In conjunction with the exhibition, Women's Work, Women's Dreams: A Century of Swedish Women's Arts, The William Benton Museum of Art at UConn is launching a WEEKEND SWEDISH FILM FESTIVAL beginning October 10 with two of Ingrid Bergman's earliest films. The festival is running on SATURDAYS & SUNDAYS through November 15.
WEEKEND SWEDISH FILM FESTIVAL
Free admission • Showings begin at 1:15 pm
NOTE: These films have English subtitles. Many of them are not rated and may contain adult themes, nudity, disturbing subjects, sexual references and/or violence.
THEME FOR OCTOBER 10 & 11: This weekend features two early Swedish movies with a young Ingrid Bergman before Hollywood discovered her.
• Saturday, October 10: The Count of the Old Town (Munkbrogreven), 1935 - Ingrid Bergman's first film is a romantic comedy, where the old town of Stockholm has been plagued with a number of robberies and Elsa (Bergman) thinks her new young man may be involved.
• Sunday, October 11: Swedenhielms, 1935 - The Swedenhielms, an old aristocratic family, are sliding towards financial ruin unless Father Rolf wins the Nobel Prize and, while he has been nominated many times before, he is likely to lose again. This comedy/moralistic drama is Bergman’s third film.
THEME FOR OCTOBER 17 & 18: Two very popular movies from the husband and wife team of Helena Bergström and Colin Nutley. Shot on location in Kölingared, in western Sweden, there are wonderful scenes of the Swedish countryside.
• Saturday, October 17: House of Angels (Änglagård), 1993 - A sleepy Swedish village is turned upside down when two exotic strangers arrive for the summer. The townsfolk quickly divide into two camps: one embraces the couple while the other wants to run them out of town.
• Sunday, October 18: House of Angels: The Second Summer (Änglagård--Andra Sommaren), 1994 - A sequel to Saturday's film. This time, Zak and Fanny are welcomed as neighbors but the unexpected threatens to ruin their summer vacation.
THEME FOR OCTOBER 24 & 25: This weekend it's love, Swedish style. Directors Ingmar Bergman and Colin Nutley explore relationships between men and women, each from their own distinctive points of view.
• Saturday, October 24: Winter Light (Nattvardsgästerna), 1962 - In this provocative and semi-autobiographical film, Bergman focuses on his recurring themes of the love of God and love between men and women.
• Sunday, October 25: Under the Sun (Under Solen), 1998 - A tale of Olof, a hardworking farmer who advertises for a housekeeper, secretly hoping for more than a servant. When a mysterious city woman responds, it creates life-changing conflict.
THEME FOR OCTOBER 31 & NOVEMBER 1: Celebrate Halloween with a early Swedish horror film about witchcraft. For contrast, THE second film is one of the newest Swedish action films.
• Saturday, October 31: Häxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages, 1922 - A documentary about the history of witchcraft, told in a variety of styles, from illustrated slideshow to dramatized events of alleged real-life events, right up to the early 20th century when the film was made. Despite being an important classic film, it remains controversial and offensive today for its anti-Catholic prejudices and disturbing images.
• Sunday, November 1: The Third Wave (Den Tredje Vågen), 2003 - Tough cop Johan Falk decides to leave the police department and move away from the city for a more peaceful life, but things don't go as planned, he finds himself embroiled in a fast-paced, bullet-riddled adventure.
THEME FOR NOVEMBER 7 & 8: This weekend present two very different looks at Swedish Police—one a serious drama and the other a comedy--in two very different Swedish communities.
• Saturday, November 7: Man on the Roof (Mannen på Taket), 1976 - Based on the novel by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, Stockholm Detective Martin Beck is called to the hospital to investigate the grisly murder of police Lieutenant Nyman who was known for his brutality and corruption.
• Sunday, November 8: Kopps, 2003 - Since the police in the sleepy town of Högboträsk have it easy, three cops spend their time eating waffles, drinking coffee, or in Benny's case, daydreaming of American style shoot-outs -- until the station is slated for closure. Quietly, they begin their own crime wave, with chaotic and unpredictable results.
THEME FOR NOVEMBER 14 & 15: This weekend two comedies tackle the unfunny premise of dealing with a parent’s mortality. Underneath the humor are touching stories and the meaning of families.
• Saturday, November 14: Dreaming of Rita (Drömmen om Rita) 1993 - When a recent widower suffers a mild stroke, he sets out on one last adventure—to find Sabine, a Rita Hayward lookalike he loved 30 years earlier. His daughter Rita reluctantly joins him, and in the process the two forge a wonderful father-daughter relationship.
• Sunday, November 15: My Life as a Dog (Mitt Liv som Hund), 1985 - Ingemar, a Swedish Dennis the Menace, becomes lost and confused when his once warm and doting mother becomes sick, impatient and distant. When she can no longer care for him, Ingemar is sent to live with family out in the countryside where the quirky townsfolk take him into their hearts and allow him to come to terms with loss.
