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CULTURE

30 of the best Swedish movies to watch at home

Everyone is familiar with big hitters like Let the Right One In and the Millennium trilogy, but Sweden's cinema is much more than the blockbusters. To help us grasp the soul of Swedish film, expert Christian Ekvall picks out 30 Swedish movies to see before you die.

Published: 24 August 2016 06:59 CEST
Updated: 16 January 2017 00:00 CET
30 of the best Swedish movies to watch at home
Liv Ullman and Max von Sydow in The Emigrants. Photo: Skånereportage/Pressens bild

1. The Phantom Carriage (Victor Sjöström, 1921)

The ultimate horror classic, based on a tale by Selma Lagerlöf. The director also starred in it, 36 years before his final performance in Wild Strawberries.

2. Frenzy (Alf Sjöberg, 1944)

AKA Torment. The pupils are afraid of their teacher in the film that started Ingmar Bergman’s career in cinema (as a script writer and assistant director).

3. The Seventh Seal (Ingmar Bergman, 1957)

One of numerous possible early Bergman choices. This film is the reason Swedes have a clear picture of what Death looks like – and the reason singer-songwriter and Bergman buff Scott Walker moved to Europe. Star Max von Sydow would later play the title role of The Exorcist.

4. Raven’s End (Bo Widerberg, 1963) 

An aspiring writer gets his hopes smashed in this piece of kitchen sink realism set and shot in a working-class area of Malmö. Further watching: Pram AKA The Baby Carriage (1963).

5. Hunger (Henning Carlsen, 1966)

A starving writer, recognizable as Knut Hamsun, starts losing it in late 19th century Oslo (then called Christiania, confusingly). Actor Per Oscarsson’s first masterpiece, as well as Paul Auster’s favourite movie. A Scandinavian co-production.

6. I Am Curious – Yellow (Vilgot Sjöman, 1967)

A political and experimental film that cemented the view of Swedish cinema as scandalous.

7. Who Saw Him Die? (Jan Troell, 1968)

The counterpart to Frenzy, in which another teacher is afraid of his pupils. Set and shot in Malmö with Per Oscarsson and a real-life school class.


Per Oscarsson (left) on the set of Who Saw Him Die? in 1968. Photo: Roony Johansson/TT

8. Doctor Glas (Mai Zetterling, 1968)

Obsession and paranoia in actor Oscarsson's third masterpiece. Adaptated from a novel by Hjalmar Söderberg.

9. Language of Love (Torgny Wickman, 1969)

The movie that Travis Bickle brings his date to see in Taxi Driver. Actually a quite serious sexual education film.

10. Harry Munter (Kjell Grede, 1969)

What to do with a genius son prone to playing with death? A lost gem waiting to be rediscovered.

11. A Swedish Love Story (Roy Andersson, 1970)

Sweet first love in Andersson’s debut, not half as bleak as the films that brought him international fame. Further watching: Songs from the Second Floor (2000).

12. The Emigrants/The New Land (Jan Troell, 1971/1972)

A double epic about the Swedish mass emigration to the US circa 1900. Nominated for five Oscars. Further watching: This Is Your Life (1966).

13. The Stone Face (Jan Halldoff, 1973)

Sweden’s answer to A Clockwork Orange. Beats Halldoff’s more famous film, Jack (1976).

14. They Call Her One Eye (Bo Arne Vibenius, 1974)

Action cult movie that inspired Tarantino's Kill Bill. Shot on Öland, the barren island off the east coast of Sweden.

15. A Guy and a Gal (Lasse Hallström, 1975)

The warmest comedy from the time before Hallström sold out to Hollywood. His more famous My Life as a Dog (1985) will be easier to find with subtitles.

16. Man on the Roof (Bo Widerberg, 1976)

The adaptation of a Sjöwall/Wahlöö novel that set the tone for the realistic crime genre that later became a trademark of Sweden.

17. The Brothers Lionheart (Olle Hellbom, 1977)

Arguably the best of all Astrid Lindgren adaptations, as well as all Swedish children’s films. Takes place in the afterlife. Rumour has it that Tomas Alfredson is working on a new version.

18. The Adventures of Picasso (Tage Danielsson, 1978)

Genius fake biopic about the famous artist, played by Sweden’s finest comedian, Gösta Ekman. No subtitles required – the dialogue is all in pretend Spanish and French!

