Rating: 
Summary: Under Solen
Review: This is a delightful movie. I caught it on late night television. I was actually just about to go to bed when I clicked on to the station showing it. Unfortunately I missed the first maybe 20 mins maybe less.
The cinematography was wonderful I have lived in Sweden, and you could feel the heat of a swedish summer day, taste and smell the swedish countryside. I have read the H.E. Bates short story "The Little Farm" I loved the fact that it was set in Sweden. The cast were amazing. The power of this movie was that the viewer was transported into the moment. You were a part of it, a part of the characters lives. You cared very much what happened to them. I wanted it to go on. In fact, I wanted to see the rest of their lives. I really want to buy this movie, but so far it appears to be unavailable. I do hope that will change. Colin Nutley has made another movie using Swedish actors and technicians. Swedish films are unique. I don`t know whether it is the light, or the cinematography, or the casts and crews, but they are able to involve the viewer into the lives of the characters with such ease. The process is magical. "Under Solen" was all of that. Simply magical.
Rosy Frier-Dryden
Rating:
Summary: A True Swedish Classic!
Review: This is a true Swedish classic- definitely in the same arena as "My Life As A Dog". I saw this at Cinequest in San Jose, CA some time ago, and have been waiting for it to be released on VHS or DVD ever since. It amazes me that a film of such beauty is hardly known outside the film festival circuit.It's a story of a single, illiterate man, a farmer in his forties, whose been living alone for several years since the death of his mother. He comes to the realization that he may never find a mate, so he places an add in the local paper for a maid servant- with the intention of meeting and falling in love with her. It's a beautiful, heart warming love story. One that I hope will be released on DVD in the near future.
Rating:
Summary: A True Swedish Classic!
Review: This is a true Swedish classic- definitely in the same arena as "My Life As A Dog". I saw this at Cinequest in San Jose, CA some time ago, and have been waiting for it to be released on VHS or DVD ever since. It amazes me that a film of such beauty is hardly known outside the film festival circuit. It's a story of a single, illiterate man, a farmer in his forties, whose been living alone for several years since the death of his mother. He comes to the realization that he may never find a mate, so he places an add in the local paper for a maid servant- with the intention of meeting and falling in love with her. It's a beautiful, heart warming love story. One that I hope will be released on DVD in the near future.
Rating:
Summary: A True Swedish Classic!
Review: This is a true Swedish classic- definitely in the same arena as "My Life As A Dog". I saw this at Cinequest in San Jose, CA some time ago, and have been waiting for it to be released on VHS or DVD ever since. It amazes me that a film of such beauty is hardly known outside the film festival circuit. It's a story of a single, illiterate man, a farmer in his forties, whose been living alone for several years since the death of his mother. He comes to the realization that he may never find a mate, so he places an add in the local paper for a maid servant- with the intention of meeting and falling in love with her. It's a beautiful, heart warming love story. One that I hope will be released on DVD in the near future.
Rating:
Summary: Sweet, gentle romance, tastefully done
Review: This is another recent foreign film which just blows anything Hollywood has put out in recent years right out of the water. Rolf Lassgård is lovable as the big lug Olof, a 40-something virgin out to fulfill his mother's dying wish that he get himself a lady. But hopelessly shy and awkward, his only method of reaching out is to put an ad in a local paper seeking a live-in maid. Director Colin Nutley casts his own wife, the wholesomely radiant Helena Bergström, in the role of Ellen, the mysterious and enchanting woman who comes to the remote farm to take the job. Also on the scene is Olof's friend Erik, a cocky young man who has been to America and fancies himself a man of the world. We are thrown off balance at the beginning of the film by Erik's seemingly unnatural interest in Olof's new living arrangements, but by the end of the film we come to understand him and see him for just what he is. Nutley takes things slow, and what I really enjoyed about this movie was the very low-key and understated way that an erotic tension was allowed to gradually build up between the three. Very refreshing to those of us overdosed on Hollywood's in-your-face, over-the-top directness these days. Plot complications naturally ensue, but the honesty of the ending will have you cheering. All I can say is, thank goodness there are still places on this planet where people are not infected with the cynical sarcasm so prevalent in our North American culture today, and are not afraid of genuine emotions. Thank you Sweden!
