Mio min Mio (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.

---

Plot Keywords:

russian mythology | russian and scandinavian mythology | boy | knight | friend | 

---

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.

---

Genres:

Adventure | Family | Fantasy

---

Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Author Astrid Lindgren did not care for this adaption, and once told Lasse Hallström, another director of her works, that "I will try not to like you. Because all of the directors I like only end up dead" (Refering to long-time collaborator Olle Hellbom, who adapted most of her books, as well as Tage Danielsson, who died shortly after completing Ronja Rövardotter (1986)), but said of Vladimir Grammatikov that he "isn't in any mortal danger."

---

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.

---

Connections

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

---

Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

MIO IN THE LAND OF FARAWAY (Vladimir Grammatikov, 1987) **1/2

Based on the children's classic by Astrid Lindgren, this was obviously intended as the Swedish reply to the international commercial success enjoyed by West Germany with THE NEVERENDING STORY (1984); the result proved nowhere near as effective and, if the film is remembered today, this is chiefly due to the presence of Christopher Lee (naturally, as the villain of the piece) and the very young Christian Bale playing the titular hero's sidekick in his screen debut.

As with the afore-mentioned Wolfgang Petersen fantasy, this starts out in modern times – with the protagonist bullied by his peers and unloved even by his (adopted) family. Seeking his wanderer dad, he is transported to a fairy-tale landscape and finds that here he is the King (Timothy Bottoms), and his own name has been changed from Bosse to Mio; likewise, the boy's only chum (Bale) is called Benke in our age and Jum-Jum in the Land of Faraway. A legend concerning a king's son defeating the evil knight Kato (Lee, sporting an iron claw and, literally, a heart of stone) – who abducts the children of the realm and, for no discernible reason, transforms them into birds – is expected to be fulfilled upon Mio's arrival. Typically, a number of characters come into play during the journey either to help, hinder or assail our young adventurers; indeed, before departing, he is given a sword capable of cutting through both steel and stone and a magical coat that allows him to become invisible simply by wearing it inside out – the latter is provided by weaver Susannah York. For the record, despite their above-title credit, both York's and Bottoms' contributions are negligible at best.

Oddly enough, there is barely any action prior to the last half-hour of the 99-minute film – when the two boys are imprisoned but escape soon after and Mio confronts Kato, who is turned wholly to stone upon being run through with the hero's sword. Ultimately, the film makes for harmless and reasonably pleasant-looking viewing – and, while its artistic potential comes up lacking compared to other contemporaneous Hollywood efforts of its ilk (such as LADYHAWKE {1985} and WILLOW {1988}), the producers certainly left nothing to chance by commissioning two former members of the hugely popular Swedish pop group ABBA to compose the title tune!

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