There is something truly magical when you pick up a camera for the first time and see what you saw. It is even more mesmerizing when one takes a journey into a darkroom to watch the photos magically appear in the solution. Even today in this age of digital photography, I immediately look to see how the photo turned out. Often times I am completely surprised at what turns up on the screen.
I had the pleasure of viewing a film which captures these moments . Jan Troell's film, Everlasting Moments makes a difficult situation easier with the aid of a camera.
Based on the real-life story of Troell's wife's grandmother, the film takes us through the life of Maria Larsson (Maria Heiskanen, in a remarkable performance), a belabored mother of a large brood in the early days of the 20th century who finds renewed passion and intellectual independence through a Contessa camera she wins in a lottery. The camera sits for many years unused until one day, Maria takes it into the shop of the local photographer, Sebastien Pederson (Jesper Christensen), to sell it to help pay the rent.
The kindly Pederson shows Maria how to use the camera, and once she starts using it, she begins to see the world through a whole new lens. Finding herself unable to resist continuing to learn and improve her eye as a photographer, Maria becomes obsessed with capturing the little moments of life around her through the miraculous ability to capture living moments in still images.
Although life with perpetually abusive, drunken and philandering husband Sigge (Mikael Persbrandt) is a constant challenge, Maria finds through her photography a measure of independence and dignity that frees her mentally from the grimness of her situation. Soon she finds herself something of a village celebrity, being called upon to capture with her camera everything from Christmas photos of entire families to the Victorian death portrait of a child.
The film, like much of Troell's work, is epic in scope, focusing on working class people against the backdrop of the socialist revolution, worker strikes, poverty and the Great War; at the same time, this film is very intimate and personal, telling the story of this one woman against the broader canvas. Beautifully shot in a muted tone that evokes both the time period and its working-class setting, the film captures both the beauties and tragedies in the lives of Maria and her children, while the finely structured narrative connects the audience with the courageous, deeply empathetic Maria.
The film is very difficult to watch at times; Troell immerses us in Maria's life, in particular her relationship with her violent husband, and it's a bit of an emotional challenge to watch this otherwise intelligent, vibrant woman continue to stay with a man who beats her in violent jealous rages while pursuing other women himself, and even threatening to kill her in front of their children. Fortunately, though, Maria's spunk and spirit are always at the forefront of the tale, and Troell's expert storytelling and some outstanding performances combine to keep the film from feeling overly bleak.
It is up for a 2009 Golden Globe Award for Foreign Language Film. The film premiered during Bergmansveckan on the island of Gotland, in June 2008.
Jan Troell
photo taken by Mihkelsoe
Jan Troell (born July 23, 1931 in Limhamn outside Malmö, Sweden) is an Academy Award-nomiated Swedish film director. Usually, Troell writes his own scripts and serves as his own director of photography. His realistic films with a lyrical photography in which nature is prominent have placed him in the first rank of modern Swedish film directors along with Ingmar Bergman and Bo Widerberg, the former considered best of the three.
Troell's major work in the 1970s became The Emigrants (Utvandrarna, 1971) and its sequel The New Land (Nybyggarna, 1972), two epic films about some peasants emigrating from the barren Swedish countryside to America in the 19th century. Once again, Troell films were based upon the novels of a Swedish working-class author, in this case Vilhelm Moberg's famous Emigrants suite. As in many of Troell's films, Max von Sydow plays one of the major roles. The Emigrants was nominated for several Academy Awards
Troell has also made documentaries, for instance Land of Dreams (Sagolandet, 1988), dealing with modern society's alienation from nature and A Frozen Dream (En frusen dröm, 1997) in which he once again brings up Andrée's polar expedition.
Even in his seventies, Troell remains productive. His recent films include As White as in Snow (Så vit som en snö, 2001), based on the life of Swedish aviatrix Elsa Andersson, a documentary called Presence (Närvarande, 2003), and his latest film Everlasting Moments (Maria Larssons eviga ögonblick, 2008).
Here are some photos from Bergmanveckan 2008. For more information about this years festival please go to: http://www.bergmanveckan.se/html/en/
To the left: Director Margarethe von Trotta on a tour around Fårö. Photo: Jannike Åhlund
To the right: Agneta Ulsäter-Troell, Jan Troell, and their daugther Yohanna Troell stayed for the whole week, taking part of the programme and seeing Fårö. Photo: Jannike Åhlund
To the left: Writer Mikael Timm introduces the radio play Vox Humana, at Gamlehamn’s rauks. Photo: Lova Hagerfors
To the right: Opening night at Lauters. Photo: Lova Hagerfors
To the left: Outside Roy Cinema, audience waiting to see Jan Troell’s Maria Larsson’s Everlasting Moment. Photo: Noomi Riedel
To the right: A stop at the bus tour to Bergman locations. The visitors are watching a scene from Persona, at a monitor in the car trunk, shot exactly where they are standing. Photo: Noomi Riedel
To the left: Four of Bergman Week’s guests, Stig Björkman, Birgitta Steene, Egil Törnqvist, and Mikael Timm. Photo: Jannike Åhlund
To the right: The Björsson family, visitors who won the Ingmar Bergman Quiz. Photo: Jannike Åhlund
To the left: Jan Troell. Photo: Noomi Riedel
To the right: Jörn Donner in Fårö Church, making his opening speech for Bergman Week. Photo: Noomi Riedel
To the left: Exhibition at Kustateljén, around Bergman’s The Ghost Sonata, with, among other things, costume sketches by Anna Bergman, and the dress actress Gunnel Lindblom wore at Dramaten. Photo: Lova Hagerfors
To the right: Allan Ekelund, born in the same year as Bergman, and the production manager of 18 of Bergman’s films. Photo: Jannike Åhlund
