Miraklet i Gullspång

...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.

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.

Pointless story told in an overly dramatic way by a filmmaker who can't handle when their project takes a disappointing turn. It feels like the cast are used as puppets and in the end nothing gets resolved. Don't waste your time watching this. There's no mystery in the filmmaking, only cheap tricks to build some suspense to keep you watching. But it never gets truly interesting because the story lacks substance. It only exists in the head of the main characters and the filmmaker. The problem of this documentary is that it's constructed in a way that emphasises excitement of the story when there is none. Why not slow down and let people interact on their own?

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.

I see how this happened.

A surprising coincidence sparks an idea for a doco, that will slowly reveal itself. Except it doesn't, because really nothing much happens here.

I have worked on BBC documentaries that have been dropped because you realise the story simply doesn't warrant continuing. I thing the director's increasingly shrill interjections in the latter parts suggest that they are aware of this also.

When I think of how high the bar is set by Storyville with work like 'The Gatekeepers', 'Navalny', 'Raising a School Shooter' and 'I Will Be Murdered', I am astonished this was screened in the Storyville slot, if you miss the last 20 minutes, don't worry, nothing happens.