Love Me

At last... Swedish production hits the sweet spot.

Josephine Bornebusch elegantly meshes humour with a serious approach to relationships. At times she even touches the complexity of being.

The dry, somewhat sarcastic, humour allows the audience laugh with, rather than at, the characters.

Alska Mig is not a great work of art - but it is skilful craftsmanship and it leaves the impression that Bornebusch may have greatness lurking somewhere in her future.

However, there is an elephant in the room and it has to do with casting. If you can enjoy a film entirely on its own merit; Alska Mig delivers solid value for time spent. If you hold the belief that every filmmaker has a duty beyond the frames, you may develop an itch that is very hard to scratch: The, almost total, lack of ethnic diversity makes little sense and does leave a gnawing question - why?

I might have given this an 8 on the impulse, as this is an uplifting movie, a movie depicting a possibility of romantic love at all these different stages of life (youth, middle and end). On every turn, I was expecting a catch, sometimes it seemed that the family is cursed, with all the protagonists not getting any closer to 'normal' / happy state (relatively to what is perhaps considered happy for their respective age). And yet, despite all the difficulties, they end up on a positive, hopeful, uplifting note. Perhaps, their family is not cursed after all. I feel both happy, and yet slightly cheated, as real life should be darker, much darker (and darker in more realistic ways... ). We do need the fairy tales still, the notting hills, the love actuallies, and this.

We loved series 1. Realistic. Funny. Uplifting. Believable. Really enjoyed every episode. Great writing. Great characters.

Series 2? Just stupid with each episode getting less and less credible. A will that was never probated from 15 years earlier? Swedish law might be different from elsewhere in the world but not that different. A fertility issue that is just handled so badly that not one decision that is made on screen along the way seemed to make any sense? Sorry, we kept thinking that it would be more likely the exact opposite would have happened in real life. Lawyers taking on cases without ascertaining the facts about their client? Not sure about that one. A break-up for a reason we just could not understand as it made no sense? We discussed it after the episode and couldn't fathom the logic.

So, sorry, anybody contemplating viewing this programme should view Series 1 and be satisfied with that as series 2 will just annoy you.

This is one of the best Swedish productions I have ever seen. The tone and frankness, straightforwardness of the dialogue is refreshing and comforting. The casting and the acting is among the best I have seen a swedish production company achieve in years. I am full of admiration, well done Josephine Bornebusch, spot on! As a a swede abroad since more than 20 years, I sure appreciate a good quality scandi production. Loved to see some of the "old guard" Johan U and Görel C, Maria L. Some of the newer, Sverrir, Nina and Gustav and to me a fresh one (but that could be because I live abroad) Josephine Bornebusch - you are absolutely sensational, what a treat. You are like the Swedish answer to Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Absolutely wonderful. Want more.

Perfect in everyway, a masterpice!! The story is fenomenal, acting Great, casting Great, and it has a Great conection with the real world