melbow

One of the most anticipated movies this year, Tillsammans offers a moving, funny, and evocative document of life in the mid-70s. Set in Stockholm, its story follows the interconnected lives of the residents of a left-wing community and captures the difficulties of building and keeping relationships in a crowded environment.

Writer-director Lukas Moodysson's follow-up to the hugely acclaimed debut Fucking Åmål (a.k.a. Show Me Love) presents a definite crowd-pleaser and a sharp piece of story-telling (closer to British East is East than The Ice Storm). Tillsammans (=together) effectively develops its central theme of friendship and strong solidarity blending 70s nostalgia, sexuality, curiosity, loneliness, and hilarious comedy into an engaging emotional quilt. Once again confirming Moodysson's knack for conveying human emotions and creating hugely likeable characters.

The performances are uniformly excellent (by an almost completely unknown cast) -outstanding are Lisa Lindgren (Elisabeth) igniting the screen as a self-discovering mother, Sten Ljunggren (Birger) as a lonely depressed old man, Gustaf Hammarsten (Göran) as the biggest namby-pamby ever seen, Michael Nyqvist (Rolf) as an alcoholic and abusive father and Jessica Liedberg as the new-born lesbian Anna.

The sense of time and place are never lost in this witty, dramatic story filled with historical references and Moodysson's hand-held documentary style heightens the real feel no end.

Funny, recognizable and on occasion deeply moving, this is Swedish cinema actually worth shouting about. Tillsammans is simply one of the greatest films of the last several years and regarding the strong audience response at the screening I attended, it will no doubt enjoy a long career and attract a mass audience. I can't wait for Moodysson's next film project.

Relying on Julia Roberts comic talent and inexhaustible charm, director Garry Marshall teams up with the Pretty Woman leads for another romantic comedy.

This time columnist Richard Gere heads for the small-town to find the woman who indirectly had him fired. She, Julia Roberts, is the Runaway Bride i.e. she repeatedly runs from the altar at the last possible moment. Intrigued, Gere wants to prove that she's only having a laugh when rejecting the future husbands.

Spicing the Marnie-like story (Remember the Hitchcock classic?) with the usual small-town clichés, cheap humour and some really daft supporting characters, Garry Marshall tries to create a witty, warm look at roundabout relationships. But Runaway Bride results in an end product that's not even half as funny as it seems to think it is. Joan Cusack does her tiring In or Out character and Gere's acting extends only as far as an ability to convincingly look peering. And yes, Julia Roberts is pretty when she's chewing gum and she has a funny giggle when she falls. But why overdo it? Besides, if a woman rejected four guys in a row at the altar and was the laughing stock of the whole town, you'd tell her to leave the place and never get married. Wouldn't you?

Runaway Bride was never going to escape comparisons with Notting Hill. However, while certainly as appealing, Runaway Bride is far less amusing, lacking in the edgy dialogue, interesting characters and the absorbing plot.

Unlike the delightful and very funny Notting Hill, the other blockbuster romantic comedy this year Runaway Bride is instantly forgettable on every possible level.

This sharply-scripted debut comedy comes off largely by virtue of writers-directors-actors Fredrik Lindström and Felix Herngrens' remarkable ability to create funny situations and hugely likeable characters.

Felix Herngren plays Frank, a bored 30-year-old lawyer whose life crisis prompts him to an affair with a young art student he meets at his eccentric friend's (Fredrik Lindström) art gallery. Frank's wife on the other hand falls for the suave journalist Georg played by Mikael Persbrandt.

Through a consistent use of voice-overs blending Frank's sexual fantasies, obsessions and guilty conscience we follow his search of an eventful, unpredictable new life.

Cecilia Ljung is particularly good as Nenne's increasingly worried best friend Rosie, Persbrandt hilarious as her unfaithful husband and Härenstam brilliant as Frank's prim , dry boss. But the film belongs to the excellent Felix Herngren, funny and moving in an apt and well-written part.

One of the best Swedish comedies in recent years.