Everlasting Moments
Encyclopedia
Everlasting Moments 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. 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.
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.
. 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.
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." 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. 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.
Filming took place between 26 February and 1 June 2007 in Malmö and Luleå
, Sweden, and Vilnius
, Lithuania
. 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.
. On 24 September the same year it was released in Sweden. 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. It was released in the United Kingdom on 22 May 2009 through Icon Film. 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.
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.. The average rating from 21 reviews collected at the Swedish-language site Kritiker.se was 4.0 out of 5.
at the 81st Academy Awards
. It was among the nine films that made it to the January shortlist, but wasn't selected as one of the final nominees.
Maria Heiskanen
Maria Heiskanen is a Finnish actress. She works in cinema, television and theatre.Heiskanen received her breakthrough role in the 1991 Swedish film Il Capitano: A Swedish Requiem directed by Jan Troell...
, Mikael Persbrandt
Mikael Persbrandt
Mikael Åke Persbrandt is a Swedish actor. In Swedish films he usually has lead roles and “tough guy” parts. He is perhaps most famous for his recurring role as the no-nonsense police officer Gunvald Larsson in the latest installment of the Martin Beck movies...
and Jesper Christensen
Jesper Christensen
Jesper Christensen is a Danish actor. A veteran of European cinema, he has more recently made the transition to English language projects, including The Interpreter and Revelations. He has also appeared as the mysterious villain Mr...
. 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. It has been compared to Troell's previous films Here's Your Life
Here's Your Life
Here's Your Life is a 1966 Swedish drama film directed by Jan Troell, based on the second of Eyvind Johnson's semi-autobiographical series of four novels Romanen om Olof, about a working-class boy growing up in northern Sweden.-Selected cast:...
and As White as in Snow, which are both set around the same period.
The film won the Guldbagge Award
Guldbagge Award
The Guldbagge Award is an official Swedish film award awarded annually since 1964 by the Swedish Film Institute.-Etymology:Guldbagge is the Swedish name for Cetonia aurata, a beetle also known as rose chafer. The name of the award could also be interpreted as a play on the Swedish word skalbagge,...
for Best Film and was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film
Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the awards presented at the Golden Globes, an American film awards ceremony.Until 1986, it was known as the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film, meaning that any non-American film could be honoured...
at the 66th Golden Globe Awards
66th Golden Globe Awards
The 66th Golden Globe Awards Ceremony was broadcast on January 11, 2009, from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, United States on the NBC TV network...
. It also made the January shortlist for Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
at the 81st Academy Awards
81st Academy Awards
The 81st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , honored the best films of 2008 and took place February 22, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST...
, but wasn't selected as one of the final nominees.
Cast
- Maria HeiskanenMaria HeiskanenMaria Heiskanen is a Finnish actress. She works in cinema, television and theatre.Heiskanen received her breakthrough role in the 1991 Swedish film Il Capitano: A Swedish Requiem directed by Jan Troell...
as Maria Larsson - Mikael PersbrandtMikael PersbrandtMikael Åke Persbrandt is a Swedish actor. In Swedish films he usually has lead roles and “tough guy” parts. He is perhaps most famous for his recurring role as the no-nonsense police officer Gunvald Larsson in the latest installment of the Martin Beck movies...
as Sigfrid Larsson - Jesper ChristensenJesper ChristensenJesper Christensen is a Danish actor. A veteran of European cinema, he has more recently made the transition to English language projects, including The Interpreter and Revelations. He has also appeared as the mysterious villain Mr...
as Sebastian Pedersen - Emil JensenEmil Jensen (musician)Emil Jensen is a Swedish singer-songwriter, comedian and actor based in Sweden. Emil Jensen has outspoken environmentalist views. In 2007 he toured Sweden] by bicycle. He has also made a tour by train...
as Englund - Ghita NørbyGhita NørbyGhita Nørby is a popular Danish actress with 117 film credits to her name from 1956-2005, making her one of the most active Danish actresses ever. She was born in Copenhagen, Denmark to opera singer Einar Nørby...
as Miss Fagerdal - Hans Henrik Clemensen as Mr. Fagerdal
- Amanda OomsAmanda OomsAmanda Ooms is a Swedish actress and writer. She has acted in both film and TV in Sweden and internationally. She was born in Kalmar, Sweden.-Partial filmography:*1986 – Bröderna Mozart*1988 – Hotel St...
as Mathilda - Antti ReiniAntti Reini- Cinema :* Il Capitano: A Swedish Requiem * As White as in Snow * The Man Without a Past * Helmiä ja sikoja * Solstorm * Everlasting Moments * Stone's War * Angel - TV :...
