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Together Lukas Moodysson Eager to escape her abusive husband, a suburban housewife gathers her two children and retreats to a commune in Stockholm run by her brother. Awash in the laid-back, mid-1970's vibe of free love, free thought, nudity, and recreational drug use, the crazy commune turns out to be less-than-ideal for its new members. Director Lukas Moodysson (Show Me Love) lends an essential dose of humanity to the absurdity, creating very real characters, touching moments and well-deserved laughs. "Relaxed, intimate, wonderfully clear-eyed and altogether charming" (Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times). In Swedish with English subtitles. Sweden, 2000, 107 mins. DVD $37.95
All Things Fair Bo Widerberg A young man and his teacher become wrapped up in an extremely volatile romance in the impressive final film from director Bo Widerberg (Elvira Madigan), who died two years after its release. Set in Sweden during WWII, the coming-of-age story unfolds as 15-year-old Stig (Johan Widerberg, Bo's son) falls madly in love with his older, married teacher, Viola (Marika Lagercrantz), who readily returns the boy's affections. The relationship takes a bitter, violent turn when Stig attempts to break it off. Winner of the Blue Angel and Silver Bear Awards at the 1966 Berlinale Film Festival. The DVD is letterboxed, and includes director and actor filmographies and liner notes by film critic Wheeler Winston Dixon. In Swedish with English subtitles. Sweden, 1995, 125 mins. DVD $37.95
The Dancer Donya Feuer Called "the ballet world's equivalent of Hoop Dreams" (Miami Herald), this documentary follows young ballerina Katja Bjourner on her journey as a student at The Royal Swedish Ballet School as she develops toward a promising professional career. Swedish with English subtitles. Sweden, 1994, 96 mins. Videocassette $44.95 DVD Pre-Order - NOT YET RELEASED - Release Date 05/24/2005 $44.95
Dreaming of Rita Jon Lindstrom A surreal story centered on a young mother named Rita (played by the engaging Marika Lagercrantz), who bears a striking resemblance to the haunting Rita Hayworth. When her mother dies, her widowed father becomes obsessed with finding his lost love, the Rita for whom his daughter was named, who also resembles the Hollywood icon. Mixing comic concepts, this screwball romantic comedy is funny, lyrical, and even contemplative. This film also manages to comment on both child rearing and parental responsibility. Swedish with English subtitles. Sweden, 1994, 108 mins. Videocassette $44.95
Elvira Madigan Bo Widerberg A modern classic. Elvira (Pia Degermark) is a tightrope artist, and Sixten Sparre (Thommy Berggren), an aristocratic army officer who abandons a promising career for a rapturous affair with Elvira. In the idyllic Swedish countryside they are promptly ostracized for breaking the moral code and the film ends tragically. Lyrical, nostalgic and moving, with beautiful use of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21. Swedish with English subtitles. Sweden, 1967, 95 mins. Videocassette $44.95 DVD $44.95
Expectations Daniel Bergman Daniel Bergman (Sunday's Children), son of the legendary Ingmar Bergman, takes his own ground as a filmmaker with this engrossing drama of six interwoven tales. Inspired by Robert Altman's Short Cuts, with a screenplay by Reidar Jonsson (My Life as a Dog), the film follows a couple about to divorce, a young man trying to reconcile with his father, two young lovers, and an older man and woman about to begin an affair. A poignant look at the struggles of everyday life. In Swedish with English subtitles. Sweden, 1997, 95 mins. Videocassette $44.95
Faithless Liv Ullmann With the understanding only intimacy can bring, Liv Ullmann brings to the screen Ingmar Bergman's unsparingly honest script about an infidelity from his past. Although fictional in some respects, there is no effort to mask the autobiographical nature of the story (a central character's name is Bergman), nor any attempt to soften what is clearly a harsh self-critique. Erland Josephson (Scenes from a Marriage) plays Bergman, who calls upon his muse - the ghost of a former lover - to share her reasons for having the affair that now haunts him so. "It looks just as Bergman might have filmed it: formal, precise and demanding of its cast an astonishing surrender to a gallery of unflinching close-ups" (Philip Strick, Sight & Sound). With Lena Endre (Best Intentions), Krister Henriksson and Thomas Hanzon (Private Confessions). In Swedish with English subtitles. Sweden, 2000, 142 mins. DVD $44.95