19. A Decent Life (Stefan Jarl, 1979)

Heart-breaking documentary about a circle of heroin addicts in central Stockholm. The second part of a trilogy spanning over 25 years. All three are worth watching, but this is the masterpiece.

20. The Charter Trip (Lasse Åberg, 1980)

Every Swede’s secret favourite comedy, about the utter stupidness of their travelling habits.

21. Fanny & Alexander (Ingmar Bergman, 1982)

Upper-class family epic set in the early 20th century. Perhaps the only Bergman movie that everybody likes – without pretending.

22. The Simple-Minded Murderer (Hans Alfredson, 1982)

Stellan Skarsgård, long before Lars von Trier fame, playing a half-wit under the orders of a cruel master.

23. All Things Fair (Bo Widerberg, 1995)

Teacher seduces pupil in 1940s Malmö. Widerberg’s last movie.

24. The Hunters (Kjell Sundvall, 1996)

The thriller that will make you think twice before visiting the northernmost parts of Sweden.

25. Summertime (David Flamholc, 1996) 

AKA Beautiful Weather. The definitive 90s lo-fi indie flick, shot with shaky hand-held camera and fueled by condom-fumbling teenage love.

26. Lilya 4-ever (Lukas Moodysson, 2002)

After his first two successful feature films Show Me Love and Together, Moodysson touched on the hardest of subjects: human trafficking. Extremely difficult to watch, but worth the effort. Further watching: A Hole in My Heart (2004).

27. Four Shades of Brown (Tomas Alfredson, 2004)

The strangest comedy you’ll ever see, directed by Alfredson (son of Hans) before he conquered the world with Let the Right One In and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.


Tomas Alfredson (left) and three of the stars of Four Shades of Brown celebrating after the film won four Guldbagge awards in 2005. Photo: Maja Suslin/TT

28. Falkenberg Farewell (Jesper Ganslandt, 2006)

A group of young men returning to their west coast home quarters for one last summer of reflecting and magic mushroom picking. Further watching: The Ape (2009).

29. Involuntary (Ruben Östlund, 2008)

Swedish awkwardness as portrayed by the Gothenburg genius who later brought us Force Majeure. Further watching: Play (2011).

30. The Reunion (Anna Odell, 2013)

Uncompromising pseudo-documentary about a real-life class reunion that the artist/director claims she was never invited to.

This article was written by Swedish writer and translator Christian Ekvall in 2016. For more information on his work, visit his website here. 

READER INSIGHTS

‘Benny is always very kind’: Foreigners’ top encounters with Swedish celebrities

We asked The Local's readers to tell us of a time they met a Swedish celebrity. Here are their best stories.

Published: 16 April 2024 11:10 CEST
Updated: 16 April 2024 14:27 CEST
'Benny is always very kind': Foreigners' top encounters with Swedish celebrities

Some readers shared stories of encounters with Swedes who are also global stars, such as Abba or the King and Queen of Sweden, others spoke of meeting national celebrities who had helped them get to know their new home country.

Anne Foo from Malaysia is a fan of the Sällskapsresan movies by Lasse Åberg, who plays the kind but hapless Stig Helmer.

“It was one of the first Swedish films I watched when I first moved to Sweden that I could understand without needing to be fluent. It helped me understand the Swedish psyche and their humour and Swedish people in general,” she said.

Multi-talented artist Åberg is also known for his sketches of Mickey Mouse, as well as Trazan & Banarne, one of Sweden’s most famous children’s shows, and his band Electric Banana Band. Anne met him when she visited his museum, Åbergs Museum, outside of Stockholm.

“We were not expecting to see him there but we kind of heard he pops by the museum often to help out. We bought tickets for the guided tour and lucky us the guide fell sick (sorry guide!) and Lasse, who happened to pop by just then, took over and gave us a personal guided tour of his museum. He is just as he was as Stig Helmer. Has a down-to-earth humour, very intelligent and humble.”

Another reader, Doug, met Swedish singer Lisa Nilsson when she was performing the lead role in the musical Next to Normal at Stockholm’s Stadsteater, a performance she got rave reviews for.

“I have loved Lisa Nilsson for years, ever since Himlen runt hörnet was required listening in my Swedish class,” he wrote on The Local’s Facebook page.

