Barnens ö (1980)

Reine is supposed to go to a summer camp called 'Childrens island' but decides to remain in Stockholm over the summer while his mother is working at a hospital. She thinks he is at the camp... See full summary »

Director:

Kay Pollak

Writers:

P.C. Jersild (book), Ola Olsson,

Stars:

Tomas Fryk, Anita Ekström, Ingvar Hirdwall

3 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Tomas Fryk	...	Reine Larsson
Anita Ekström	...	Harriet Larsson
Ingvar Hirdwall	...	Stig Utler
Börje Ahlstedt	...	Hester
Lars-Erik Berenett	...	Esbjörn
Hjördis Petterson	...	Olga
Sif Ruud	...	Mrs. Bergman-Ritz
Lena Granhagen	...	Helen
Majlis Granlund	...	Lotten
Malin Ek	...	Kristina
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bissa Abelli	...	Member of theatre group
Christer Banck	...	Janne
Sune Bergsten	...	Guy in "Gang of Death"
Björn Borg	...	Himself
Per Carleson	...	Member of theatre group

Storyline

Reine is supposed to go to a summer camp called 'Childrens island' but decides to remain in Stockholm over the summer while his mother is working at a hospital. She thinks he is at the camp and he tells her he his. We then follow him around Stockholm that summer and see what he encounter on the path of life.

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Plot Keywords:

summer | summer camp | shower | make up | teenager nudity | 

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Taglines:

efter P.C. Jersilds succé-roman.

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Genres:

Drama | Family

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Details

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish

Release Date:

25 December 1980 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Children's Island

Box Office

Gross:

SEK 8,941,897 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Svenska Filminstitutet (SFI), Treklövern

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Fujicolor)

User Reviews

Slightly clinical view on transit to puberty

The decades which have passed since the premiere of this movie, have not treated it lovingly. In 1980 it became an immediate classic of Swedish cinema, based on a highly praised, bestseller book. Now, it's all but forgotten.

Tomas Fryk, playing the boy about to enter puberty and hating it, makes a formidable performance, and went on to do a number of other films, usually with equal brilliance. But the boy he has to portray is not altogether flesh and blood - more of an intellectual construction of slightly clinical nature.

P. C. Jersild, the writer of the book on which the film is based and sticks to quite obediently, is an MD, so to him the perspective might have made sense, but I would have found the character Reine easier to believe if he had not been so single-minded in his attitude to growing up.

The human psyche is mysterious, for sure, and often defies understanding. Therefore, so are human actions. But one thing the mind never is, is singular. Everyone contains pro and con to just about anything. Reine lacks the pro, the longing to grow up - and a convincing explanation to why he would lack it.