Darling (2007)

I love this movie so much

best movie i've ever seen.

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The film was voted by the Swedish Film Critics Association as 'Best Swedish Film of 2007', and with good reason. The film becomes a portrayal of Eva, and the emotional journey that she goes on. She is self-centered, egotistical and emotionally empty. But during a time of hardship she encounters Bernhard, and she gains a chance to escape from her carapace by actually considering someone else. But she is unable to make the complete journey and reverts to her empty ways. Meanwhile Bernhard should regard himself as hard-done-by, but he looks for the positives (in employment and the promised housing). The ending was great: Bernhard rides the bus but is smiling and waving, while Eva is in the luxury car but has reverted back into her blankness. Not everybody who looks attractive is really worthy! Can't imagine that Hollywood could ever make this movie as it shows a most subtle progression - but the progression is in reverse: as her finances go down, her emotional outlook goes up, and then vice-versa!; Hollywood would likely sickenly sweeten the ending by having Eva leave her boyfriend's SUV and join Bernhard on the bus!

A Swedish "Lost in translation" light, if you like: Young, spoiled (and seemingly zombie-like) rich girl gets a dose of reality check sliding down the upper-class ladder, as she loses her job, posh friends and is forced to get a menial job at a McDonald's. There she meets and befriends an older, gentle divorcée with a similarly sad past. Small, satirical urban drama of our time's morals, shallowness and urban alienation is likable for sure, but the sparse, undeveloped info about most of its characters (which of course is the purpose) also gives the movie itself an anonymous feel of sketchiness... and waaay too short a running time to really score. Warm performance by Segerström, though, a promising debut by Meadows and nicely shot in a wintry Stockholm. Most critical point made about our modern city rut of life, is the fact that the almost only human and kind character gets treated the worst! 5 out of 10 from Ozjeppe.

This film by Johan Kling is a clear example of Swedish film at its best. While showing some thematic resemblance to "Daybreak" ("Om jag vänder mig om") in its critical view on certain aspects of Swedish or Western culture, there is in addition the unlikely meeting of two persons from vastly different social spheres.Utilizing the power of subtlety in proud tradition of Bergman, the film provides a striking depiction of superficial emptiness in the posh quarters of Stockholm. Michelle Meadows plays her cold, spoiled character with impressive credibility. However, her uptown acquaintances seem slightly exaggeratedly flat in their shallowness."Darling" strikes another important contemporary theme by introducing the second main character played by Michael Segerström. A common cultural symptom of several Western countries, the ever positive and good-hearted Bernard learns how elders are threatened with falling into oblivion. After his wife has left him for a younger man, the retired Bernard seems to have fallen out of the frame, caught in a void of debts and cold isolation from work market, family and friends.The story keeps hold of you through numerous twists and admirable "read between the lines"-depth in the dialogue. The camera allows for the emotions of the characters to beautifully unfold. The end is in my opinion also well attuned to the film.To conclude, it is easy to see why "Darling" has won several awards in Sweden. Unfortunately for international connoisseurs of film, a considerable share of its qualities is only to be fully appreciated in Swedish. The depth and subtlety truly impress, as well as the timing of the themes. The reason why this film remains at an eight in ranking, is that the moral of the story feels slightly oversketched. In total, however, "Darling" is to be highly recommended.

Poor dialogue, poor directing, poor editing and very poor acting (with one or two exceptions) summons up this film pretty much. I can only assume an actor such as Michael Segerström, one of those who actually performed some acting in this piece, wasn't very proud when he saw the final result. I really can't understand how the film managed to win Nordic Film Prize (Best Film), it scares me a lot to think of the competitors. The dialog often seemed very unnatural, but that might be the result of poor directing/poor acting. The music itself is really good, but it doesn't fit in to the film. Imagine yourself watching a film with only dialogue, and then at the same time listening to music from a totally different context. It's totally weird, and I mean weird in a bad way. This film is nothing but a waste of time.