I Am Curious (Yellow) (1967)
"Jag är nyfiken - en film i gult" (original title)

Lena, aged twenty, wants to know all she can about life and reality. She collects information on everyone and everything, storing her findings in an enormous archive. She experiments with ... See full summary »

Director:

Vilgot Sjöman

Stars:

Lena Nyman, Vilgot Sjöman, Börje Ahlstedt

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Lena Nyman	...	Lena
Vilgot Sjöman	...	Vilgot Sjöman
Börje Ahlstedt	...	Börje, Lena's boyfriend
Peter Lindgren	...	Lena's Father
Chris Wahlström	...	Rune's Woman
Marie Göranzon	...	Marie, Börje's mistress
Magnus Nilsson	...	Magnus, Lena's school friend
Ulla Lyttkens	...	Ulla, Lena's friend
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Anders Ek	...	Exercise leader
Martin Luther King	...	Himself
Yevgeni Yevtushenko	...	Himself

Storyline

Lena, aged twenty, wants to know all she can about life and reality. She collects information on everyone and everything, storing her findings in an enormous archive. She experiments with relationships, political activism, and meditation. Meanwhile, the actors, director and crew are shown in a humorous parallel plot about the making of the film and their reactions to the story and each other. Nudity, explicit sex, and controversial politics kept this film from being shown in the US while its seizure by Customs was appealed.

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Plot Keywords:

sex | nudity | meditation | politics | actor | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

X

Details

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish

Release Date:

10 March 1969 (USA)

Also Known As:

I Am Curious (Yellow)

Box Office

Gross:

$20,238,100 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sandrews

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The interview with Martin Luther King was filmed in March 1966 when Dr. King was in Stockholm with Harry Belafonte to garner Swedish support for the American Civil Rights Movement.

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Quotes

Anna Lena Lisabet Nyman: What would the rest of you do if we were invaded?
Boy in Uniform: Not give up. Sweden doesn't give up. And ignore all radio messages saying Sweden's been defeated.
Anna Lena Lisabet Nyman: Is that what you learn?
Boy in Uniform: It's in the book In Case of War. It was sent to everybody.

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Crazy Credits

Crew credits occur about an hour into the movie, as they demonstrate yoga poses to Lena.

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Connections

Referenced in Sexual Freedom in Denmark (1970)

User Reviews

Not a masterpiece, but not trash either

I've read one comment which labeled this film "trash" and "a waste

of time." I think this person got their political undies tugged a bit

too much.

I just rented the new Criterion DVD's of both Yellow and Blue.

These films--although hardly great--have at least become of

historical interest as to the so-called "radical student

political-social movement"of the late '60s.

I hadn't seen either picture and from their notorious reputation, I

was expecting some real porn (there isn't any.) There is frontal

nudity (including the still verboten frontal male nudity (automatic

NC-17--the Orwellian-X) in the U.S. But I wasn't expecting the films

in-your-face democratic socialist message.

Though it tends to the simplistic , I thought it occassionally made

its points well. Both films occassionally had me laughing out loud

and the director's commentary made it clear there was plenty of

parody in the film. Especially the supposedly "pornographic" sex

scenes. The first such scene is very realistic. The lead couple is

clumsy, inept, funny and endearing in their first copulation scene.

The second--which caused the most complaints--has faked

cunnilingus and fellatio. And the last is the end of an angry fight,

that is believable.

The extras include an informative introduction to the film, an

interview with the original American distributor and his attorney,

excerpts from trial testimony in the U.S. and a "diary" commentary

by the director on some scenes.

This is the film that "blue noses" wouldn't let alone and led to the

pivotal "prurient interest with no social redeeming value" standard

that, thankfully, still stands.

Those with an interest in the quirks of history will find this a must

see.