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The Ox

Play trailer The Ox Released Aug 21, 1992 1h 31m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 4 Reviews 70% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
Desperate to feed his wife, Elfrida (Ewa Fröling), and their baby daughter, starving laborer Helge Roos (Stellan Skarsgard) kills an ox belonging to his employer, wealthy farmer Svenning Gustafsson (Liv Ullmann). Helge is caught and jailed, making life even harder for Elfrida and her child. Without the assistance of the fearsome local vicar (Max von Sydow) and Gustafsson's wife (Bjorn Granath), the town's primary charitable benefactor, she must turn to other means to survive.
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The Ox

Critics Reviews

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Quentin Curtis Independent on Sunday Comparisons with Bergman are inevitable, but the guilt and religious intolerance have more in common with the soulful austerity of Carl Dreyer. It's an original, and ought to be seen. Dec 12, 2017 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 3/5 Jun 30, 2005 Full Review Philip Martin Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Rated: 3/5 Jul 30, 2002 Full Review Marc Savlov Austin Chronicle Rated: 4.5/5 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Michael C Evil Evil Crap!!!!!!!!!!! Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 07/10/25 Full Review Audience Member A 1991 Oscar nominee for best foreign-language film, this Swedish moral tale of the hefty wrath a pair of simple farmer parents have to bear for slaughtering the titular mammal to feed their starving baby quietly and heavily ravage hearts. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Ox

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Cast & Crew

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Sven Nykvist

Director

Max von Sydow

Vicar

Ewa Fröling

Elfrida Roos

Stellan Skarsgård

Helge Roos

Liv Ullmann

Maria Gustavsson

Björn Granath

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The Ox

The Ox (1991) The Ox (1991) The Ox (1991) The Ox (1991) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Desperate to feed his wife, Elfrida (Ewa Fröling), and their baby daughter, starving laborer Helge Roos (Stellan Skarsgard) kills an ox belonging to his employer, wealthy farmer Svenning Gustafsson (Liv Ullmann). Helge is caught and jailed, making life even harder for Elfrida and her child. Without the assistance of the fearsome local vicar (Max von Sydow) and Gustafsson's wife (Bjorn Granath), the town's primary charitable benefactor, she must turn to other means to survive.
Director
Sven Nykvist
Distributor
First Run
Production Co
Nordisk Film- & TV-Fond, Sweetland Films, Sandrews, Nordisk Film, Josephson & Nykvist HB, SVT Drama, Svenska Filminstitutet
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Swedish
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 21, 1992, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Jun 10, 2019
Runtime
1h 31m
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