Plain forgettable
An odd little film, that does its best to be artsy and stylish, but ends up being very gaudy and kitsch. Alfredson's style certainly stands out, and it's nice to see him try and upgrade what would otherwise have been a very bland drama, but the result doesn't really reflect Alfredson's intentions. After his mother dies, Sven is taken in by Höglund, a rich landowner, forced to work in his factory for free. Sven isn't very happy there, but his luck changes when he meets Anna. He moves in with Anna's family and things are finally looking up, but Höglund isn't willing to let Sven go without a fight. Skarsgård's performance is grossly overstated, the music is overdone, and the light fantasy elements are incredibly kitsch. All that combined made it impossible for me to care about the characters and the drama. I wanted to like this more, Alfredson had some good ideas, but the execution failed on every count.Read all