Oss emellan

Per Oscarsson is/was, in my totally honest opinion, one of Sweden´s greatest actors. I have, for example, watched "Ronja - the Robber´s Daughter" (1984). I have also read the book which the movie is based on. "Can You Whistle, Johanna?" (1994) is shown on TV during all Christmas Eves in Sweden. And Per Oscarsson also played Gustav Jörgensson, a Swedish police chief, in a TV series.

But what happened here? I´m sorry, but I almost fell asleep. "Oss emellan"/"Between Us" tells the story of an artist/teacher, his wife, their kids and ... uh ... I happened to lose a bit of interest after that. Why on earth did I finish watching this movie? I don´t know. Maybe because of Per Oscarsson? In other words, I´m not going to recommend this movie.

I saw this in London back in 1971 (in The Times, Baker Street if I remember correctly) and I haven't had an opportunity to see it since. It was a strange, wonderful, exuberant film, which, although in black and white, stays in the mind as colourful (probably because of a sequence in a classroom where teacher and pupils paint themselves). I recall that it was on the Guardian's list of the top ten films that year. The next (and, sadly, last) film I was able to see by Stellan Olsson was his classic Sven Klang's Combo, for many one of the greatest jazz films ever made.