Miraklet i Gullspång

From the first scene with the director demanding that her subjects "perform" in a certain way rather than just tell the story as it happened to them, alarm bells went off for me.

I was initially intrigued by the promise of some kind of miracle happening, an almost unbelievably serendipitous meeting of long-lost family... Sounded amazing until it wasn't.

So many questions arose that were not only never answered, the answers were never pursued! Questions arose, floated in the air, then left to drop with no explanation.

Some reviews claim this is a brilliant documentary... Maybe they watched a different version where intelligent people encountered an intriguing mystery, pursued answers and brought it all to a satisfying, fully explained conclusion. But that was not what happened in this pile of confusion and frustration.

An utter waste of time.

...just more reasonably gullible, possibly ignorant, most likely disingenuous and sadly perhaps even desperate zealots with their minds clouded by their own conviction, attempting to fabricate a narrative around disconnected details - not even haphazardly found as depicted but obviously specifically dug after and selected for the prime purpose "documentaries" alike pursue - and then laboriously trying to fit them into the presupposed mould carved out by wishful thinking of the director with the intent to flog off a story for individuals proned to religious woo.

Very disheartening to come to realize such sensationalism riding ghost stories are still produced as if were they valid by any rational standards thus remotely anchored in a shared reality. And heartrending is they have a market.

A great movie if you like mystery movies with documentary vibes. The director did a great work with the material she had, also working with normal people has no experience and getting this final result tells you everything about the amazing work done by the director and how much effort. The movie will always make you wonder and question everything specially when it starts to play with you back and forward. I was lucky to watch the movie and have a Q&A with the director after. I think this movie can continue with a follow up in the future which the director said it is always a possibility, also she added that there are some future projects will build on this story but adding some fiction which I think will be interesting to see. Finally she mentioned that movie took 5 years of working which is wow.

Someone is lying. Or maybe everyone is. The Gullspång Miracle, a documentary, begins with an incredible story, and keeps delivering twists and turns, even after the credits start. I give the filmmaker Maria Frederiksson credit for not trying to manipulate the odd-shaped facts which are uncovered to fit a clear narrative. The audience, like Frederiksson, never finds out exactly who is trustworthy and who is hiding something. But everyone cannot be telling us the whole truth.

This is documentary film making at its finest. The cinematography, editing, and especially the score work together to make each twist hit hard. Each person in the film understands the world in their own way, and none of their stories are consistent with all of the facts. Each of them must decide what they believe about the past and who they really are. They must also decide what they tell the others. And what they don't.

In addition to its craft, it is refreshing to watch a film primarily featuring people older than sixty, and mostly women. This may be the only film I have ever seen that fails the reverse Bechdel test. Two men never once speak to each other in the film.

This first-class documentary deserves far more acclaim than it has won already. It is a tragedy it is not yet on wider release, or streaming anywhere. If it is playing near you, don't miss seeing it while you can.

Brilliant documentary. Fascinating tale. Beautifully shot. I feel so lucky to have stumbled across this via BBC storyville. It definitely makes me want to make a documentary of my own. Not sure what the other guy who left a review is on about. The story is strong and the director does a great job of following the organic twists and turns that come up. Ticks all the boxes for what a great documentary should be. Does a great job have handling family drama in an appropriate way. Definitely worth a watch if you can get it. Well done to everyone involved in this film, you should be very proud of yourselves.