Trädgårdsgatan

Garden Lane has been on my radar for some time. Simon J. Berger never fails to impress and Karin Franz Körlof went on an extreme weight loss programme to play addict Linda authentically.

This is a thought-provoking, moving and at times painful watch of toxic love that two damaged people have for each other. That they recognise this and try (sometimes failing) to do something about it, I found very affecting - not least because of the impact it has on their children, Eric and Elin, through whose eyes, as adults, this story is told.

I thought Simon and Karin made Peter and Linda very real. The last twenty minutes especially are powerfully moving with Eric and Elin, now adults, piecing together their final memories of their childhoods. You may need tissues.

This is not a huge budget film with a big cast, and it does not need to be. It is an honest, stripped bare look at 2 people who, for a short time, tried to make a family work with their respective children. The film is based on the childhood memories of one of the producers. It is beautifully made, powerfully acted and yes, recommended.

A tragic upbringing told trough a really weak storyline. It repeats itself trough the story eventough it's told trough present time. A harsh childhood with abuse and drugs. But the director fails miserably to get any feelings for the stories victims. If this was shown on tv I would have changed the channel.

Trädgårdsgatan - Garden Lane

The title may not reveal all that much and might even seem boring, but be warned, the cover reveals little. I selected this movie because of the sheer subtlety in storytelling set out in the leaflet of the local film Festival I was at. Imagine: early Sunday morning, going to the movie theater, being confronted with 2 time lines: the now and the past. The story of the past that is set out sucked me in almost instantly and only a few glimpses of the now intertwine (it almost felt as interfering with the ongoing story). Although all that had happened may not be for the frail of heart, it had an enthralling quality to it with lives being lived just as they come along, happiness coming and going. Gradually we get some hints of what happens in the now, but how is it connected? Nevertheless I kept wanting to just skip back to the past, that bit is really intriguing. And it didn't disappoint, the past told most of the story about 2 children and their parents, struggling with acceptance, love, (drug) abuse, but mainly day-to-day survival and the hard choices that need to be made. In the end the present intertwined and it delivered the final piece to the puzzle, leaving me breathless. Life is just happens to you and it can be so... Unexpected. For me this was a great way to start my Sunday.

This might well stand up there with all of the Swedish greats, which is not to say a small success. Attested by its Guldbagge nominations.

Told in two parallell storylines, it conveys a great sense of both the joys and the ending of youth, as well as coming to grips with your harmful past.

The performances are great from everyone involved and you really feel for all of these characters, it's by no means black or white.

Overall, it's artistically done with a good sense of cinematography and character writing.

Should definitely by experienced by everyone!