Jerusalem (1996)

The beginning of the 20th century. Gertrud and Ingmar are in love with each other. While Ingmar is away during the winter, a religious wave spreads in the area. Also Gertrud becomes a ... See full summary »

Director:

Bille August

Writers:

Bille August, Selma Lagerlöf (novel)

Stars:

Maria Bonnevie, Ulf Friberg, Pernilla August

2 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Maria Bonnevie	...	Gertrud
Ulf Friberg	...	Ingmar
Pernilla August	...	Karin
Lena Endre	...	Barbro
Sven-Bertil Taube	...	Hellgum
Reine Brynolfsson	...	Tim
Jan Mybrand	...	Gabriel
Max von Sydow	...	Vicar
Olympia Dukakis	...	Mother (Mrs. Gordon)
Björn Granath	...	Storm
Viveka Seldahl	...	Stina
Sven Wollter	...	Stor-Ingmar
Johan Rabaeus	...	Eljas
Mona Malm	...	Eva Gunnarsdotter
André Beinö	...	Ingmar som barn

Storyline

The beginning of the 20th century. Gertrud and Ingmar are in love with each other. While Ingmar is away during the winter, a religious wave spreads in the area. Also Gertrud becomes a follower of the new Christian belief. The new priest is very mesmerizing and he wants his followers to emigrate with him to Palestine. Ingmar's sister decides to follow him and sells the home which has been the family's for centuries. The only way for Ingmar to save it is to marry the daughter of the man who buys it, Barbro. With Ingmar married to another, Gertrud cannot stay and follows the others to Palestine. However, Ingmar does not love Barbro. He is still in love with Gertrud and eventually follows her.

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Plot Keywords:

eastern europe | love | palestine | sweden | marriage | 

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Taglines:

En film om trons makt och kärlekens styrka.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some violence and a scene of sensuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

Based on a novel which in turn was based on the true story of when 37 villagers in Nås, Dalarna, Sweden, sold all their belongings and emigrated to Jerusalem in 1896. There, they joined the American Colony led by Anna Spafford (the movie's "Mother"), widow of Horatio who penned the hymn "It Is Well With My Soul". Eventually, the colony crumbled, especially after Mrs. Spafford's death, and was ultimately dissolved amid inner conflicts. By then, many of the Swedish emigrants, not very used to the Middle Eastern climate and forbidden by Mrs. Spafford to accept any medical help, had succumbed. The last members of the original group passed away in Jerusalem in the 1960s, whereas descendants of others emigrated to the U.S. when the Israel-Palestinian conflicted started escalating in the late 1940s.

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Connections

Version of Till österland (1926)

User Reviews

How religion effects a small Swedish town

Very interesting study of the effects of religion, especially cult-like Christianity, in a small Swedish town at the turn of the 20th century.

Has a great feel for time and place, and some very moving moments.

It almost becomes a great film, but – at least on 1st viewing – there was too much missing from understanding some of he characters' choices (perhaps because this was edited down from a mini-series), and a few too many melodramatic twists (again, with more time that might have felt less bothersome as they might have felt less on top of each other.)

Certainly a film I could imagine re-visiting, and would love to see the full, longer version.

Details

Country:

Sweden Denmark Norway Finland Iceland

Language:

Swedish English Russian

Release Date:

7 March 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Jerusalem

Filming Locations:

Jämtlands län, Sweden

Box Office

Budget:

SEK40,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Danmarks Radio (DR), Det Danske Filminstitut, Finnish Film Foundation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

168 min 230 min (4 parts) (TV)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1