Elina: As If I Wasn't There (2003)

Good concept, poorly executed.

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Klaus Haro's "Elina -- As If I Wasn't There" can proudly stand alongside classics about childhood such as France's "Forbidden Games", The Czech Republic's "The Elementary School", and Japan's "Muddy River". Set in Northern Sweden, this remarkable movie focuses on the inner agony of Elina (Natalie Minnivek), a smart young girl who has recently lost her father, a Finn, and is recovering from tuberculosis. When she starts a new school, the stubborn child, who is a sharp chip off her father's block, clashes with Tora Holm (Bibi Andersson), the school's most senior teacher. Not only is the clash of these two females a clash of wills, it is a clash of cultures. The rigid Holm forbids Elina and other students from speaking Finnish and enforces a Swedish-only language rule. Elina rebels against her teacher and takes emotional refuge in the bog outside the town where she believes her father still resides. The bog is a mysterious, wild, and beautiful place, retaining memories of the times Elina spent with her beloved father. The film's simple story is an effective frame on which to hang a number of cleverly explored issues such as the majority's treatment of minorities, poverty, tolerance, and Swedish identity (the Old and the New). First-time director Haro's grasp of the material is impressive and naturalistic. Not a shot is wasted. Not a single emotion is false. The photography of the rural exteriors and interiors is breathtaking and transporting; this is pure cinema with something to say and an original way to say it. Tuomas Kantelinen's musical score enhances and enriches the physical beauty and the delicate inner world of characters we come to know and understand. When I watch films like this, I fall in love with cinema all over again.

I saw this at the Newport Film Festival in 2003 and am bewildered and dismayed that it is not (yet?) out in DVD. First of all, viewers unfamiliar with this geographical area will be introduced, through stunning cinematography, to the magical landscape of this part of northern Sweden. If you thought you could not love a bog, you will start searching, like me, for a coffee table book on "Bogs, Fens, and Marshes," (I made that up -someone publish this book, please!) The story is compelling, thoughtfully and superbly rendered by cast, writer, director, and all involved. A little girl struggles with grief over the loss of her father, "talking" to him in the bogs she is forbidden to visit (they are very dangerous if you don't know how to navigate them), but knows he loved. Life is made especially hard for her in school by a female teacher totally lacking in compassion and understanding of the loss she is dealing with, and who seems fixated on her students speaking Swedish ONLY, rather than Finnish, which many of them speak as their native language. The relationship between the little girl and her teacher comes to an extremely gripping, moving, touching climax which will undoubtedly surprise the audience. Humanity pours out of this film, especially this "stand-off" between teacher and pupil which washes the audience in awe of what film can do. I did not even realize this film was for children. I am 42, a movie connoisseur, especially foreign films, and this is on my top ten list. It is a gem, and why it has not come out on DVD is a total mystery to me. If anyone knows how to obtain a copy of this film, please post this information! A movie of similar caliber that I would suggest is "The Color of Milk," (Norway/Sweden) (2002).

I am used to action movies and to movies about the power of vengeance. This is a movie about the power of forgiveness. Everyone should see it. It is photographed in northern Sweden in a very beautiful landscape. The actors, especially the little girl protagonist, are just great.

Avoid this piece of crap at all cost. I just sat thru this awful film in a local theatre. I wanted to leave after 15 minutes due to panic attacks and nausea. But i was there with a friend and felt obligated to stay thru-out. The story is non-existant, the plot is nowhere to be found. There is no conflict (or problem) to be solved. The actors are bad e.t.c....We follow a little girl called ELINA, her sister, her mother anda strict schoolteacher (Bibi Andersson). This is a parody on film-making, and a mockery of interesting stories about life.If the "bad teacher" vs "good student" interests you, I would strongly recommend watching: "Hets", "Ole, Dole, Doff", "Zero de Conduite", instead of this awful movie.My rating: 0/10 AVOID AT ALL COST !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)