Good Evening Mr. Wallenberg Kjell Grede A moving and sensitive portrait of Raoul Wallenberg, the heroic Swedish businessman who saved thousands of Jews from extermination in Nazi-dominated Hungary. Despite his amazing courage and luck in his self-appointed mission, his own fate remains a mystery. Stellan Skarsgard stars as Wallenberg. "The most passionate and best re-creation of Wallenberg and his moment. Skarsgard is merely perfect" (The New York Post). In Swedish, German and Hungarian with English subtitles. Sweden, 1990, 115 mins. Videocassette $37.95 DVD $44.95
Gorilla Lar Henrik Ottoson This Swedish documentary/drama grafts the story of a white hunter and a beautiful Swedish photographer on to some fascinating documentary footage. See dancing Watusis, pygmies in the jungle, elephants, rhinos, snakes, and the 640-pound gorilla that can sit anywhere it wants. Filmed in the Belgian Congo (now Zaire). Swedish with English subtitles. Sven Nykvist co-directs. Sweden, 1956, 79 mins. Videocassette $44.95
I Am Curious--Yellow/I Am Curious--Blue Vilgot Sjoman This set contains both I Am Curious features - groundbreaking films that shocked American viewers with their nudity and sexual content while also playing with narrative and documentary conventions. In I Am Curious--Yellow (121 mins.), a sociologist explores issues of class and politics in Swedish society while having a passionate affair that leads to sex in several interesting locations, including in front of the Royal Palace. I Am Curious--Blue (107 mins.) also links sexual and political themes, moving out to the deserted wilderness to look at a less modern Sweden. The colors in the titles refer to the country's flag. The first film caused a scandal when it was seized by U.S. customs agents and declared "indecent" in a trial. When that verdict was overturned the film was released and became a box office hit, marking a new era of liberal sexuality in film. This is a two-disc Criterion Collection edition set and includes a director's introduction and commentary, a documentary and interviews about the censorship trials, an essay by critic Gary Giddins, excerpts from Sjoman's Self Portrait documentary, trailers and more. Swedish with English subtitles. Sweden, 1967, 228 mins. DVD $59.95
I, A Woman Mac Ahlberg This is the Swedish classic that American couples, in search of cinematic titillation, came flocking to in the '60s. Siv, a gorgeous and restless young woman, revolts against her fanatically religious folks and searches for sexual fulfillment. Dubbed in English. Sweden, 1966, 80 mins. Videocassette $44.95
Inga (Jag - En Oskuld) Joseph Sarno This provocative exploitation film about a young girl's sexual awakening made an international sex symbol out of its star, former ballerina Marie Liljedahl. Liljedahl plays Inga, a nubile girl who goes to live with her aunt and disrupts the household with her sensual presence. The film seems rather mild by today's standards, but Inga created an uproar upon its original release due to the title character's sexual activity. The videocassette includes the "uncut" English language version, theatrical trailers and outtakes; the DVD contains both the "uncut" English and "uncut" Swedish language versions, theatrical trailers, outtakes, commentaries, interviews, full color booklet and more. Sweden, 1967, 86 mins. Videocassette $37.95 DVD $37.95
June Night Per Lindberg One of Ingrid Bergman's first screen appearances features Bergman as a promiscuous young woman exposed when she becomes the victim of a shooting accident in her small town. Swedish with English subtitles. Sweden, 1940, 90 mins. Videocassette $44.95 DVD $44.95
Kitchen Stories Bent Hamer A wonderfully odd and sardonic little comedy, Kitchen Stories explores the friendship that develops between a scientist and a test subject who meet during a study of Norwegian bachelors' daily routines. Director Bent Hamer exposes hilarious fissures in the prided Scandinavian reserve, and lead actors Tomas Norstrum and Joachim Calmeyer delight with their droll profundities and deadpan humor. Swedish and Norwegian with English subtitles. Sweden/Norway, 2004, 95 mins. DVD $44.95
