Love 65

'Kärlek 65' ('Love 65' in English) is one of my favourite films. It may unfortunately be somewhat difficult to find in the US but I think that there is a version with English subtitles to be found in the UK.

This film is by Bo Widerberg, who is best known outside of Sweden for 'Elvira Madigan'. Love 65 is a far better film and is in my opinion easily the best film Widerberg made.

Love 65 is basically about a film director (and his family and friends)played by Keve Hjälm who is working on his latest film but seems to be finding it hard to concentrate on making movies and apart from a brief shooting scene we mostly get to see other aspects of his life: in Stockholm, at his country cottage by the sea, an extra-marital affair, and so on. He likes to fly kites and there are several scenes of kite-flying in the movie, one of them with Ben Carruthers who has come to Sweden to be in Keve's film. This is the actor who was in Cassevetes' Shadows.

There are many very lyrical scenes in the film, aided by music from Vivaldi and others.

The film is both naturalistic and imaginative. All the characters have their own names: that is: the actors' own names: so the character played by Keve is also called Keve, and so on.

I have always loved this film from the first time I saw it (on Swedish TV in 1982) and I have a VHS copy. I am planning to get it on DVD too some time. Thoroughly recommended!

This movie is one of the most personal ever made by a Swedish director. Of course Ingmar Bergman's movies was also about himself but this film is different than those of Bergman. Widerberg tells the story of a director during one of his productions. It is quite obvious that the movie is about Bo because the film brings up the motifs that he used when directing. It becomes very personal when the directors wife accuses him of not caring for his Daughter, the exception of this was of course when he gave her minor roles in some of his film's. This make you both alienated and attached to the movie and it very good done.

Some other good sides is the use of very bad takes sometimes, it's not bloopers or anything but the could have been made better technically and this is done to alienate the audience. This is a must see especially if you like movies that are about movies and/or alienating of the audience. I consider it being Widerberg's next best movie after Mannen pa taket.