Ronia: The Robber's Daughter

When I was four years old I used to pretend I was Ronja every time I'd watched this movie. My parents didn't like it, so they wouldn't let me watch it again until after I turned five. Maybe they were disturbed by the feminism. And look what happened to me. :( (OK, you don't know.) On a happier note, many years went by and the other day I saw it on TV. I still like it! Plus there are elements in it, and messages, that a five year old might not be able to understand (at least I couldn't, but I wasn't very smart). So it's for both kids and adults... Beautiful forest and all to look at. Of course, those "wild" horses looked more like super trusting Icelandics to me... ;) But I guess I'll forgive the filmmakers. (And at least they used Icelandics instead of some big shiny new breed!)

Ronja Rövardotter (Ronia, the Robber's Daughter) is possibly the most beautiful movie ever made of an Astrid Lindgren novel. This movie has it all: heart, magic, love, and it makes you feel really cosy. Very beautifully shot with an unprecedented soundtrack delivered by Björn Isfält. Sure it was made in 1984, but this one is timeless. Beautiful for young and old. This is what Hollywood never really perfected or succeeded in, a true family movie for the WHOLE family, not for just the kids. Just sad it never made it across the pond to the US. If compared with a Hollywood movie; Harry Potter from in my opinion one of the worst directors, C. Columbus, can only dream to have become such a great movie. One Hollywood movie that brought back memories of my childhood and managed to recapture some of the emotions I had with Ronja as a child, was Peter Jackson's adaption of Lord of the Rings.

There should be a difference between "children movies" and "family movies" as two different genres on IMDb. Otherwise many people might believe movies like this are movies for little children and won't even try to watch it. And in the case of Ronja it would be as big mistake as if you avoid watching "Deer Hunter" if you don't like war films, or "Godfather" if you don't like crime movies. Certainly Ronja is not The Godfather, but it's one of the best in the genre: you should have no prejudice - this movie has no age, interest or other limits.

It is not a "children movie" as most movies sorted in "family" genre are, like "Pippi Langstrumpf", "Madiken" or "Alla vi barn i Bullerbyn" (all of them by Astrid Lindgren books). It is not a movie you have to watch because you are a grandparent who has a duty to watch TV with grandchildren. It is a movie you can watch at any age alone or with any member of your family. I watched it with my children who are from early to very late teens (and you know how at that age kids try to get as distant as they can from childish so nobody could consider them to be little children); I've never seen it before and it had no sentimental meanings to me (no memories from my childhood), but we all loved it and still, months later, laugh remembering some scenes or quotes. And I saw my wife crying as she never does watching standard tragic stories like "Titanic". We are not that old to be senile and back to diapers. So, if we all loved it - isn't that an example what a real family movie should be?!

So please, could these two genres could somehow be distinguished?

I was a college student living in Denmark when this film came out. I saw it twice in two days! I have been looking all over the Internet to find it, but I have not been able to find it in DVD or VHS (NTSC) for the US televisions systems. English subtitles would be nice. If you know of a source please feel free to contact me. Thanks!

Here in South-America is really difficult to see European movies. A Swedish friend invites me to see it, in an film festival. I went to see "Ronja" without knowing anything about the story, just the title. It was a magnificent surprise! I loved the characters, the story, and this lovely girl Ronja. It's like a dream, I felt like a child looking at the dreams in the movie. This film proves to me that children are the same in all the world, no matter his/her country or his/her beliefs. Their innocence can make the world a better place.

Don't miss "Ronja". I hope someday I could see it with my sons and daughters.