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| This elegant, slightly literary poster for Bo Widerberg's Elvira Madigan highlights one of its picturesque scenes |
A beautiful Danish line dancer falls in love with a deserted Swedish officer, but the two are soon found.
Elvira Madigan is written and directed by Bo Widerberg (Man on the Roof/Mannen på Taket (1976), based on the real-life 19th century legend of Hedvig Jensen (stage name Elvira Madigan) and Sixten Sparre.
The film has some enormously picturesque scenes in the Danish landscapes, which have a still-life idyllic quality to them, (cinematography by Jörgen Persson (A Song for Martin/En Sång för Martin (2001)), and together with the Mozart and Vivaldi music, a - for cinema - rare lyrical force is felt.
Elvira Madigan portrays a delicate infatuation, SPOILER one with a fatal end which I feel like Widerberg himself may have also grappled with understanding. In any case the film has too much silence and distance to its two lovers, SPOILER and thus their tragic decision of mutual suicide never becomes really comprehensible for us. - Why, for instance, don't they simply choose to flee South, into Germany?
Watch a 3 minute scene from the film here
Cost: Unknown
Box office: 2.1 mil. $ (North America only)
= Uncertainty - but considered a big hit
[Elvira Madigan was released 24 April (Sweden) and runs 91 minutes. Widerberg cast 17 year-old Pia Degermark (The Looking Glass War (1970)) as the title character after having seen her photo in a newspaper. Shooting took place in Sweden, including Stockholm, and in Northern Jutland, Denmark. The film hit a nerve in its time with its sensual, romantic tale of young rebels and was a big hit. Unfortunately records of its grosses in markets outside of North America are not available. The film won Degermark the Best Actress Award in Cannes; it was nominated for two Golden Globes and two BAFTAs and won two National Board of Review awards. Widerberg returned with tennis documentary The White Match/Den Vita Sporten (1968) and strike drama Adalen 31/Ådalen 31 (1969). Degermark returned in A Brief Season/Una Breve Stagione (1969), but her movie career fizzed out fast. 2,180 IMDb users have given Elvira Madigan a 7.5/10 average rating.]
What do you think of Elvira Madigan?
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