday is over and a bus is going to bring them to the station. But the bus driver is an incompetent  fool, who seems to jeopardize the lives of his passengers. Now Ebba gets hysterical and wants to get off the bus, forgetting about her children. Tomas, who has reconciled himself with his failure acts prudently and the couple walks into a ameliorated future.
It seems that I recently watch many films about the father role. In this film men can be weak, can be deconstructed and they can still be like a role model. In this respect he resembles Mason Sr. from Boyhood, who is a blend of buddy and guidance, a modern father. Not the authoritarian type of The Return. It seems that male self-understanding has different aspects. The most likeable one comes from open societies. It seems then that the father figures reflect the respective society.
8/10

Save youself and your I-Phone,