Completely unique, yet with a hundred nods a minute - there simply is no other movie like this. And it's cleverly made to be able to enjoy at any age, with new things to discover at every new viewing. It's a lifetime companion. If you know your art history, there are Easter eggs aplenty. But it never beats you over the head with its own cleverness, it's too busy setting up the next gag.
And there are plenty of tender emotional moments as well, sublimely delivered by a cast of some of Sweden's most acclaimed actors and actresses, and one internationally acclaimed opera singer, no less. But no Max von Sydow!
There's even animation. Sometimes, in a moment of magical realism, one of Picasso's paintings might come alive to emphasise a particularly poignant scene.
The only area where it is somewhat lacking is in the dialogue - it's almost non existent! And that's on purpose. It's an absurd fairytale about a painter, told in moving images. There *is* a narrator - which I suspect might be tacked on as a safety net, but adds a wonderful layer of self reflecting comedy to the entire affair. In the Swedish version, the movie starts off with a cheerful male voice exclaiming "Hello! My name is Elsa Beskow." Elsa Beskow (a woman) wrote and painted wonderfully illustrated children's fairytale books.
This movie takes delight in taking you by surprise in a thousand small jaw dropping ways. If you like this movie, I suspect you will watch it more than once.
And there are plenty of tender emotional moments as well, sublimely delivered by a cast of some of Sweden's most acclaimed actors and actresses, and one internationally acclaimed opera singer, no less. But no Max von Sydow!
There's even animation. Sometimes, in a moment of magical realism, one of Picasso's paintings might come alive to emphasise a particularly poignant scene.
The only area where it is somewhat lacking is in the dialogue - it's almost non existent! And that's on purpose. It's an absurd fairytale about a painter, told in moving images. There *is* a narrator - which I suspect might be tacked on as a safety net, but adds a wonderful layer of self reflecting comedy to the entire affair. In the Swedish version, the movie starts off with a cheerful male voice exclaiming "Hello! My name is Elsa Beskow." Elsa Beskow (a woman) wrote and painted wonderfully illustrated children's fairytale books.
This movie takes delight in taking you by surprise in a thousand small jaw dropping ways. If you like this movie, I suspect you will watch it more than once.
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