La fille aux jacinthes

This production boasts an excellent display of drama characteristic of the time and place. Ulf Palme plays with vigour a writer turn detective and his hunt for answers to his questions not only depicts a perfect setting but also one of the few movies that are bluntly realistic. Not only the joyful aspects of life rather the edgy truth of post-war Sweden.

"Girl With Hyacinths" (1950) has been voted as one of the ten best Swedish films of all time, and has been praised by Ingmar Bergman himself. I admit that, up until the final minutes, I thought it was fine but overrated: a melancholic, flashback-laden drama with an intriguing, puzzlelike structure, but theatrical in an old-fashioned manner, giving "the stage" to each of the supporting characters in turn to chew the scenery, which they do. I did like the couple of amateur "detectives" - they had a bit of a Nick-and-Nora thing going on. What really elevates the movie is the ending, when everything comes together and simple words said earlier in the movie acquire a second meaning. Definitely worth sticking around for. *** out of 4.