Commoners are a very strange people for aristocrats, ja wohl! A good example of their strange conduct can be seen in the film "Värmlänningarna" directed by Herr Erik A. Petschler in the silent year of 1923.
The film tells the story of Herr Erik ( Herr Tor Weijden ), a Swedish youngster and the son of a wealthy farmer. He is in love with Frau Anna ( Frau Anna Q. Nilsson ) who is Swedish too but alas, poor. In order to make things worse, both youngsters' families are enemies.
Erik's father wants to marry him to another rich farmer girl of the town, Frau Britta. However, the lad incredibly persists in loving and marrying Frau Anna. The result is the exact strange commoner conduct that this Herr Graf can't understand. Obviously aristocrats without a doubt will marry the rich girl and will keep at hand the poor one
When Frau Anna knows the news about Erik's engagement with Britta, she almost becomes insane. But fortunately and thanks to Erik unconditional love, both youngsters finally will marry and live happy together.
"Värmlänningarna" ( The People Of Värmland ) was based in a very popular Swedish play written by Herr Fredrik August Dahlgren. It was adapted many times for the cinema ( as silent and talkie ). The playwright set the love story of Herr Erik und Frau Anna in the beautiful province of Värmland, a historical province full of musical and cultural traditions. Herr Petschler in the adaptation to the silent screen, succeeds in transmitting the idyllic, bucolic and classical atmosphere in connection with the story of the film.
The picture starred the Swedish-Amerikan actress Frau Anna Q. Nilsson who at that time was a famous actress in Amerika. "Värmlänningarna" is a perfect and exclusive vehicle for her and certainly the character of Frau Anna shines specially in the film. Thus, Frau Nilsson achieves the mood in every scene; she is charming and gives dramatism when necessary as when she becomes insane over her lover's is engagement to the rich girl.
As with the play, Värmland landscapes are beautifully photographed and are part of a film narrative that only Nordics can do. It is a folk film piece with a strong regional flavour in which drama and humour are equally used thus achieving a very interesting picture that's solid and touching in spite of being a classic love story. The way Herr Petschler uses the Värmland folk traditions in a hyper realistic, literary and traditional way in the film narrative, achieves a positive result. Those old-time Värmland images are more interesting nowadays in what it is an effective, complementary and specially attractive artistic proposition.
The film was considered lost until a copy was found twenty years ago in Moscow, in the Russian Film Archive by some Swedish connoisseurs. The Swedish Film archive restored the film, removed the Russian intertitles and replaced them with Swedish ones. Included is music by Herr Per-Olov Davidsson who used themes and ideas from Herr Andreas Randelski's original music. The film is available for any silent film fan from around the world to enjoy this beautiful and charming Swedish classical love story.
And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because this German Count must travel to the historical German Länder of Bayern.
