Raven's End

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Audience Member In the mid 1930s Sweden, Anders (Thommy Berggren) is dreaming about becoming a writer while working in a factory. He lives with his parents in a poor neighbourhood of Malmö and he is becoming more and more frustrated over his life situation. His father (Keve Hjelm) is an alcoholic whose desire for upper class respectability keeps him from taking working class positions, while his mother (Emy Storm) struggles as a washing woman to earn enough money for the family's survival. Anders sends a script for a book he has written about the block they live in to a publisher in Stockholm. He is asked to come to Stockholm and discuss the book, which makes his father excited. But the publisher doesn't want to publish the book, and when Anders returns he feels humiliated. Eventually Anders turns to the girl next door, Elsie, for sympathy and becomes pregnant with Anders' child. When she wants Anders to marry her, he sees his life unfolding like his parents' and has to decide whether to give up hope and raise a family or head to Stockholm for a more hopeful future... This was the swedish director Bo Widerberg´s second feature film and it was praised when in came out in 1963. The film was shot on location in a run-down Malmö block, that was soon to be demolished. Locals were used as extras to strengthen the feeling of authencity. Keve Hjelm was awarded the swedish Guldbagge for Best Actor. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It was also entered into the official selection at the 1964 Cannes Film Festival, competing for the Palme d'Or. This black and white feature has an electric vibe throughout the movie and the acting is really top-notch from all the main actors. Almost every scene keeps you totally focused and you can relate to Anders frustration. Malmö is my hometown and it´s really nice to see how it looked ten years prior to my birth. Bo Widerberg was a director with massive passion, belief in his own ideas and with true dynamics. A man that would stop for nothing and he showed as well how to manage totally different genres as a director in a very convincing way. I really liked "Kvarteret Korpen" and it´s time for me to go through everything Bo Widerberg directed. R.I.P Bo Widerberg 1930 - 1997. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Audience Member Not my favorite Widerberg work, but Thommy Berggren is always Thommy Berggren. Well worth seeing. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Raven's End

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