Darling

This Swedish movie has had some nice press here. Maybe because of the long time passed, since such a movie was done.

It's about the posh nouveau riche and their empty lives. But it's too pedagogic. Everything starts from scratch, to make the audience understand that the poshs really do have these empty lives, on the contrary to the other main character, the 60-year-old unemployed. He's almost a Jesus figure, getting humiliated in different ways, both by his family and his young employers. But his goodness remains.

You could maybe have swalloved that, but the problem with the poshs is that they somehow are like extras with lines. No real complication here. Just a saga there the end is obvious. Or maybe not. The bus scene in the end suggests something else, but I'm not sure I want to see a "Darling 2".

Poor dialogue, poor directing, poor editing and very poor acting (with one or two exceptions) summons up this film pretty much. I can only assume an actor such as Michael Segerström, one of those who actually performed some acting in this piece, wasn't very proud when he saw the final result. I really can't understand how the film managed to win Nordic Film Prize (Best Film), it scares me a lot to think of the competitors. The dialog often seemed very unnatural, but that might be the result of poor directing/poor acting. The music itself is really good, but it doesn't fit in to the film. Imagine yourself watching a film with only dialogue, and then at the same time listening to music from a totally different context. It's totally weird, and I mean weird in a bad way. This film is nothing but a waste of time.

A Swedish "Lost in translation" light, if you like: Young, spoiled (and seemingly zombie-like) rich girl gets a dose of reality check sliding down the upper-class ladder, as she loses her job, posh friends and is forced to get a menial job at a McDonald's. There she meets and befriends an older, gentle divorcée with a similarly sad past.

Small, satirical urban drama of our time's morals, shallowness and urban alienation is likable for sure, but the sparse, undeveloped info about most of its characters (which of course is the purpose) also gives the movie itself an anonymous feel of sketchiness... and waaay too short a running time to really score. Warm performance by Segerström, though, a promising debut by Meadows and nicely shot in a wintry Stockholm. Most critical point made about our modern city rut of life, is the fact that the almost only human and kind character gets treated the worst!

5 out of 10 from Ozjeppe.

Australia is having a love affair with Swedish cinema and as a person (not Asa Persson) from Australia I found this poignant whimsical satire of the bitch and un-famous quite a delicious social comment prevalent among shallow shop-girl-preppy exec set. This film is about friendship and the emptiness among the 'Desperate Shopgirls' of Stockholm and their equally mean and selfish male counterparts. I really liked the bouncy music score that allowed the viewer to know this is a wry and heartfelt comedy of modern bad manners and social errors. However it also is about just how truly unfair life is for any generation without ramming it home. It is subtle, quiet and very deliberately presented in gorgeous widescreen photography that shows Stocholm as the breathtaking but cold city it really is. I will not give away any plot but if you and your partner are willing to engage your brain with a sophisticated journey of self discovery from unlikely generational mix, then you will have much to discuss. The so called sophisticated bar scene friendships satirised among this pack of unpleasant shallow 30 somethings is genuinely enjoyable. DARLING is quietly excellent.

This is a nice little gem. Accustomed to the normal staple of Swedish film, meaning ham acting, high school morality and utter lack of anything resembling film magic, this was a surprise. Good, subdued acting, a twisting and turning storyline that keeps you unprepared for what's around the corner and a fresh and unsentimental approach to it's subjects makes this "a film for the person who doesn't like Swedish film" as one of my friends said after the film. Add to that some funny and intelligent dialogue with the occasional one-liner and you have a film that is truly enjoyable and lingers in your mind afterwards. During it's one and a half hour it grinds itself slowly into some true and important insights of contemporary life, as well as eternal truths (yeah, really). Could have been a bit longer though, because the end comes about a little abruptly,