Fri, Jan 14 / 9pm
Sat, Jan 29 / 2pm
Directed by Roy Andersson
1970, Sweden, 115 mins
Swedish & Spanish w/ English subtitles
Few films have captured the highs and lows of adolescence like Andersson’s first feature. In a small town, teenagers Pår and Annika fall in love. The courtship is awkward and magically brief. It’s the relationship that’s the tough part, as the pair deals with jealousies, rivalries, miscommunication, and hormones. There are few depictions of adolescent humiliation more poignant than when Pår is beaten up by a competitor for Annika’s affection — right in front of her, as his friends look on and do nothing. Neither teen has great adult models to learn from. Most are plagued by debilitating anxiety. Pår’s mother never leaves the house, while Annika’s aunt Eva is desperately lonely. A festive outdoor dinner uniting the two families deteriorates into a class battle between the two fathers. A Swedish Love Story was an enormous hit after screening in competition at Berlin, and very influential. It has inspired filmmakers as different as Finnish director Dome Karukoski (The Grump, Tom of Finland) and Ruben Östlund, one of Andersson’s most passionate fans. Andersson (who has often cited De Sica as his first major influence) would never make a realist film like this again, but the work’s sensibility and moral compass is evident in everything that followed.
Songs from the Second Floor: The Films of Roy Andersson was made possible as part of Nordic Bridges 2022 in collaboration with Harbourfront Centre, Toronto, and TIFF.
