Farväl Falkenberg (2006)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Jesper Ganslandt

Writers:

Jesper Ganslandt (writer)
Fredrik Wenzel (writer)

Release Date:

22 September 2006 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama

Plot Keywords:

Friendship Between Men | Friendship

Awards:

5 nominations

Cast

John Axel Eriksson	...	John
Holger Eriksson	...	Holger
David Johnson	...	David
Jesper Ganslandt	...	Jesper
Jörgen Svensson	...	Jögren
Rolf Sundberg	...	Jespers pappa
Ulla Jerndin	...	Holgers och Johns mamma
Per-Ola Eriksson	...	Holgers och Johns pappa
Helena Svensson	...	Jörgens mamma
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Leif Arne Gustavsson
Eva Lundskog
Johanna Raoust

Also Known As:

Falkenberg Farewell (International: English title)
Adio Falkenberg (Greece) [el]
Pozegnanie Falkenberg (Poland) [pl]

Runtime:

Canada:91 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

Sweden | Denmark

Language:

Swedish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Certification:

Sweden:Btl

Company:

Memfis Film

Toronto Film Festival Highlight

This memorable, visually unique, and sometimes very emotional story of a group of young friends whose lives implode after their schooling ends ranked among the top 3 films of the 15 or so I saw at the Toronto Film Festival. Unfortunately, the combination of $20 ticket prices and a 1 (out of 5) rating given this film by the major Toronto free weekly paper resulted in relatively few audience members taking a chance on the work of a first-time director. Moreover, I will say that this is not a film for everyone, and that there were a fair number of walk-outs at the screening I saw.

All that said, I think those who appreciate films that approach storytelling from a truly cinematic perspective -- that is, where the shots, the editing, the sound design, and the music tell the story as much as the action and dialogue do -- will find a lot to love here. As others have noted, this film did share some aesthetic elements with the last few (excellent) features by Gus van Sant (Elephant, Gerry, and Last Days), but it mixes this feeling with some of the contagious warmth, humor, and genuine emotional impact of Lucas Moodysson's Together (2000).

I think that whoever gave this film that (fatal) 1-star rating in Toronto must have popped in a screener tape, seen a lot of out-of-work young people goofing around and cracking some coarse jokes, and then tuned out at about the ten minute mark, writing this one off as yet another debut filmmaker mining the "slacker" genre for low-grade yux -- admittedly an unappealing prospect. But there's so much more at work here, and those who stay engaged in the film will be rewarded with unconventional but emotionally honest (and first-rate!) storytelling.