Rating:
Summary: Sweet, gentle romance, tastefully done
Review: This is another recent foreign film which just blows anything Hollywood has put out in recent years right out of the water. Rolf Lassgård is lovable as the big lug Olof, a 40-something virgin out to fulfill his mother's dying wish that he get himself a lady. But hopelessly shy and awkward, his only method of reaching out is to put an ad in a local paper seeking a live-in maid. Director Colin Nutley casts his own wife, the wholesomely radiant Helena Bergström, in the role of Ellen, the mysterious and enchanting woman who comes to the remote farm to take the job. Also on the scene is Olof's friend Erik, a cocky young man who has been to America and fancies himself a man of the world. We are thrown off balance at the beginning of the film by Erik's seemingly unnatural interest in Olof's new living arrangements, but by the end of the film we come to understand him and see him for just what he is. Nutley takes things slow, and what I really enjoyed about this movie was the very low-key and understated way that an erotic tension was allowed to gradually build up between the three. Very refreshing to those of us overdosed on Hollywood's in-your-face, over-the-top directness these days. Plot complications naturally ensue, but the honesty of the ending will have you cheering. All I can say is, thank goodness there are still places on this planet where people are not infected with the cynical sarcasm so prevalent in our North American culture today, and are not afraid of genuine emotions. Thank you Sweden!
Rating:
Summary: One of my 5 favorite films.
Review: Under The Sun is exquisite without being precious; filled with sentiment though not sentimental; it has a power yet it never raises its voice. It is not a feel-good movie though one leaves the theatre certainly feeling better than when they walked in. I think the power of the film comes with its authenticity in depicting the human actions and interactions. This authenticity disarms us and exposes our humanity in ways few films ever achieve. Beyond this, each scene can stand on its own as a visual work of art. Bravo!
Rating:
Summary: One of my 5 favorite films.
Review: Under The Sun is exquisite without being precious; filled with sentiment though not sentimental; it has a power yet it never raises its voice. It is not a feel-good movie though one leaves the theatre certainly feeling better than when they walked in. I think the power of the film comes with its authenticity in depicting the human actions and interactions. This authenticity disarms us and exposes our humanity in ways few films ever achieve. Beyond this, each scene can stand on its own as a visual work of art. Bravo!
Rating:
Summary: Oh my goodness, what a romance
Review: While watching this movie with my husband last night, I kept saying aloud, "Oh my goodness, this is lovely, just lovely." It's so lush and lyrical and downright touching (oooh, I hate to use that word, for fear readers will think it's sappy or stupid, and it's not - but it IS touching). You fear all will not end well for dear Olaf, a huge country 'boy,' a 40yo self-proclaimed virgin whose other major problem is that he's illiterate. But Olaf has a heart of the purest gold. He has lived alone on a remote Swedish country farm with his dog and his chickens, cows, and horses. There is one 'friend,' Eric, a slick man-of-the-world, who has been borrowing money from him. Olaf can't even read the IOU notes Eric gives him now and then.
Olaf, shy and socially awkward, has been alone since his mother's death a decade earlier. There's nothing weird about his love for his mother; you don't get the sense he's a momma's boy. It's just that, way out at the end of the road, there's not much opportunity to meet women. So he puts an ad in a big newspaper for 'a housekeeper.'
Enter: Ellen. Obviously a city girl, in her fitted suit, upswept French twist, and high heels. And obviously, she has a past, a secret, a hidden flaw, because otherwise, why would this urbane woman be answering an ad to go live on a remote farm?
Eric, jealous and fearful that his abuse of Olaf's trust will be discovered, determines to discover Ellen's secret.
That's enough of a set-up to get you started on your way to the video store to rent this absolutely beautiful, redemptive movie. See it, and recommend it to all your friends if you love it as much as I did.
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