Review of Everlasting Moments (2008) by Eric F — 26 Jun 2009

The title of the film, "Everlasting Moments", as well as the subject matter, a repressed and beaten woman with a talent of photography, will fool some movie-goers. It sounds like the makings of a television movie for Oxygen, but it's much more than that. Jan Troell meticulously crafts this period piece with a grace and elegance - it's classically composed images of brownish tints and gleaming strands of foggy sunlight are reminiscent of photography of the era. Not only is it masterfully shot, it's performances enliven the material above similar films. It's not manipulative or sentimental, but it's a melodrama with heart, honesty, and vivid clarity.

Troell's been making films for over four decades now, with his most prolific works being 1971 Academy Award nominee (for Best Director & Screenplay) "The Emigrants" and the 1996 feature "Hamsun". His latest piece, which was Sweden's submission for the 2009 Academy Awards (edging out the beloved "Let the Right One In"), is based on the true story of a woman named Maria Larsson. The film was adapted from a novel written by Troell's wife, Agneta.

The film takes place in early 20th century Sweden (1907 as the film begins). Maria Larsson (Maria Heiskanen) is an overworked mother with an abusive, womanizing, alcoholic brute of a husband, Sigfrid (Mikael Persbrant). "Sigge", as he's known, is a manual laborer at a shipyard where he has been on strike. To afford the family's expenses, Maria scrounges her closet for valuable goods and comes across a camera she won in a lottery years prior. When she takes it to Mr. Pederson (Jesper Christensen), a lonely dog-loving violinist, he instead teaches her how to use it.

Sigge doesn't think much of the camera, nor does he think much of just about anything Maria does. He beats her unmercifully with an increasingly regularity as the story unfolds, and her constant threats of leaving him never amount to anything. Despite the marital issues, the couple still continues to have children - ending up with almost half a dozen by the film's end.

The film is episodic in structure and it takes it's pleasures in examining the details of family life in the era. There are some touching moments as when, after being teased by her classmates for not being able to read, a young girl walks on frozen ice until she disappears into the fog. Her body is recovered, and the heartbroken mother asks Maria to take pictures of her in memory. Mr. Pedersen is touched by Maria's eye for photography - she's not necessarily a theorist when it comes to the art, but she has a tremendous natural gift.

Heiskanen and Persbrant are the reason to see the movie. Heiskanen plays a woman with a great deal of humanity and courage - a woman who is obedient and loyal without being seen as a pushover. Persbrant could've so easily fallen into archetypal abusive husband territory, but rather he achieves the greatest amount of sympathy he possibly could've given the material. There's a wonderful scene where Maria takes the kids to see a Charlie Chaplin film, and when they return home with painted-on mustaches, Sigge thinks they're mocking him. While we don't agree with anything Sigge does, we understand what leads him to his extreme bursts of violence.

Period films are often so concerned with authenticity in the dialogue and costumes that, when it comes to creating three-dimensional figures, they fail miserably. "Everlasting Moments" is a film that puts it's drama first and succeeds in telling a satisfying story.