The Last Dance Colin Nutley Winner of two Swedish film awards, this is the perversely comic tale of two couples, Claus and Tove and their best friends Lennart and Liselott, who recount their roller coaster relationship and their shared obsession with ballroom competitions. When Liselott's body is found beneath the pier at the Blackstone ballroom, a flashback reveals the animosity and illicit attractions that plague even these best of friends. With Helena Bergstrom, Reine Brynolfsson, Ewa Froling and Peter Andersson. Sweden, 1993, 109 mins. Videocassette $44.95
Like It Never Was Before Suzanne Bier An ordinary middle class couple and their family find their conventional existences forever changed after a fateful vacation in a rented house by the sea. From the director of Freud Leaving Home. In Swedish with English subtitles. Sweden/Denmark, 1995, 108 mins. DVD $44.95
Miss Julie Alf Sjoberg The definitive version of August Strindberg's riveting play concerning social and sexual domination. Miss Julie is a noblewoman who allows her butler to seduce her after her engagement is broken. With Anita Bjork and Anders Henrikson. Swedish with English subtitles. Sweden, 1950, 90 mins. Videocassette $44.95
Mozart Brothers Suzanne Osten A Swedish opera director - an anguished, divorce-wracked enfant terrible - has a bizarre vision for a production of Mozart's Don Giovanni. His efforts to stand the revered opera on its head including destroying the stage in order to install a pool, stripping the opera of its libretto, and freeing the artists of their inhibitions and clothing. Wonderful comic performances in a film that's "witty and uproarious" (New York Times). Swedish with English subtitles. Sweden, 1985, 98 mins. Videocassette $44.95
Private Confessions Liv Ullmann Liv Ullmann directs a screenplay by Ingmar Bergman that picks up where Best Intentions left off. Max von Sydow, Pernilla August and Samuel Froler star in this exquisitely acted film that continues Bergman's exploration of his childhood memories of his parents' turbulent marriage. "A film like Private Confessions makes most films about romance look like films about plumbing. It is about Bergman's eternal theme, which is that we are all locked in our own boxes of time and space, and most of us never escape them" (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times). In Swedish with English subtitles. Sweden, 1996, 127 mins. Videocassette $44.95
Show Me Love Lukas Moodysson Humor and heartbreak meld in this authentic coming-of-age drama about two teenaged girls in a small Swedish town and the complicated feelings they have for each other. More than a lesbian romance, this film captures the universal feelings of adolescent sexual insecurity. "A beautiful glimpse at how young hearts can take flight" (Peter Stack, San Francisco Chronicle). Winner of the Audience Award and a Special Prize of the Jury at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, and of the Teddy Award at the Berlin International Film Festival. In Swedish with English subtitles. Sweden, 1998, 89 mins. Videocassette $44.95 DVD $44.95
A Song for Martin Bille August A man and woman who discover late in life that they are soulmates see their perfect love become marred by uncontrollable forces in this film from Swedish director, Bille August (Pelle the Conqueror). Unlike August's past films, A Song for Martin is a scaled back, intimate story that focuses on the true love between a composer-conductor and a gifted violinist and the challenges they face when Alzheimer's disease disrupts their union. In Swedish with English subtitles. Sweden, 2001, 113 mins. DVD $44.95
Songs from the Second Floor Roy Andersson Roy Andersson's absurdist dark comedy about the bleakness of the post-modern world is a wholly original endeavor. Told through 46 surreal, single-shot vignettes, Songs from the Second Floor follows the fractured population of a dreary Swedish town being disrupted by a series of bizarre events. A strange, macabre and perversely funny depiction of society in meltdown. Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival. In Swedish with English subtitles. Sweden/France, 2000, 98 mins. DVD $44.95
Speak Up! It's So Dark... Suzanne Osten After being beaten up at a rally, a neo-Nazi skinhead has his wounds tended to by a Jewish doctor whose relatives were killed at Auschwitz. This accidental meeting leads the doctor to invite the youth to his office, where they begin a series of heated, sometimes dangerously explosive conversations about the real causes of the youth's hatred, rage and fear. "Director Osten brilliantly defines the new politics of Europe in psychological terms" (San Francisco Jewish Film Festival). In Swedish with English subtitles. Sweden, 1993, 83 mins. Videocassette $44.95
