Mio in the Land of Faraway (1987)

A lonely boy who is transferred from his dull life with his adoptive parents to the land where his real father is the King. In that country, he sets out on a quest, together with his new friend, to destroy the evil Knight Kato.

Director:

Vladimir Grammatikov

Writers:

William Aldridge (screenplay), Astrid Lindgren (novel)

Stars:

Nick Pickard, Christian Bale, Timothy Bottoms

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nick Pickard	...	Mio / Bosse (as Nicholas Pickard)
Christian Bale	...	Jum-Jum / Benke
Timothy Bottoms	...	The King
Susannah York	...	The Weaver Woman
Christopher Lee	...	Kato
Sverre Anker Ousdal	...	The Swordmaker
Igor Yasulovich	...	Eno / Carpetbeater (as Igor Isulovitch)
Gunilla Nyroos	...	Aunt Edna
Linn Stokke	...	Mrs. Lundin
Stig Engström	...	Benke's Father
Geoffrey Staines	...	The Spirit
Lyubov Germanova	...	Jum-Jum's Mother (as Lubov Germanova)
Andrei Petrov	...	Jiri
Andrey Sergeev	...	Nonno
Denis Bodrov	...	Lollo

Storyline

A fantasy about the lonely boy who is transferred from his dull life with his adoptive parents to the land where his real father is the King. In that country, he sets out on a quest, together with his new friend, to destroy the evil Knight Kato.

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Plot Keywords:

eastern europe | russian mythology | russian and scandinavian mythology | knight | friend | 

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Taglines:

They're two best friends, a million miles from home. On an incredible adventure, beyond the boundaries of space and time. In a place called...The Land of Faraway.

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Genres:

Adventure | Family | Fantasy

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Based on a book by Astrid Lindgren, author of "Pippi Longstocking". Lindgren wrote the book after she saw a lonely boy sitting on a park bench in Stockholm, Sweden. She wondered what he was doing there, who he was, and where he would end up, and that gave birth to the story of Prince Mio. The bench on which the boy sat can still be found in Stockholm today, marked with a sign saying "Mio sat here".

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Quotes

Bosse: Who is that man? Wait, don't tell me. I already know. He's my father, right?
The Spirit: Yes. The king of the Land of Faraway.

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Connections

Referenced in Best of the Worst: Our VHS Collection (2019)

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Soundtracks

Mio My Mio
Written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus
Sung by Gemini

User Reviews

Mio in the Land of Faraway

This largely unknown film is okay, although flawed. Has influences from several countries, as it isn't a one-nationality movie, which makes it a mix of cultures and film-making (for good and for bad). Not just this, it also heavily "drank" inspiration from other fantasy movies in details.

This is one of those films that make me wanna be taken to a world of fantasy, especially now when things only get worst every year. If that could be possible, that would be an excellent escape from reality. I am pretty sick of reality and probably many of us are.

The cinematography is astonishing and so is the pan flute music (including a song which was composed by ABBA's former members Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus - 'Mio my Mio', performed by the Swedish band Gemini).

As it was said in another review, the film doesn't deliver a lot of action, but to compensate it offers decent amounts of adventure, although without being too intense or exciting. The main villain is creepy and so are his intentions and way of talking. But he doesn't have that much of a role, so he ends up seeming less scary that he is.

Nicholas Pickard and Christian Bale steal the show as the main actors, both in double roles, but still Christian Bale is the best of the two. Nicholas Pickard is not a familiar name to most (myself included). However, Christian Bale soon would become a famous and highly praised actor. Christian Bale starred in 'Empire of the Sun' in the same year as this (1987) and that was when he began to draw attentions from the public and press thanks to his amazing performance. He grew up to be a successful adult with a successful career, even if he's not as good as he was when younger.

In each of the two roles played by these boys, they are good friends. Actually, their friendship is very sincere and humble. They have mutual respect and help each other. Whatever happened to friendships like this these days, when everything is so changed for worst that almost nothing seems to make sense any longer?

Details

Country:

Sweden Soviet Union Norway

Language:

English

Release Date:

May 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Land of Faraway

Filming Locations:

UK

Box Office

Budget:

SEK55,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Nordisk Tonefilm International, Kinostudiya imeni M. Gorkogo, Norway Film Development

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1