Vingar av glas

Excellent new trend in Swedish cinema, drama/comedy of the clash between cultures. Have got more than one thing in common with Josef Fares´ "Jalla! Jalla!" (Sweden) and Damien O'Donnell´s "East is east" (UK). Greater depth, and more nuances, in "Vingar av glas", while "Jalla! Jalla" is the funnier and more charming. "East is east", while still a good film, can not quite compete.

'Vingar av glas' is one of the most recent Swedish movies describing the life of the 'new Swedes' and their situation in society.

This movie is about a girl called Nazli, exquisitely performed by actress Sara Sommerfeld. Nazli's dad is a rather conservative muslim who wants Nazli to marry the son of the father's friend. Nazli however has no interest of getting married, she wants to live like a normal Swedish teenager, which means going out a lot, partying, etc.

This is the 'plot' of the movie, even though things get more intense when Nazli hooks up with Johan (played by Alexander Skarsgård, son of Stellan Skarsgård). Johan hasn't got a job, is in financial trouble and is something of a small 'thug'. Naturally, Nazli's dad does not approve of the young couple and a series of family conflicts begin.

If you've seen a few Swedish movies on this topic before, there isn't really anything new for you to find here, the story is rather basic, which doesn't mean it isn't interesting at all, and the performance of the two main characters make this movie well worth seeing in my opinion.

A good swedish movie. Though Skarsgård gives a fine performance, as always, it is Said Oveissi (who plays the role of Nazli´s father) who is the exception from so many other films. Each scene he is in is a treat, an he pulls down some real good laughs too during the first half of the movie.

Nazli, an 18 year old girl with Persian origin, tries to break away from her father who has decided that she should marry her older cousin. She falls in love with a Swedish guy, something that her father dislikes and tries to prevent. Director Reza Baggher has said that this movie was inspired by "Romeo and Juliet", but the parallels are few and the differences aren't especially good either. Sara Sommerfeld does her best to help this mostly hopeless script, but that doesn't help. How much I tried to find good things in this movie, I couldn't and gave up. The directing is poor and the cinematography is rather bad. And what did the title ("Wings of Glass" translated into English) have to do with the happenings? Rating: 4/10

Vingar av glas is one of the best Swedish films in recent years. It is funny, sad, uplifting, heartbreaking. As Jalla! Jalla! this film centers around arranged marriages, but the two movies treat the topic differently. Jalla! Jalla! is a comedy while Vingar av glas is a comedy drama. The latter is also the better film of the two since it does bring up serious aspects of being a Swedish teenager with immigrant parents.

I have never thought Alexander Skarsgård is a good actor. However, in this film he delivers a fine performance. Sara Sommerfeld and Said Oveissi are also great. (7/10)