reiher@ucla-cs.UUCP (04/05/85)
Within the last ten years, the Nordic peoples seem to have
developed a cinematic obsession with children. Or perhaps it was
there for years and I just haven't noticed it until now. At any
rate, within the last three years I have seen 2 Swedish films, 4
Danish films, and an Icelandic film specifically about the prob-
lems and joys of children, and I know of at least one more Danish
film and one Norwegian film which I haven't seen which deal with
the same subject. Now, this accounts for the majority of the new
Scandinavian films I've seen over that time period, so it seems a
little odd. Not that I'm complaining, for, except for the Ice-
landic film, they've all been marvelous and full of wonderful in-
sights, but it is a bit odd.
Unlike Hollywood films, these films deal with real children
in real life, not with children having fantastic adventures. The
filmmakers deal with the true fantasies of childhood, where any
event can be filled with wonder and magic is every bit as real as
getting up in the morning and going to bed at night. "Ake and
His World", a new Swedish film, is particularly adept at dealing
with the fantasy life of a child. Set in a small Swedish city in
the early twentieth century, "Ake and His World" presents us with
the characters and events that face a normal eight year old boy.
Ake is an unremarkable child, but very winning. He comes from a
loving family, his parents are reasonably well off, and disaster
doesn't lurk in the wings. But Ake does see some of the injus-
tices and horrors of the world in his playmates and neighbors,
and he does not live in an idyllic paradise.
"Ake and His World" harks back to a time when the Swedes did
not shut up their mentally disturbed people in asylums. Rather,
the mad and the eccentric were thought of as "originals", and
given a kind of respect. Ake encounters these people, and cruel
religious fanatics, and thoughtless drunkards lost in sorrow, and
loud, frightening peasants, and he views them all with a wide-
eyed acceptance characteristic of a child. While he accepts them
for what they are, Ake is not uncritical. Like all children, he
makes mistakes, and adults can lead him or fool him into error,
but he is fundamentally goodhearted. He sees what is right and
tries to do it, even when it's frightening or difficult.
Allen Edwall, a fine Swedish actor best known for his role
as the sad-eyed father in "Fanny and Alexander", adapted the
script from a popular Swedish novel. Edwall also directed. His
calm pacing and placid camera are perfectly suited to Ake's small
adventures. Edwall excels at giving us a sense of life going on
about the boy. The events shown seem to be typical rather than
overwhelmingly important. Ake's mischievous and irresponsible
prank on a smaller boy, his encounters with a religious bigot,
his helplessness in the face of an elder cousin's madness, his
friend's poverty, are events that will have an effect on Ake's
life, but will not determine his life, just as single incidents
rarely warp our lives. Edwall is a director perfectly suited to
this material, having an immense interest in seeing the world
through the eyes of a child.
Martin Lindstrom is absolutely superb as Ake. Lindstrom is
a very handsome child, looking just as all parents imagine their
children look. He is also possessed of great sincerity, an at-
tribute too often missing from show business children of Holly-
wood. His reactions to the world are immediately plausible and
utterly true, and intelligence and compassion are evident in his
eyes. So, too, is the mischief and unthinking cruelty of chil-
dren. Edwall cast Lindstrom very well, and Lindstrom gives one
of the finest children's performances I have seen. The rest of
the cast is also excellent.
"Ake and His World" is beautifully filmed and evocative of
an earlier, perhaps kindlier world. Its only flaw is inherent in
the material, which is not especially ambitious. "Ake and His
World" has limited, but noble, aspirations, and works very well
within its bounds. Allen Edwall has a quiet competence as a
director, rather than brilliance. His direction suggest funda-
mental limitations on his talents, but that he can produce ex-
tremely pleasing films within his range. His next film is to be
another story of childhood, concerning four abused boys who run
away to become pirates on a lake. Somehow, I look forward to it
a little more than Steven Spielberg's next boy-meets-fantastic-
creature movie.
If there's any justice in film distribution (stop that
laughing over there!), "Ake and His World" should receive wide
distribution. As yet, I have heard of no plans to show it in the
US. Keep your eyes open.
--
Peter Reiher
reiher@ucla-cs.arpa
{...ihnp4,ucbvax,sdcrdcf}!ucla-cs!reiher