Four Shades of Brown (2004)

An eccentric millionaire dies at a manor in Dalarna in Sweden, leaving behind three sons and a mistress. One of four parallel stories about parents and children. Four sides of Sweden. Four shades of brown.

Director:

Tomas Alfredson

Writers:

Tomas Alfredson, Robert Gustafsson

Stars:

Robert Gustafsson, Maria Kulle, Karl Linnertorp

5 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Gustafsson	...	Christer / Johan
Maria Kulle	...	Anna
Karl Linnertorp	...	Morgan
Jonas Inde	...	Ray / Tony
Johan Rheborg	...	Kjell Levrén / Ernst
Karin Holmberg	...	Arbetsterapeuten (as Karin 'Kickan' Holmberg)
Viktor Friberg	...	Jan
Eva Ekengren	...	Mådan
Tore Persson	...	Morgan's Teacher
Henrik Schyffert	...	Richard
Anna Björk	...	Tove
Iwar Wiklander	...	Jan-Erik
Karin Ekström	...	Smulan
Finn Nielsen	...	Perikles
Fyr Thorvald Strömberg	...	Keskinen (as Fyr Torvald)

Storyline

An eccentric millionaire dies at a manor in Dalarna in Sweden, leaving behind three sons and a mistress. One of four parallel stories about parents and children. Four sides of Sweden. Four shades of brown.

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Plot Keywords:

sweden | family relationships | parent child relationship | father daughter relationship | father son relationship | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

svt.se

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish Estonian Danish

Release Date:

6 February 2004 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Four Shades of Brown

Company Credits

Production Co:

Nordisk Film/TV, SVT Drama, Svenska Filminstitutet (SFI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

192 min

Sound Mix:

DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

References The Sting (1973)

User Reviews

Staggering Swedes

A Swedish friend of mine sent me a DVD of this earlier this year; it has yet to arrive in Britain in any form and it seems to be impossible to order the DVD over the web. In the absence of circulating copies, I have simply been boring anyone who will listen about this amazing film.

'Four Shades of Brown' was funded by Swedish state TV, and written, performed and directed by the Killinggagets group who are well known in Sweden as a comedy troupe. The film is a collection of stories about contemporary Swedish life: the family of a dead horse trainer gather to mourn his passing, an elderly couple on tour with their magic act visit their uptight son in his coastal hotel and pick up an admirer en route, a man tries to connect with his teenage son by showing him the work he does at the pet crematorium, and a weekly 'cookery class' has turned into an encounter group where lost souls discuss their troubled lives. A couple of the strands interconnect: and some people have drawn comparisons with 'Magnolia', but frankly this film is far more original. It manages to be incredibly funny, yet in the end it addresses some very serious issues head-on. This is the most controversial aspect of the film, and on paper it might seem tasteless and impossible to bring off, but it works brilliantly and that on its own is an incredible achievement. This film is quite unique and easily the most astonishing drama to have emerged from a major TV network since the original BBC version of Dennis Potter's 'The Singing Detective' in 1986 (although in some ways it also reminds me of the dark, dark satire of British comedian Chris Morris). It's brave and wonderful and a shining example of what an enlightened state broadcasting system can achieve: Sveriges TV puts the 21st Century BBC to shame.

I visited Stockholm last month and bought several copies of the DVD for friends: but it would be so much easier if some enterprising company gave the DVD a UK release soon. I live in hope.