Elvira Madigan
by Bo Widerberg
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Cleo Jensen, Lennart Malmer, Pia Degermark, Thommy Berggren, Yvonne IngdalDirector: Bo Widerberg
Cinematographer: Jörgen Persson
Editor: Bo Widerberg
Writer: Bo Widerberg
Producer: Peter Fernandez
Producer: Waldemar Bergendahl
Writer: Johan Lindström Saxon
Writer: Noelle Gilmour
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Subtitled); Swedish (Original Language), Unknown
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 91 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1999-03-30
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Fox Lorber
Movie Reviews of Elvira Madigan
Movie Review: In Praise Of Love: Perfect For Valentines
Summary: 5 Stars
In 1967, the world was ready to accept the touching tragedy of Elvira Madigan, a Danish film presented to Americans via the art-house medium which was becoming popular. It was the 60's and the world was changing. In America, hippies advocated free love and rebelled against establishment and authorities they found stifling and oppressive, particularily because of disappointment and disillusion with the unfit government, they promoted the ideals of peace and love in a time of great violence- the Vietnam War. The romance of Elvira Madigan touched Americans at this time in much the same way that Zefferelli's Romeo and Juliet film did. In fact, at this time, such romantic films were popular. 1965 to 1969 saw The Sound Of Music and Doctor Zhivago make it big in the movies. This film is perfect for Valentine's Day. It's a period piece- set in 1859 and drawn from a true story but modernized to look 60's. The film stars Pia Degermark as the title heroine and Thommy Berggren as her lover, Sixten. The film has been criticized with the complaint that there is very little plot and that story is sacrificed by beautiful cinematography and visual scenery of the location- the countryside of Denmark. But there is a story. It's very easy to follow. Elvira Madigan, a tightrope walker from the circus, who is desired by many men (she might have been a courtesan) falls deeply in love with Sixten, an army officer or naval captain of some sort. Together, though their love is forbidden by society, they renounce the world and responsibility and run away together. They escape the authorities by hiding out in hotels and other spots. But in the end, they are nearly caught and there is no way out but suicide. They shoot themselves in the seclusion of the forest. The most remembered scene is the lovemaking- Sixten and Elvira eat a picnic al fresco in the country and make love in the grass. It's nothing pornographic or hardcore, in fact they're fully dressed and it's softcore but very romantic to watch. Enhancing the romance is Mozart's Piano Concerto 21 second movement andante, which was the love theme for the film. The acting is satisfying for a story like this. Pia Degermark looks a bit like Julie Christie, a British actress who was popular at this time (she potrayed Lara in Doctor Zhivago, she appeared in Darling, a film about the swinging 60's London scene, and in historic epics as Far From The Maddening Crowd and The Go-Between). Thommy Bergren plays a fine handsome, heroic lead. It is the on-screen chemistry between the lovers that make the movie so successful. They are inseperable lovers who seem to come straight out of a 19th century novel. A great film, perfect to watch to get you in the mood for Valentine's Day.
Summary of Elvira Madigan
The global art-house frenzy was in full swing when Elvira Madigan first made audiences swoon back in 1967. Set in an idyllic Danish forest in 1859 and loosely based on an actual double-suicide, this lushly photographed, quietly seductive film presents a richly romantic tragedy while suggesting that the most intense form of love resembles a kind of blissful insanity. The inseparable lovers in this case are a married Swedish army lieutenant named Sixten (Thommy Berggren) who's gone absent without leave, and the radiantly beautiful Elvira Madigan (Pia Degermark), a Danish tightrope walker who's abandoned her popular position in a traveling circus. Together they have no use for the distractions of the real world; they live only for each other, sharing simple pleasures, spontaneous intimacy, and a seemingly unlimited supply of wild berries, wine, and leisure time. As Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 dominates the soundtrack, Sixten and Elvira chase butterflies (and each other) through a peaceful meadow, at which point the movie practically oozes with romantic perfection. (When most people think of "art-house" movies of the 1960s, they're most likely thinking of movies such as this--although the lovemaking here is nothing if not tamely discreet.)Swedish director Bo Widerberg wrote, directed, and edited this film and makes full use of Jorgen Persson's soft, sensual cinematography. Though its plot is almost nonexistent, the film is arrestingly beautiful and the almost-too-attractive actors bring naturalness and depth to their performances, elevating this tale of doomed love above the level of gushy sentiment. For all of its surface appeal, Elvira Madigan is an intelligent film, and Widerberg builds toward genuine tragedy without compromising the dream-like idealism of Sixten and Elvira's unconditional love. Widerberg also inserts a few hints of casual irony, as when Elvira sells a portrait of herself that was drawn by a "cripple" at a cafe in Paris; neither she nor the pawnshop owner recognizes the artist's signature as that of Toulouse-Lautrec! These little grace notes enhance this otherwise lightweight film, and while the tragedy never achieves Shakespearean proportions, this is nevertheless an alluring, introspective portrait of romance at its most sublimely emotional extreme. --Jeff Shannon
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