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 LundqvistMaria LundqvistMaria Lundqvist is a Swedish actress.-Films and TV-series:*Svensson Svensson - The movie*Sally*Sjön*Före stormen*Familjehemligheter*Deadline*Paradiset*Kvinnor emellan...
as Miss Petrén - Sanna Persson as Månse-Lotta
- Maria Kulle as Aunt Anna
- Hans AlfredsonHans AlfredsonHans Folke "Hasse" Alfredson is a Swedish actor, film director, writer and comedian. He was born in Malmö, Sweden. He is known for his collaboration with Tage Danielsson...
as Prison Guard - Livia Millhagen as Ingeborg's Mother
- Max Eskilsson as Sven age 14-17
- Rickard Nygren as Police
- Alexander Kathy as Anton NilsonAnton NilsonAnton Nilson was a Swedish militant socialist and convicted murderer.Nilson was born and grew up in a peasant region in Skåne, the southernmost province of Sweden...
- 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 1970s1970s
File:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...
. 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
Swedish Film Institute
The Swedish Film Institute was founded in 1963 to support and develop the Swedish film industry. The institute is housed in the Filmhuset building located in Gärdet, Östermalm in Stockholm...
heard about the story and how Jan Troell was interested in turning it into a film, an early process for a manuscript was started.
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." 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. A major difference between the film and the actual story is that the real Maria Larsson lived in Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
, while the film takes place in Malmö
Malmö
Malmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
, where Jan Troell himself comes from.
Filming took place between 26 February and 1 June 2007 in Malmö and Luleå
Luleå
- Transportation :Local buses are run by .A passenger train service is available from Luleå Centralstation on Sweden's national SJ railway service northbound to Narvik on the Norwegian coast, or southbound to Stockholm. See Rail transport in Sweden....
, Sweden, and Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
. The film was shot on 16 mm film
16 mm film
16 mm film refers to a popular, economical gauge of film used for motion pictures and non-theatrical film making. 16 mm refers to the width of the film...
, and then blown up to 35 mm
35 mm film
35 mm film is the film gauge most commonly used for chemical still photography and motion pictures. The name of the gauge refers to the width of the photographic film, which consists of strips 35 millimeters in width...
. "Then you get a little grainy picture that fits the turn of the century era and also relates to the early silent cinema
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
. I have deliberately kept the colours down and used similar sepia
Sepia (color)
Sepia is a dark brown-grey color, named after the rich brown pigment derived from the ink sac of the common cuttlefish Sepia.The word sepia is the Latinized form of the Greek σηπία, sēpía, cuttlefish.-Sepia in human culture:...
tones as those in for example Victor Sjöström
Victor Sjöström
Victor Sjöström was a Swedish actor, screenwriter, and film director.- Biography:Born in Silbodal, in the Värmland region of Sweden, he was only a year old when his father, Olof Adolf Sjöström, moved the family to Brooklyn, New York. His mother died when he was seven years old in 1886...
's films," Troell explains this idea.
Release
The film premiered as part of the Masters selection at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival2008 Toronto International Film Festival
The 2008 Toronto International Film Festival, was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. This 33rd annual festival was from September 4 to September 13, 2008...
. On 24 September the same year it was released in Sweden. IFC Films
IFC Films
IFC Films is an American film distribution company based in New York, owned by AMC Networks. It distributes independent films and documentaries under the IFC Films, Sundance Selects and IFC Midnight. It operates the IFC Center....
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. It was released in the United Kingdom on 22 May 2009 through Icon Film. A US DVD and Blu-ray was released in June 2010 through The Criterion Collection
The Criterion Collection
The Criterion Collection is a video-distribution company selling "important classic and contemporary films" to film aficionados. The Criterion series is noted for helping to standardize the letterbox format for home video, bonus features, and special editions...
, as part of a collaboration between The Criterion Collection and IFC Films.
Reception
The film has a 91% "fresh" rating at Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
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.. The average rating from 21 reviews collected at the Swedish-language site Kritiker.se was 4.0 out of 5.
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 FilmAcademy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
at the 81st Academy Awards
81st Academy Awards
The 81st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , honored the best films of 2008 and took place February 22, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST...
. It was among the nine films that made it to the January shortlist, but wasn't selected as one of the final nominees.
| Award | Category | Name | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 66th Golden Globe Awards 66th Golden Globe Awards The 66th Golden Globe Awards Ceremony was broadcast on January 11, 2009, from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, United States on the NBC TV network... |
Best Foreign Language Film | Nominated | |
| Guldbagge Award Guldbagge Award The Guldbagge Award is an official Swedish film award awarded annually since 1964 by the Swedish Film Institute.-Etymology:Guldbagge is the Swedish name for Cetonia aurata, a beetle also known as rose chafer. The name of the award could also be interpreted as a play on the Swedish word skalbagge,... s |
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 |