Äppelkriget

Anglamark, a rural Swedish town, must become an amusement park, called Deutschnyland. At least, that is the aim of Tore Gustafsson, the entrepreneur of the town. 'It means lots, lots of money. And, finally, we can put this castle on fire.' A rebellious man, a peasant woman with magical powers and an inventor try to thwart the project.

The Apple War is a witty low budget film, which charms the viewer using inventive solutions and enthusiastic actors. It is the kind of creative 'special effect' that nowadays is used by Michel Gondry. The PR man with a growing hat, actually becoming as big as himself. A Stonehenge-like structure changed into a casino.

It is not at all the straightforward satire you might expect, actually quite the opposite. You can describe this as a fairy tale with satirical elements. This makes way for bizarre and unpredictable interludes, as the episode with three simple-minded brothers (Max von Sydow just two years before his big break with The Exorcist). The scene with the man who has a beard that grows against the walls. Or the scene with the peeing giant.

However, the film remains satirical until the end. And you might even call this film prophetic. The Gustafsson's are the boss in this modern day and age. Everywhere you see them destroy beautiful things in order to build their Deutschnylands. 'Old motherland will be... future motherland!' One of the main reasons I think that this film is so enjoyable: it is made with confidence. Director Tage Danielsson and Hans Alfredson were comedians who worked together on films and TV shows since 1956, so they were well experienced in 1971.

I loved this film and recommend this everyone who enjoys obscure and original cinema. I rate it 8/10.

If a movie can be a national anthem, this movie is it - for Swedes and Sweden. Comics Tage and Hasse hit every note right in this remarkable and "lucky" movie. When "Äppelkriget" is shown in Svenska Ord festivals - the whole country turns out. Maybe you have to be Swedish to fully appreciate this wonderful flick - but with music by national bard Evert Taube and a magnificent cast, this movie simply cannot fail!

I loved this film when I first saw it in Seattle at the Egyptian Moore Theater in 1972. The Moore used to run this film regularly, and there was as much a cult following for this film as for Rocky Horror.

Great fun, with giants and other magical bits and pieces conspiring to rid their town of a corporative nightmare, "Deutschneyland, a gigantic amusement park for German tourists." Gentle fun and a lot of laughs.

Although not available on DVD (though I once found a bootleg copy dubbed in German on VHS!), The Apple War would be welcomed by a lot of folks, as would other films of this era, such as "Cat and Mouse" by Claude LeLouch, "The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin," "No, Actually," and many, many others. There were a lot of terrific films and television series made in the 1970s, just prior to video becoming a household commodity, and I feel sure there is a ready market on couches around the world just waiting for their release.

I too saw this film in the 1970s at the Venice Fox, which was then an art house and which has now been re-purposed for auctions or something. They screened it for a week; it was some sort of benefit, and I remember going a second time and dragging a few friends with me. It remains one of my all-time favorite films. My Swedish friend, Lennart, says that it is fairly well-known in Sweden and remains popular--it's a lot of fun but it's also a piece of devastatingly targeted agit-prop. I've been searching for it, on and off, since I saw it, in the face of blank stares from the vast majority of Americans, who have never heard of it, and even from clerks in independent video stores, who think I'm nuts. If only someone would make a DVD with English-language subtitles!

I, like everyone who has ever seen this movie in an art house in the U.S. has fond memories of this film. And yes, it is not available in this country either in English or subtitled in English.

BUT, for die-hards, there is a small sliver of hope. The film (and 3 others are available from a Scandinavian import house. Sorry, only in Swedish or Norwegian. If interested, go to www.skandimport.com. You can order this film and 3 others for the sum of $21.00. Very reasonable.

Unfortunately, I have no idea whether or not the other three films are at the level of the Apple Wars, but if you speak Swedish or Norwegian you may be in for a treat.

Remembering my viewing in Seattle of this film and watching Appelkriget on DVD, it was still a very pleasurable afternoon.