Glasblåsarns barn

The setting takes place in early 19th century Sweden. Just outside a small forestal village lives Sofia (Pernilla August, recently seen in The Phantom Menace) and Albert (Stellan Skarsgard, Good Will Hunting/Ronin) and their two children. Albert is a glass-blower, but he makes a poor income despite his beautiful creations. Albert just hasn´t got the selling talent it takes, and he often has to push his full cart home from markets. The joy in their lifes are their children, and Pernilla and Stellan manage to create a memorable portrait of two poor but happy parents.

In a lonesome castle lives the Emperor, excellently played by Thommy Berggren, and his wife. He is a somewhat tragicomical character, small and insignificant and completely misplaced as an emperor. His innermost desire is to be loved and respected, but his wife, referred to only as the Empress, despises him and suffers from constant headaches for which she blames him. The Emperor is a truly beautifully crafted character, and as he wanders down his enourmous hallways you can not resist to feel sorry for him.

One day the Emperor decides to go for a ride in his horse-cart. Albert´s two children acts as gate-openers for him, and receives some coins for the work. But the Emperor´s mind gets completely obsessed with the idea of having a pair of nice children in the castle...

The first minutes of this intricate and fascinating saga directly sets a mood that continues throughout the film. A sense of unreality, as in perhaps Ingmar Bergman´s Fanny och Alexander, and it is a mood that fits the movie perfectly. This is originally a tale written by Maria Gripe, one of Sweden´s best in the genre. Although i haven´t read the book, the film captures the essence of great storytelling, and the cast is superb. The film might be a bit scary for younger children to watch alone, so don´t resist to watch it with them.

A bizarre, confusing fairy-tale not really intended for children, "Glasblåsarns Barn" is the kind of film one would wish they could send as an Oscar candidate for best foreign film. It is odd, mysterious and strange - very strange, with characters that defy the imagination: a ruler who can't say "thank you", an enormous, disgusting and evil nanny and a witch take part in this story, set in rural Sweden sometime in the 19th century. Two children are kidnapped by the ruler of a nearby castle, where all memories are lost, just to satisfy his spoiled, self-satisfied but troubled lover and wife. Rebellious and confused, the children are a strain on everyone, and finally a tyrannous nanny is sent for to look after them. Meanwhile, the devastated parents are at a loss for what to do, and seek the help of a witch-like neighbor.

This is craftsmanship - a one-of-a-kind movie with a sense of wonder and mystery. Very moody and heavily symbolic, the fairy tale is brought to lífe by brilliant acting, beautiful camera work and a fascinating story. The actors, Stellan Skarsgård, Pernilla August, Elin Klinga and Ewa Fröling among others, are of the Swedish elite and do their very best in this film. It is sometimes very funny but generally pretty ominous and frightening. Great work.

Terrible story, not logic at all. bad acting, except from Pernilla August and Stellan Skarsgård. I can make a big list of everything that went wrong with this movie. But as said Skarsgård and August does their roles faultless. And the photo is great. But it ends there. The stupidity of this movie will perhaps even be noticed by small kids. This is not for the adult. Really an insult to kids I would say. But perhaps this is even too scary for the kids which has to be the main audience for this flick. The style of this movie reminds me a bit of Narnia or Charlie and the chocolate factory. But with a almost non existing storyline. It hurts me to see such a big budget (at least for Sweden) being thrown away into this mess of a film. I cant understand why any grownup would enjoy this. Its just a terrible movie.

"Glasblåsarns barn" is the most stunningly beautiful Swedish film I have ever seen (yes, I think it's more beautiful than "Elvira Madigan"). The cinematography is great, the production design exquisite, the costume design is brilliant, and the locations are truly beautiful. It's on par with "Sleepy Hollow," really. Not only is it beautiful, it is also a good film. Thommy Berggren is magnificent as Härskaren, and apart from him the film boasts a top notch cast like Stellan Skarsgård and Pernilla August. Even the two kids do great jobs. A wonderful fairy tale for both children (not too young, though) and adults. Highly recommended.

The eternal fight between good and evil.

Well-made with good acting but gloomy and depressing. This is what you would show your kids if you want them to grow up to be Ingmar Bergman.