The Brothers Lionheart (1977)
"Bröderna Lejonhjärta" (original title)

9-year old Karl Lejon, 'Skorpan' is suffering from tuberculosis and knows that he will die soon. But his older brother Jonathan tries to comfort him by promising that they one day will meet... See full summary »

Director:

Olle Hellbom

Writers:

Astrid Lindgren (novel), Astrid Lindgren (screenplay)

Stars:

Staffan Götestam, Lars Söderdahl, Allan Edwall

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Staffan Götestam	...	Jonatan
Lars Söderdahl	...	Skorpan
Allan Edwall	...	Mattias
Gunn Wållgren	...	Sofia
Folke Hjort	...	Jossi
Per Oscarsson	...	Orvar
Tommy Johnson	...	Hubert
Jan Nygren	...	Veder
Micha Gabay	...	Kader
Georg Årlin	...	Tengil
Bertil Norström	...	Pjuke
Mats Andersson	...	Tengil's Soldier
Aksel Erhardtsen	...	Tengil's Soldier (as Aksel Erhardsen)
Ulf Håkan Jansson	...	Tengil's Soldier
Bodil Lindorff	...	Mother

Storyline

9-year old Karl Lejon, 'Skorpan' is suffering from tuberculosis and knows that he will die soon. But his older brother Jonathan tries to comfort him by promising that they one day will meet in Nangijala, a magic country beyond the stars. Jonathan dies soon after in a house fire and Skorpan also passes away not long after. They meet in Nangijala, a country divided into the Cherry Blossom Valley and the Briar-Bush Valley. The people in the later are oppressed by the black knight Tengil and his dragon Katla. The two brothers, who now call themselves Jonathan and Karl Lion Heart, decide to help the freedom fighters against the oppression.

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Plot Keywords:

dragon | fire | oppression | house fire | death by fire | 

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Taglines:

Från vår värld. Till sagornas och lägereldarnas värld.

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Genres:

Adventure | Family | Fantasy

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Details

Country:

Sweden Iceland

Language:

Swedish

Release Date:

23 September 1977 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

The Brothers Lionheart

Filming Locations:

Iceland

Box Office

Gross:

SEK 8,963,000 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Artfilm, Svensk Filmindustri (SF)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the last fighting scene, the villagers run from Katla down the hill and pass a lot of junipers. The junipers are actually burned down already, before Katla's fire hit them. They were accidentally burned down in other takes before the "right" one.

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Quotes

Kader: Hey old man! You don't know if that Lionheart is anywhere around?
Mattias: Lionheart? I don't know any Lionheart.
Kader: That's lucky for you, because you know that the death punishment will be served to whoever keeps him hidden!

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Connections

Edited into Bröderna Lejonhjärta (1985)

User Reviews

One of the most important films in swedish history about death, loss, love and oppression.

Maybe it's hard for people outside of Sweden to fully understand what this movie has meant to Swedes through the years. You would especially think so after reading the other comment which compares "Bröderna Lejonhjärta" to Ingmar Bergman - HELLO?!? We do have other directors than Bergman and to compare him to "Bröderna Lejonhjärta" is like comparing "American Pie" to Spike Lee or something. Please don't think you know EVERYTHING about swedish moviehistory just because you've heard of Bergman, there is so much more to it and this movie has virtually nothing in common with Bergman's work.

I am also sorry if people are too destroyed by American blockbusters and can't handle the fact that this movie is for an audience of youngsters and that it's about death. I must also say that grown-ups as well as kids can enjoy this movie. It's very good to see with your children to then discuss it afterwards.

Astrid Lindgren was without comparison Swedish literature's queen and when she died last year it seemed like we couldn't stop mourning. "Bröderna Lejonhjärta" ("The Lionheart Brothers") was maybe one of her most important books, because it handles such heavy subjects in such a great way. When Olle Hellbom's movie came in 1977 it caused a mediastorm Sweden had never seen before. First of all it had a completely new way of speaking to kids about death; a movie that took children seriously and didn't treat them like they could handle only joy and happiness.

Second of all, back in those days the only agelimits on cinemas were 15, 11 and under. They made "Bröderna Lejonhjärta" available only to people over 11 and this caused such a storm that they actually changed the swedish law so that a new agelimit came at 7! All this over one movie.

You can't understand how many kids have found comfort in this story. To children that are about to die you read this novel or show this movie and I don't know how often you read the inscription "We'll see eachother in Nangijala" on gravestones in Swedish cemeteries.

This movie was groundbreaking and it's often wrongfully accused of being too dark and strange. Children can handle a lot more than you think when it comes to strong emotions like love and loss. The only thing that scared me as a kid was the sometimes graphic violence in the end. See this if you have a chance!