1939 (1989)

World War II through the eyes of a Stockholm waitress.

Director:

Göran Carmback

Writers:

Brasse Brännström (story), Catti Edfeldt,

Stars:

Helene Egelund, Helena Bergström, Per Morberg

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Helene Egelund	...	Annika
Helena Bergström	...	Berit
Per Morberg	...	Bengt Hall
Ingvar Hirdwall	...	Annika's father
Anita Ekström	...	Annika's mother
Per Oscarsson	...	Isak
Per Grytt	...	Annika's brother
Johan Ulveson	...	Harald Persson
Stefan Larsson	...	Hans Zetterberg
Keve Hjelm	...	Alfred Hall
Anita Wall	...	Cecilia Hall
Willie Andréason	...	Gustaf Persson
Krister Henriksson	...	Rickard Zetterberg
Gunilla Larsson	...	Eliz Zetterberg
Gino Samil	...	Länsman

Storyline

When the war breaks out, Annika lives with her parents in Värmland, close to the border to Norway. Her cousin Harald is a dealer in the black market but has to escape from the police to Norway. Annika moves to Stockholm and gets a job as a waitress. She meets the happy-go-lucky Berit and together they have a wonderful time. She also meets a young man, Bengt, whom she marries. But almost immediately she discovers that her husband is different from the man who was courting her.

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Plot Keywords:

norway | black market | world war two | love | year in title | 

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Taglines:

För många av oss betydde kriget början på friheten.

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish

Release Date:

25 December 1989 (Sweden)

Filming Locations:

Båtviken, Västra Götalands län, Sweden

Box Office

Budget:

SEK 30,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

SEK 30,491,659 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

SVT Drama, Svensk Filmindustri (SF), Svenska Filminstitutet (SFI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

193 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Edited into Max Manus: Man of War (2008)

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Soundtracks

"MIN ARM OMKRING DIN HALS"
Music by Orup (Thomas Eriksson) and Anders Glenmark
Lyrics by Orup (Thomas Eriksson)
Performed by Zenya Hamilton

User Reviews

Somewhat lame - but hey - I actually appear!

This film is probably one of the most well-made films Sweden has ever produced. It's serious, it's truthful and believable and it really depicts life in Sweden during the WW2. I'm from Värmland myself, so that part of the film seems most important to me. Many swedes lived with the Third Reich as neighbors during the occupation, and it's a clever touch to include the shooting of some people trying to make it to Sweden.

I also have to point out that my single appearance in any film so far, is at the train station when the father leaves to do military service. See the hats of the little boys running around in the crowd? One of them is me :)

Anyway, well made, and it really shows that this was the most expensive Swedish film to date. Somewhat slow, though.