Before the Storm (2000)

A Middle Eastern taxi driver living in Sweden, alongside his daughter's classmate, finds his life descending into chaos, terrorism and the demons of his past.

Director:

Reza Parsa

Writers:

Mikael Bengtsson, Reza Parsa

Stars:

Per Graffman, Maria Lundqvist, Sasha Becker

3 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Per Graffman	...	Ali
Maria Lundqvist	...	Alis fru
Sasha Becker	...	Sara
Anni Ececioglu	...	Saras storasyster (as Anni Egecioglu)
Emil Odepark	...	Leo
Tintin Anderzon	...	Leos mamma
Christer Fant	...	Leos pappa
Eric Lager	...	Lillebror
Nasrin Pakkho	...	Den kvinnliga kuriren
Caweh Passereh	...	Kurirens barnbarn
Mina Azarian	...	Alis förra fru
Ashkan Ghods	...	Alis son
César Sarachu	...	Gisslantagare (as Cesar Sarachu)
Reza Shojanyan	...	Gisslantagare (as Reza Shojaiyan)
Naser Ghofranifar	...	Gisslantagare

Storyline

This is a story of a disturbed normal life. In other words, it is a story that fear transforms the lives of the characters almost to destroy them. Ali is a man who comes from the Middle East. Lives in Sweden, is a taxi driver and has two daughters. Leo is an unassuming boy classmate of one of his daughters. Both will live in parallel a descent into hell when fear is installed in their lives and consumes them from within. In the case of Ali, through a message that sends memories to a distant past as a terrorist he thought he had finally escaped; in the case of Leo, when a series of unfortunate coincidences lead him to shoot another boy who constantly torments him. Both characters have to face their fears or succumb to it.

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Plot Keywords:

kidnapping | father son relationship | action hero | biker | car chase | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Reza Parsa's directorial film debut.

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Connections

References To Have and Have Not (1944)

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Soundtracks

Eruas me
Music and Lyrics Composed by Peter Lundbäck
Performed by Gothenburg Session Orchestra
Orchestra conductor: Jerker Johansson
Choral conductor: Peter Lundbäck
Sung by Göteborgs Kammarkör

User Reviews

7/10

Leo, a guy in the seventh grade gets harassed by a two years older boy in school and seeks revenge. At the same time, Ali, the father of a girl in Leo's class (who Leo has a crush on) is contacted by a opposition group from his home country that wants Ali to assassinate an important man for them. Otherwise, they'll kill the family that Ali left when moving to Sweden.

These two stories about morale are connected to each other in Reza Parsa's remarkable debut. The direction is good, the acting is excellent (especially young Emil Odepark in the difficult role as Leo) and the photography is way better than it usually is in the Swedish movie industry.

Lukas Moodysson started a boom of making good films in Sweden with "Fucking Åmål" ("Show Me Love" in the U.S.) and I hope that'll continue with future movies from Parsa and Moodysson, who prove themselves to be the most talented Swedish directors since Bo Wideberg. The best drama-thriller in a while. 7/10

Details

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish

Release Date:

22 September 2000 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Before the Storm

Filming Locations:

Gothenburg, Västra Götalands län, Sweden

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$7,836

Company Credits

Production Co:

Felicia Film, Film i Väst, Illusion Film & Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1