Adalen 31

This is an interesting case of a mediocre movie being elevated by finding a fascinating story and telling the hell out of it.

This was my second Widerberg film, along with Man on the Roof. In both movies he took very powerful source material, so it is clear he has a good eye for what will translate to the screen. In Roof, he gives an interpretation of the seventh Martin Beck novel (The Abominable Man) which is in the running for the best police procedural series of books ever written. Highly recommend that movie, by the way, for anyone who likes New Hollywood police procedurals.

But he's not only a 70s crime director, for Ådalen 31 Widerberg puts on his political bio hat and introduces us to the labor struggles of 1930s Sweden. He connects to the psyche of a nation only 30 years removed from their own revolution, and recounts the story of the heroes that helped shape their own future. Much like what Barbara Kopple was trying to show in Harlan County, USA. They are both movies about honest people getting taken advantage of by big companies and being disappointed when they finally get government intervention.

Ådalen is a story of lost dreams, of change, of maturity, and of progress. We see the story of a nation as told through one village. The villagers are on strike! The families are suffering, but the workers need to fight for their basic rights and let the owners know to take better care of the equipment and the people. The only issue is the factory has a major shipment to get to the Americans and they are desperate to get the product made and out the door. Stress.

Systems and pressures collide as a small group of factory workers stands up for what is right even as they face continuous consequences. But the struggle is often the path, and the pain is often the fastest way to the light. We know when we've been pushed too far, that is part of being human. And within any struggle we play a role. Widerberg understands this dynamic, and makes this film as if he had been in the fight himself.

He also makes this film look beautiful. There are moments that look like they could be in a Terry Malick film. Truly beautiful composition and textures to the images. Widerberg clearly knows how to handle the moving image, and knows how to find powerful source material. The film had a few too many loose ends and untouched logical leaps for my taste and left me wanting the script to be more developed. It's a minor gripe, however, and a personal one for me as I struggle with biopics. But don't let that dissuade you from giving this a chance. It's a well made picture and at times a strikingly beautiful one.

Ådalen 31, Cannes Grand Prix-winner and Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Film, is based on a true story, and features the obligatory closing titles that have become way too cliche in today's Hollywood "based on an inspiring true story, give me my Oscars now" line. But Ådalen 31 is a more artistic film than those. Based on an incident in which five strikers were shot and killed, the film is lyrical and a visually beautiful film, definitely rising above TV movie-level.

While the slow pace, aside from some heated argument scenes, generally works in its favour, at times the film does become dull. It's not the most powerful pro-labour statement I've seen, though according to the closing titles this event catapulted the Social Democrats to political dominance. (See I Am Curious Yellow for how that turned out by the late 1960s- not perfect, but by no means the miserable communist dictatorship alt-righters, Fox News hacks and Republican buffoons paint the Nordic countries as).

Now this is something you don't see every day! Bo Widerbergs style makes this movie almost documentary in a way. That suits this movie since it's based on a true event.

The story is about a small town where the workers go out on strike. The conflict between workers and the factory owners and even between the workers themselves. Seems very simple but oh so good! Very good characters and dialogue! See it if you have the chance!

9/10 Movie-Man

Dramatized story about strikers, black-foots, saw-mill-owners and the military in a small Swedish town in 1931. The military was sent in to stop the strikers that were marching towards one of the mills. Due to inexperience and nervousness in the commanding officer, the order to fire was given and five people were killed. From then on Swedish military has been forbidden to act against civilians, until this summer, when a new law was passed in Swedish parliament. This law permits the police to ask the military for help in terror-like situations, with commanding chief of police as supreme commander. The film is a fairly true revue of what happened that day in 1931.