Jan Troell is one of the most legendary directors in Swedish cinema and more than a little of that reputation internationally stems from his oscar-nominated epics in the early 70s, The Emigrants and The New Land. Part of his unique appeal is that he creates period detail superbly and captures it himself as he is the cinematographer on his films. His latest offering, Everlasting Moments, has received a fair amount of acclaim but sadly atrocious distribution (its widest release in America was 30 screens and in the UK it opened in a grand total of seven cinemas), denying those interested from even getting a chance to see it.
The story follows the poor, growing, Finnish Larsson family in early 20th century Sweden. Sigfrid, the father, is an ox of a man and picks up work down the docks and the mother, Maria, takes odd jobs cleaning and sewing, whilst trying to raise the children. That is made more difficult when Sigfrid repeatedly becomes intoxicated and gets them thrown out of their housing. In order to raise some money Maria decides to sell a camera she won in a lottery before she got married, but the local proprietor of the photography shop, Sebastian Pedersen, encourages her to use the camera rather than sell it.
Elements of the story are a tad overdone as the feckless Dad routine does occasionally get a bit tiresome and the hypocrisy of Sigfrid openly having affairs, then being jealous of his wife is a touch trite. That may well be the only flaw in this exceptional film though. The way Maria both expresses herself and at times supports the family with her hobby/passion/talent is extremely satisfactory dramatically, and the depiction of the relationship between her and the timid Pedersen is an absolute delight.
Mr. Troell photographs this film so lovingly and skillfully, it's one for the senses aesthetically. Sometimes in period pieces the sets and costumes are first rate but it can feel set up for a film, or the actors don't seem right in them. Here, his cinematography melds everything together sublimely, meshing the actors with their characters and surroundings, creating a simple, genuine ambience. At the centre of this world he has created is Maria Heiskanen playing Maria and her performance is note-perfect. She has a wide range of emotions to show, always highlighting the dignity of her character's situation and the complexities of multiple relationships. Her turn is so unendingly natural it is seemingly effortless, it's a beautiful portrayal of a very real character.
The rest of the cast all turn in fine performances and Mikael Persbrandt in particular does the most he can with a brutally unforgiving role opposite Heiskanen. That said though, it is Jesper Christensen, usually such an arctic, unsympathetic screen presence, who brings all of the heart to the film as Pedersen. In his moments with Maria he radiates warmth and brings out the most touching moments of Heiskanen's wonderful characterisation; he encourages her, he respects and esteems her and she is at ease with him. He is both a fountain of kindness and the key to unlocking her creativity, and by extension herself. Their platonic relationship is powerfully moving, when Christensen looks at her he smiles with his eyes and in return Heiskanen reveals her character's soul, it's an achingly gorgeous meeting of two people on screen.
Everlasting Moments is such an artfully realistic film it's not surprising it's based on a real story, researched by Troell and his wife. The conception of the story mirrors the execution of it, everything about it is so lovingly done, it's clear Troell has lost none of his adoration of cinema despite his increasingly sporadic output. A glorious film that revels in the expression the medium allows, both thematically and in practice. Would be worth it just to get to know Maria Larsson, but as Troell so clearly attempted to create, there are some everlasting moments in doing so that will never leave the audience in this lyrical, ebbing, eye-closingly moving, utterly timeless film.