En kärlekshistoria

There's something about this film that hits you - something between the frames and apart from what you see. Even though it's almost 40 years old it feels like it was shot yesterday (especially with the crisp DVD I saw). Having watched a few of these Swedish teenage films, I have to say nobody knows how to portray adolescence on screen like the Swedes do. There's a subtle, real-life touch that no filmmaker in the states can hold a candle to.

The two leads are very natural and engaging. Ann-Sofie Kylin has the biggest blue eyes you will ever see and makes a huge impact - despite the fact that her lines throughout the film barely register one paragraph.

If you can appreciate a slow film that pays more attention to the small details than to a chugging storyline, this is for you. While I found the ending a little unresolved even for a typical unresolved "70's" ending, it's worth the two hour viewing.

this is a portrayal of the trembling, slightly insecure first love so many recognize from their teenage years. en kärlekshistoria= a love story. but apart from the main plot, it's also about the young couple's parents, adults who are dealing with accepting that dreams don't come true. the story's set in the summer of 1970 in Stockholm, Sweden.

I've read the other comments and I must say I'm surprised. I don't know if the fact that I as a Swede can recognize and relate to some key ingredients in the setting, imagery and socializing, but the movie's won my heart (and so many others). my opinion is that the story about annika and per's strong affection for each other can't be witnessed without touching the viewers. it feels so genuine, maybe considering there's not many movies that focus on young love in this pure way. the young couple engage you so much that you feel like the side-line plots aren't necessary to make this film a whole. though it gives a feeling of reality, of a view into these people's lives as both families and as individuals. but I must say, the admirable interpretation of this rare angle of a love story is enough reason to make this movie a must-see.

This is a great little film, describing two teenagers first love experience. It really hits the spot, showing Sweden as it was in the 1970s, complete with dull apartments, the very tough moped gang and, of course, the summer party in the country house. Above all, it shows the joy and agony of teenagers being in love. It´s very easy to relate to the attraction that Per and Annika feels for each other and their shy, clumsy efforts to get together. Anyone who has been a teenager, and most of us have, is reminded of those wonderful years. This is how it really was!

Beautiful film! I saw it on DVD from Lovefilm in Norway. The DVD has directors comments as well. Roy Andersson speaks about how for him the most important aspect of the film is the world of the parents, the difference in social class of both families. This is certainly valid. But what hits you in the stomach, especially if you were young in those days, is the "deja-vu" of the relation between Pär & Annika and the way that developing relation is portrayed here. I thought it was a recently made film at first (had not looked at all at what sort of film it was) and thought: "Wow, where did they get all these authentic 60's cars???" The film has a very melancholic taste to it, for me at least, born in 1954. And Ann-Sofie Kylin would have absolutely been a girl I would have totally fallen in love with. The film is funny too at times, like when Pärs' macho moped gets overtaken by a bicycle rider, eating an ice-cream. Lovely film, just lovely!

This film, as I see it, is a slightly absurd view of the world through the selective gaze of two young persons in love. Although this film is far more realistic that the later films by Roy Andersson, it still has an absurd feeling, especially in the final part, but also before. But as a young person this was, at least for me, the way the surrounding appeared to be. You saw things, heard things, people cried and did things for reasons which you did not fully grasped or cared about. The unhealthiness of your family and every-day had become like a too well-known background noise which you only got aware of later in life. Therefore, all the partially touched-upon subjects in this film which never are fully resolved or explained are a strength not a weakness, I think.

The film is also political. The class society in welfare Sweden is shown. It is not the upper-class vs. servant class, but rather it is the "quest" for prestige of the every-day among working and middle class that is portrayed, and always in a subtle but critical tone. But all this is through the selective gaze of the two young persons in love, hence never is the film becoming dogmatic in its political sense.

A very good film, also with a beautiful photo. As a portrait of society this film is excellent. And please, don't confuse it with Ingmar Bergman's films. They are good in some respects, but this one is more "Swedish" than Bergman ever gets.