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26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Coming of Age Tale for the Characters and the World, November 6, 2007
This review is from: All Things Fair (DVD)
ALL THINGS FAIR (Lust och fägring stor) turned out to be brilliant Swedish writer/director Bo Widerberg's elegy: after a long history of successful and emotionally captivating films, this film was his last. Watching again some twelve years later gives an entirely different level of appreciation for Widerberg's work. This is a little jewel of a film explores human sexuality at the time of puberty and the enormous impact on the way relationships are viewed, while at the same time it presents a keen insight to the world at war and the equally monstrous side effects in myriad ways.
Malmö, Sweden, 1943. A highschool class of boys is discovering the mysteries of body changes and all-consuming effects puberty has one young teenage men. Outside the classroom World War II threatens and inside the classroom puberty threatens. 15 year old Stig (Johan Widerberg) is a handsome, curious lad from a poor family who discovers his first female attraction in the form of his new 37 year old teacher Viola (Marika Lagercrantz), who, despite the impropriety of the situation added to the fact that she is married to a traveling salesman Kjell (Tomas von Brömssen) who spends his idle hours drinking and listening to classical music in the kitchen, returns the seductive dance and soon the two are in a physically involved affair. The beauty and fresh novelty of their feelings is captured in the most magical way with little dialog, many embarrassed glances, and significant risks that eventually include Kjell's discovery of their trysts. But as the two are discovered many changes occur: Stig's beloved soldier brother Sigge (Björn Kjellman) finally goes off to submarine warfare, Viola becomes less involved and senses the problem she has created, Stig falls under the spell of the tragic Kjell learning music and more from this pathetic man, and Stig finally must face the realities of more proper attraction to Lisbet (Karin Huldt) a girl his own age.
The actors are superb, the settings are atmospheric, and the era of the 1940s Sweden is perfectly represented. Part of the joy of the film is the musical score that varies from a Handel aria during moments love making, to Brahms' 'Ein Deutsches Requiem', to Mahler's 5th Symphony 'Adagietto', to Beethoven's 'Grosse Fugue.' Widerberg makes it all work in a misty yet sensuous manner. It is a film to own and one to watch often. In Swedish with English subtitles. Grady Harp, November 07
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25 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
realism is no excuse, July 13, 2006
This review is from: All Things Fair (DVD)
This is supposed to be a story about an affair between a high school student and his teacher. The events, feelings and interactions that make up that story are just as real as the other things in this movie, yet the movie gives us only brief glimpses of this relationship which add up to a total of maybe five minutes of this two-hour movie. Such a one-sided selection cannot be justified merely on the grounds of realism.
And since even a Swedish film cannot include everything that must have occurred in the character's life during these months, selection has to occur, and that means that some criteria have to be used to make the selections. There is no excuse for including a ten-minute drunken ramble by the husband. There is also no excuse for spending time on Stig's job at the movie theater. Even if they did not come at the expense of the main story (of the relationship), they would not be justified.
On the plus side, the glimpses we do get of the relationship (brief as they are) are effectively done. There is no teasing with the camera (except for the extreme brevity of the nude glimpses).
Also, the handling of the teenage girl was well done and was probably the most moving aspect of this long film.
Bottom line: it's worth watching if you can get it on a rental or borrow it from a friend.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Realistic story, June 26, 2011
This review is from: All Things Fair (DVD)
This is a story about an affair between a young boy student and his pretty teacher. Every so often, you read similar stories in the news in the U.S. but Hollywood (unlike European directors) is generally concerned about producing such movies. It's a very sensitive subject and illegal in many areas. Interesting but strictly for mature audience.
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