Bessere Zeiten

I saw this film at Noordelijk Filmfestival 2011 (in Leeuwarden, province of Friesland NL). It stood out between the rest as it gave the audience a topic of discussion afterwards. Living proof could be heard around while leaving the theater, where dialogs exceeded the usual "What did you think? Good, and you?" platitudes with other films. Apparently, it brings about memories, or at least something close nearby. Clearly not an abstract issue from a different part of the world, or what only happens to "not our kind of people". Apart from the relevance of the issues involved, it was also presented in a believable way and with real world characters. Not all of them were coping very well with the problems at hand, but that is part of all real life issues. I had every reason to score 5 (out of 5) stars for the audience award competition.

The story starts with a sudden phone call that Leena's dying mother asked for her. In spite of having lost all contact many years ago, their subsequent journey forces Leena to relive memories from her youth. Alcohol and related domestic violence had a severe impact on her life. She never has understood how her mother could get on with it, and accepted repeated promises from her husband that he would improve. Her mother also failed to take proper care for Leena's brother, mentally handicapped due to an "accident" caused by her father. We witness a lot of that misery via flash backs, showing the gory details, and partly explaining her current behavior. Eventually, the family was split up due to an intervention from social workers aided by the police. It rescued Leena from the immediate problems at that time, but obviously not from the severe impact it had on her life.

Towards her mother she is very defensive and unwilling to forgive anything that happened and spoiled her youth. When the mother asks to locate her husband, Leena brings an urn. Apparently he died without the mother knowing. Nevertheless, the mother lets Leena promise to arrange that they can "rest together", proving a tight relationship between the couple, in spite of everything. It defies our logic and Leena's, to say the least, but from newspaper articles we learn this to be not unusual.

The above is told in well dosed flash backs that interleave with what follows after the phone call that Leena got about her mother in hospital. It all starts with a 600 km journey, together with her husband and two children, to see her mother. Leena is very reluctant to take part in this trip, but her husband insists that it is only human to follow up on that call. After the four briefly speak with the mother in hospital, they decide to move into the mother's house for the time being. Of course, the objects in this house trigger many memories, and Leena does not cope very well in explaining her behavior to her husband and children. Rather than confiding her direct family in what happened during her childhood, she withdraws. This does not improve after some heavy meetings with her mother. Sudden outbursts are the result, mostly triggered by seemingly trivial things, like cloths discovered by her children in some wardrobe.

The script arranges above ingredients ingeniously, presenting it all in a logical order. It not only tells us step by step what we need to know about Leena's childhood, but also shows that Leena rather had let bygones be bygones. Explaining to her husband and children what happened in her childhood, is not something that comes easily. While being logical in our view to share your problems with people you trust most, it costs her too much pain to even consider bringing it in the open. Her withdrawn behavior combined with several unexplainable outbursts seem to stretch family relations beyond their limits (hence the title of this film??). I cannot tell you that all is well that ends well (to prevent spoilers).

All in all, I cannot think of any negative comments about this film. All actors, including the children, act believably and succeed in getting us involved in the characters, even in the "bad" ones (mind the quotes). The structure of the story is next to perfect. Finally, as said before, the amount of discussion it triggered among the audience, is an extra aspect for giving high praises to this film. You should add it to your "must see" list.

Pernilla August has directed a heart wrenching story about a woman which has to get back to her dying mother after a lot of years with no contact. But already on the way there we understand that going back is something of the hardest thing she can do. Through flashbacks we see some of her childhood years in a alcoholic abusive home, which really has made her childhood something she rather would have forgotten.

Noomi and Ola Rapace plays brilliantly (being formerly married, they sure know how to find electricity in their relationship), but the price for great acting should go to the whole crew. The drunken parents are perfectly depicted in a film which I think maybe is the most brilliantly display of an alcoholic abusive upbringing I ever seen.

Filming is bleak, dark and very suitable for this story, which slowly grips you in a way that when the film ends it's a surprise to you that you just spent two hours in it's company.

It's also the best Swedish film I ever saw, and therefore I give a 9 in score for this. Very recommended.

This is a drama that almost sets you in a mode of physical pain throughout the whole film session. The director Pernilla August lets the viewer become a part of the private lives of the people you get to know in this film in a way that's almost embarrassing. You just stand there, watching their lives falling into pieces while the alcohol takes over the control and you cry, not by sentimentality but a painful cry by pity and compassion. You are not even able to hate the dreadful father (Ville Virtanen) and the mother (Outi Mäenpää) letting this happen to her children whom she loves.

Seeing these things through the grown up woman Leena (Noomi Rapace) gives you the distance that you need to be able to suffer this emotional torture. She has hidden these experiences deep inside of her, but a phone call from her dying mother confronts her with her dark past.

The young Leena is played by Tehilla Blad and she carries this film with the same depth and intensity as her elder alter ego Noomi Rapace does. Rapace is the star actress in this film but Blad's performance in this film is the biggest remaining impression I carry with me when I leave the theater. ALL the actors make an outstanding work. The acting in Beyond goes beyond many good films and there is no weak link, not even the young children. The continuity between the girl Leena and the women Leena is exceptional. Not primarily for their look but for their expression and how you can read their feelings and thoughts in their faces.

Films about mother/daughter relationships have always been popular with audiences as they enable a close assessment of ideas,opinions and sentiments with which most mothers and their daughters can be identified.As a film which belongs to "mother/daughter relationship" genre,Svinalängorna/ Beyond shows how the lives of a mother and her daughter are destroyed when alcohol wreaks havoc on their close-knit family.The audiences get to see how in a family with recurring scenes of husband/wife conflict, children suffer enormously as their childhood is annihilated.This film is based on a book written by author Susanna Alakoski who also tackles the plight of ordinary Finnish people in Sweden.Young Swedish actress Tehilla Blad is a joy to watch as the success of the entire film rests on her acting talent.Pernilla August,one of Swedish cinema's leading actresses makes her feature film début with this film which she jointly wrote with Lolita Ray.The influence of her mentor Swedish cinema maestro Ingmar Bergman can easily be discerned in all family scenes wherein efforts have been made to allow victims to express their opinions clear and loud.

I saw so many movies regarding problem with alcoholism, especially focused on family issues. I however myself treated with that problem afraid to not become one (alcoholic), so I am very familiar with alcoholism and problems that it cause in life, from first hand.

Even I saw at least all of the titles about alcoholism that were published in film industry, as well all of the documentaries, I never found one that reflects that problem in reality so well.

This movie have all of the important elements showing how alcoholism influence life and what consequences it brings.

Great performances, screenplay and cinematography brings great result as a complete product that shows how alcoholism destructs family life and how terrible traumas it left on the most situations in family life , and most important, the children.

The main character of the girl in this movie follows her life with that traumas and reflections in her adult life, while her strong nature (as her father stated in one scene) keep her to survive that horror, unlike her younger brother who could not.

The spoiling would not be inappropriate here, as I recommend it for the viewers to see it.

This is not just great movie for all of us and for our families, surrounded by that silent killer (alcohol) but as a reference to medical communities that deals with alcoholism and AA and other similar social groups that needs a materials for therapy issues.

Personally I would like more constructions on some issues in this movie, but I think it is enough as there are probably no any movie title that gave so close picture to the problem about alcoholism.