Lust och fägring stor (1995)

Director:

Bo Widerberg

Writer:

Bo Widerberg (screenplay)

Release Date:

8 March 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | War

Tagline:

Han var elev. Hon hans lärarinna. Deras kärlek var förbjuden.

Plot:

Malmoe, Sweden during the Second World War. Stig is a 15 year old pupil on the verge of adulthood. Viola is 37 years old and his teacher...

Plot Keywords:

Teacher | Sweden | Extramarital Affair | Party | Sexual Favor

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 5 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Johan Widerberg	...	Stig
Marika Lagercrantz	...	Viola
Tomas von Brömssen	...	Kjell
Karin Huldt	...	Lisbet
Nina Gunke	...	Stig's Mother
Björn Kjellman	...	Sigge
Kenneth Milldoff	...	Stig's Father
Frida Lindholm	...	Olga
Sigge Cederlund	...	Biografmaskinisten
George Bisset
Gösta Ekstrand
Hilda Suovanen
Per Olov Börjeson
Jörgen Svensson
Monica Stenbeck	...	Gymnastiklärarinnan

Also Known As:

All Things Fair (International: English title)
Lærerinden (Denmark)
Love Lessons

Runtime:

130 min

Country:

Sweden | Denmark

Language:

Swedish | English | Portuguese | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Singapore:R(A) | South Korea:18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA (cable rating) | Chile:18 | Denmark:12 | Finland:K-14 | Hong Kong:III | Spain:18 | Sweden:11

Filming Locations:

Malmö, Skåne län, Sweden

Company:

Per Holst Filmproduktion

Movie Connections:

References They Died with Their Boots On (1941)

Soundtrack:

Hur har du det med kärleken idag

More films of this standard are desirable

How much I regret the passing of director Bo Widerberg who can create a film such as this one with its dramatic portrayal of human problems, human relationships and human emotions. It was not so much the dialogue but more the unspoken words that grabbed my attention and held me to the end. A long silence can be filled with meaning....a stolen look, a fleeting glance, a flicker of a smile, a movement of the eye....all these subtle messages electrify the air between Viola the teacher and Stig the student in the class room. We know at once that in some magical way their lives have been drawn together and as we are caught up in the drama we seem to know that eventually the ending will not be a happy one.

Under the guise of having special coaching lessons, Stig gains entrance into his married teacher's household after his evening cinema job. Shy at first he soon experiences the delights of a continuing relationship with Viola who is a very competent teacher in all respects. Perhaps we can pardon Viola for her "cradle snatching" when we find out that her husband has taken to drink and seems almost permanently drunk.

The love scenes are sensitively handled and the remarkable changes which develop in the characters create an imposing piece of cinema. Stig seems to take on a degree of security in a scene where he accuses the husband of the impossible situation. But who is really to blame? That is the intriguing part of the film.

There are some aspects that are not explained thus the viewer becomes involved. As for the stolen encyclopaedia, why would Stig carry them off. Is he just in a vindictive mood and does it just to annoy Viola or have those volumes become special to him because they belonged to Viola.