All Things Fair

I caught this film on Canadian television, and I was startled by the risque content being broadcast on a non-pay station. This is a story of a growing adolescent boy in a war-torn Europe. The focus of the movie is in the complex relationships he holds with the people in his life. The controversial nature may deter the more conservative American; however, the characters are well-rounded and acted and the cinematography is superb. I have a feeling this director may be famous in his home country, there is a touch of epic brilliance in the movement of the scenes.

This is the life most men wish they had - an affair with their teacher. But all were not so pretty as the one in here. It's a coming of age story set in a time when men were going off to die in wars and those left behind were trying to make sense of it all in a society that was slowly crumbling. More complicated than now but still relevant in today's youth. All handled brilliantly by the Swedish director, Bo Widerberg, who loves to tell his tales in sensual lighting and locations. He sometimes tends to go soapy but held it in line for hi last work of art. Hewas to pass away a couple of years later. But he left us with another tender story for the soul.

"All Things Fair" is a strange kind of film because it is always transforming itself. While it always remains a coming-of-age film it ranges in its focus, touching on many different expressions. Obviously this makes it hard to categorise, hard to follow, hard to analyse, and all this seems to add up to a good thing. It starts out so luridly that I thought I was in for a Swedish version of "Private Lessons" but somehow it manages to continually evolve into something quite else. The changes in pace and locus give the narrative a certain elliptical feel which consolidate the nostalgic representation. Pretty good performances all round and some unexpected twists in the tale make it well worthwhile.

I watched this movie by VCD and was so greatly touched by it that I watched it over and over again. There are much more I could feel than what I can put down for now. I really would like to know more about the story, its background and any information about the excellent actors and actress. What I have downloaded from the Internet was far from enough, even worse, most of them are written in Swedish. This totally denied me from having a better understanding of the movie. Unfortunately, I failed to get a Swedish-English/Chinese dictionary to help me out. (There is only a very brief one in Shanghai Foreign Book Trader with a price as high as 260 RMB).

With all my knowledge so far, I think this movie is great in depicting how a youngster copes with whatever comes to him. Despite the sadness and confusion that he has gone through, he also gets the strength out of a kind of impotency. I really admire these artists of their talent in showing us the richness of life and in an elegant and natural way. In my eyes, there should be two kinds of arts: one is what "is", and the other is what "should be". As far as I've seen, many movies are relegated to what is not and what should not be. I just want to ask a favor to whomever you are, if you can help me with a Swedish dictionary and more about the movie. Of course, most importantly, your personal opinion about it.

Rape is rape. The "love scenes" are rape. Imagine if the genders were reversed or both the teacher an the child were male, you would see it clearly as rape. Teachers have authority and power over children and just like in the US -- in Sweden it is legally rape for a teacher in a school to have sex with a minor child who attends that school. There is no age under 18 where a minor may consent with a teacher

Again if the genders were reversed in this and it were some 35 or 40 year old guy teacher and his 15-year-old girl student would we be saying, as some reviewers here are, that the "love scenes were "tender" and "beautiful." WTF?