Sunday's Children Daniel Bergman Ingmar Bergman wrote the screenplay for this haunting film about a 10-year-old boy named Pu. Pu is in the country for the summer with his family. Everything seems peaceful enough until Pu sees his father fighting with his mother. This event inaugurates an emotional time that resonates within all concerned. Swedish with English subtitles. Sweden, 1993, 118 mins. Videocassette $44.95
Swedenhielms Gustaf Molander In this classic drama, Ingrid Bergman plays Astrid, the wealthy girlfriend of Bo Swedenhielm, who, together with his aristocratic but impecunious family, is depending on their father winning the Nobel Prize. Swedish with English subtitles. Sweden, 1935, 88 mins. Videocassette $44.95
Torment Alf Sjoberg The budding love between two students, Jan-Erik and Bertha, is threatened by a sadistic Latin teacher nicknamed "Caligula" who torments Jan-Erik in class. When Jan-Erik finds Bertha dead in her room and Caligula hiding in a closet, he accuses him of causing her death. Based on the (first) script by Ingmar Bergman, the character of Caligula was seen as a symbol of Nazism. The film is remarkable for its expressive style and a powerful performance by Mai Zetterling as Bertha. With Alf Kjellin and Stig Olin. Swedish with English subtitles. Sweden, 1944, 90 mins. Videocassette $44.95
Under the Sun Colin Nutley Set in 1956 in rural Sweden, Under the Sun is the sympathetic story of lonely farmer Olof (Rolf Lassgard), a 40-year-old illiterate virgin who places an ad for a housekeeper in the local newspaper, but it is obvious that he is looking for more than a housekeeper. When beautiful 34-year-old Ellen (Helena Bergstrom) accepts the job, it is love at first sight for Olof. When she accepts his amorous advances, it seems too good to be true, especially for Olof's young friend and farmhand Erik (Johan Widerberg), a former sailor who now digs graves. Erik, who is also attracted to Ellen, attempts to put doubt in Olof's head: is Ellen the wonderful woman she appears to be? Nominated in 2000 for a best foreign language film Oscar. In Swedish with English subtitles. Sweden, 1998, 118 mins. DVD $44.95
Vibration Torbjorn Axelman Swedish sex kitten Essy Persson (Therese and Isabelle) stars in this fun slice of late '60s erotica. A brooding writer travels to a coastal paradise where he gets hot and heavy with a young temptress named Barbro, until a film star seeking solitude catches his eye. Dubbed in English. Sweden, 1968, 84 mins. Videocassette $37.95 DVD $44.95
Walpurgis Night Gustaf Edgren Ingrid Bergman plays a woman who is secretly in love with her married boss. Her boss, it turns out, is also in love with her. This forbidden love soon triggers a murky and melodramatic series of startling events, including abortion, blackmail, murder and suicide. Swedish with English subtitles. Sweden, 1935, 75 mins. Videocassette $37.95
The White Lioness Pelle Berglund When a young woman is found brutally murdered in the Swedish countryside, a small town cop finds himself in way over his head, as what seems like a simple murder case proves to be only the tip of an international incident with grave political consequences. The investigation leads to Russia and then South Africa, as the complications lead to even greater danger. Based on a best-selling crime novel by Henning Mankell, this Interpol murder mystery features a cameo appearance by South African President Nelson Mandela. Swedish with English subtitles. Sweden, 1996, 104 mins. Videocassette $44.95 DVD $44.95
The Women on the Roof Carl-Gustaf Nykvist A psychological drama set in Stockholm on the eve of World War I, The Women on the Roof follows the struggle of two independent New Women seeking adventure and self-fulfillment in the big city. Linnea rents an attic apartment and becomes the neighbor of Anna, an artist-photographer working on fantasy tableaux in the apartment next door. Though Linnea is inexperienced and Anna more worldly, the two become friends and then lovers. When Anna's former boyfriend appears, their relationship is transformed into an even more complex menage a trois. With Helena Bergstrom, Amanda Ooms and Stellan Skarskard (Breaking the Waves). Sweden, 1990, 86 mins. Videocassette $44.95