Monica Z (2013)

The world famous Swedish jazz singer, actress and icon Monica Zetterlund's life through stardom and hardship.

Director:

Per Fly

Writers:

Monica Zetterlund (inspired by the life of), Peter Birro (scenario)

Stars:

Edda Magnason, Sverrir Gudnason, Kjell Bergqvist

5 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Edda Magnason	...	Monica
Sverrir Gudnason	...	Sture
Kjell Bergqvist	...	Bengt
Vera Vitali	...	Marika
Oskar Thunberg	...	Vilgot
Johannes Wanselow	...	Beppe
Nadja Christiansson	...	Eva-Lena
David Hellenius	...	Skivbolagsdirektören
Cecilia Ljung	...	Greta
Fredrik Lindborg	...	Dompan
Jörgen Thorsson	...	Tage
Hanna Ullerstam	...	Kerstin
Hedda Stiernstedt	...	Lina
Henrik Ståhl	...	Povel Ramel
Anna Harling	...	Journalisten

Storyline

Set in the glamour and free spirit of the early sixties. Monica, a young Swedish small town girl is dreaming of the vibrant city jazz clubs of Stockholm. She embarks on an intense journey in the limelight as a celebrated singer and actress in the golden era of jazz. Among artists and hipsters her phenomenal success leaves a trail of broken love affairs and promises.

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Plot Keywords:

jazz singer | female singer | jazz | cigarette smoking | drinking | 

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Taglines:

A lingonberry branch in a cocktail glass.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Music

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish English

Release Date:

13 September 2013 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Waltz for Monica

Filming Locations:

Gothenburg, Västra Götalands län, Sweden

Company Credits

Production Co:

StellaNova Film, Film i Väst, Svensk Filmindustri (SF)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Kjell Bergqvist has worked with real life Monica Zetterlund in the TV drama Katitzi (1979). Their respective characters was brother and stepmother to the main character Katitzi.

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Goofs

In connection with the 1963 ESC show, The Supremes' chart buster "My World is Empty without You, Babe" is heard in the background. The song was released three years later, i.e. in 1966.

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Connections

References Eurovision Song Contest: Grand Prix 1963 (1963)

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Soundtracks

I Can't Give You Anything But Love (Baby)
Composed by Jimmy McHugh (1928)
Lyrics written by Dorothy Fields
Performed by Edda Magnason

User Reviews

"Revering, life-affirming and acclaiming..."

Danish screenwriter and director Per Fly's sixth feature film which he co-wrote with Swedish author and screenwriter Peter Birro, is freely based on the life of a Swedish 20th and 21st century singer and actress named Monica Zetterlund (1937-2005). It premiered at the 7th Way Out West Music Festival in Sweden in 2013, was screened in the Nordic Focus section at the 41st Norwegian International Film Festival Haugesund in 2013, was shot on locations in Sweden and USA and is a Sweden-Denmark co-production which was produced by Swedish producer Lena Rehnberg. It tells the story about a 23-year-old telephone operator, jazz singer and mother named Monica who lives in a town called Hagfors in Sweden with her parents named Bengt and Greta Nilsson and her 5-year-old daughter named Eva-Lena, and who during a winter in 1960 is contacted by an English jazz pianist named Leonard Feather who invites her to New York, USA.

Distinctly and engagingly directed by Nordic filmmaker Per Fly, this finely paced and densely biographical tale which is narrated from multiple viewpoints though mostly from the main character's point of view, draws a humane and involving portrayal of an inspirited woman's relationship with her father, her daughter, her friend named Marika, a filmmaker named Vilgot Sjöman and a jazz musician named Sture Åkerberg. While notable for its naturalistic, variegated and atmospheric milieu depictions, reverent cinematography by Danish cinematographer Eric Kress, production design by Swedish production designer and costume designer Josefin Åsberg, costume design by costume designer Kicki Ilander and use of sound, colors and light, this character-driven and narrative-driven story about a person who grew up in a working-class family in Sweden in the 20th century and who struggled to make her father see that her persistent engagement in her music career wasn't all in vain, depicts a reflective study of character and contains a great and timely score by Swedish composer Peter Nordahl.

This somewhat historic, at times charmingly romantic and heart-shaped drama which is set in Sweden and in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s and which gracefully reconstructs and reminiscences poignant scenes in the life of a renowned artist, daughter and sister who was both criticized and praised in her homeland and discovered by American musicians she admired, is impelled and reinforced by its cogent narrative structure, substantial character development, subtle continuity, singing by Edda Magnason, striking scenes between Monica and her father, lyrics sung in Swedish by Monica : "I walk around in my Pompeii amongst ruins…" and the heartfelt acting performances by Swedish singer and actress Edda Magnason in her debut feature film role and Swedish actors Sverrir Gudnason and Kjell Bergqvist. A revering, life-affirming and acclaiming narrative feature which gained, among several other awards, the Nordic Film Award Haugesund at the 41st Norwegian Film Festival Haugesund in 2013.