Customer Reviews

Ondskan (Evil) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Sweden ]

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The frequent beatings and emotional abuse that Erik Ponti (Andreas Wilson) experiences at home seeps out in the from of rage and rebellious attitude. Erik brings this rage to school where he severally physically assaults a student during recess. The consequences of the assaults expel Erik from from school and his mom decides to send Erik to a reputable boarding school, Stjärnsberg. Stjärnsberg is Erik's last chance to steer his life in the right direction as there is no other school that would accept him. Once at Stjärnsberg Erik learns that the students are kept in line by the older students who exercise their malicious bullying as a tool to educate the younger students in proper manners. This form of abuse is tolerated and accepted by Stjärnsberg's administration as it is the foundation upon which order is enforced in the school. The defiant Erik finds himself in trouble as he does not know how to approach the evil mistreatment, which he resents, as he only knows the way of the fist. Fortunately through the well-read Pierre, Erik's roommate and only true friend, Erik discovers the power of the mind, which he uses as he begins to confront the oppression from old traditions of Stjärnsberg.

Evil is based on a autobiographical book written by the author Jan Guillou, who is also known for the literary adventures of Carl Hamilton, a special forces officer. Jan Guillou is known in Sweden for his books and as an opinion maker as he approaches strong political issues in media and society. Evil deals with some of these political issues as it displays some of the boarding school's ideologies, which stems from Nazism. In essence, Evil is a strong political story that is told in the light of one teenager's tragic upbringing that deals with issues in a micro society, Stjärnsberg. Håfström's cinematic visualization of Guillou's book, Evil, offers a tremendous cinematic experience, which was nominated for Best Foreign Film in 2004.

A true story, set only 15 years after WWII, this is a stunning and shocking film about a young man who, after frequent physical abuse from his stepfather, becomes the schoolyard bully. When he is expelled, he is sent by his mother to a tough Private school, which turns out to be tougher than anyone could possible expect. Some of the teachers are still Nazi's, and the teachers ignore the ritual violence that the school seniors impose on the younger students. This is Eric's last chance in the school system, and has to fight to his core not to react to the violence, but because of the years of abuse he has sustained, he is able to switch off to it. When the bully's recognise this, they becomes more and more extreme, eventually striking out at those he loves in an effort to get to him. The film is very well directed and all the performances are excellent.
I haven't this particular edition, but the basic extras are very interesting, especially the interviews with the writer (who's autobiographical book the film is based on).
And whilst this has nothing to do with the film, Andreas Wilson who plays the lead, is perhaps one of the most beautiful men to grace the screen, and I look forward to seeing more from him.