“After the performance I waited by the stage door to see if I could meet her. Many people came out, but not her – until finally she exited, alone. I approached her and she was not just gracious – she seemed genuinely excited to meet an American fan. We stood (in the rain, no less) and spoke for a while. I came away feeling that my adoration was well-placed: talented, beautiful, and so down to earth. A wonderful entertainer and an extraordinary human being.”

Some readers also shared pictures of themselves running into a Swedish celebrity.

Benjamin Dyke met football coach Sven-Göran Eriksson in Torsby, where Eriksson grew up, at the opening ceremony of the Svennis Cup, a youth football competition held every year in his honour.

Eriksson, more known by his nickname Svennis in Sweden, during his long career coached teams such as Lazio in Italy and brought England, as coach, to the quarter-finals of the 2002 and 2006 World Cups. Earlier this year he disclosed he had been diagnosed with fatal pancreatic cancer.

Dyke’s encounter with Eriksson happened a few years ago, and he walked up to the Swede to thank him for his time as England manager and the two chatted for a while about that.

“He asked where I came from in England and I answered that all my family come from Liverpool. His eyes lit up (I now know he supported Liverpool all his life, as did his dad) but when I explained that I was an Everton fan (the other Liverpool team…) he quickly shut down the conversation and walked away,” said Dyke.

Sven-Göran Eriksson, left, and Benjamin Dyke in 2018. Photo: Private

Readers also shared their stories on The Local’s Facebook page. Lindelwa posted a picture of her chance meeting with Swedish Melodifestivalen winner John Lundvik at Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport, although she revealed they did not share a flight.

Lundvik represented Sweden in the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest with the song Too Late for Love (and co-wrote the UK’s entry, Bigger than Us, the same year), with which he came in fifth.

Lindelwa and John Lundvik. Photo: Private

Gerard met Abba legend Benny Andersson outside his studio in Stockholm.

“I had never seen Benny’s studio so I went to take a look with the ferry from Djurgården to Skeppsholmen. I was told that Benny was in so I waited for a little while and he came out to meet a few fans,” he said, revealing that it was in fact not the first time he ran into Andersson, a composer also known for co-writing hit musicals such as Chess and Kristina from Duvemåla.

“He’s always very kind and patient. I had met him before, last time in 2010 in London for the concert of Kristina at the Royal Albert Hall. Next stop will be May 27th, the second anniversary of Abba Voyage in London where Benny and Björn will do a Q&A before the show.”

Gerard and Benny Andersson back in 2010. Photo: Private

Several other readers also said they had met members of Abba.

“I was a child visiting my relatives in Sweden the year Voulez-Vous was released. My aunt took me to NK [Stockholm mall] to buy the LP. On our way back to her apartment, she spotted Frida on Hamngatan. My aunt was amazing at celeb-spotting, and she was usually very discreet, but in this case she insisted I go up and say hello! Frida was happy to autograph the album for a young fan; it’s still one of my prized possessions today,” said Sue Trowbridge.

Of course, it’s not always easy to recognise celebrities. You might spot a familiar face but not be able to place it, as happened to Linda on two separate occasions when she ran into a Swedish acting star and a member of the Nobel Prize-awarding Swedish Academy.

“I accidentally stared at Pernilla August in a local food shop. She looked familiar but I couldn’t recognise her. She stared back and I suddenly came to my senses and looked another way. Embarrassed. I’ve also stared at Horace Engdahl,” she said.

In The Local’s original survey call-out, we also included a story from Australian reader Jake Farrugia, who was on his lunch break in NK when he spotted a familiar face, Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria. He walked up to her to ask for a selfie.

“She was very nice and we shared some small talk which truly made me feel like we were on the same level and that she had a strong sense of humanity, as I stood there, butchering her native language with my ‘work in progress’ level of Swedish. I can see why the Swedish people have a deep love and respect for her,” Farrugia said.

“It’s a very un-Swedish thing to do, that’s why I think it’s so fun! All of my encounters with celebrities in Sweden have been very positive so far. It’s all in the approach, you have to be respectful and be OK with others not wanting to give you their time of day, since we all have days where we are feeling less social and those can easily be interpreted as a part of our character, but they rarely are a fair representation.

“If I were to be a celebrity, Sweden would be the place to best blend in. It seems like celebrities can live a somewhat normal life as the construct of ‘celebrity’ isn’t viewed as a thing people go hysteric for as is the case in many other countries.”

The Local’s reader Jake Farrugia snapped this selfie with Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria. Photo: Private
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