The series about Arn and Cecilia is set in Sweden as well as the Middle East, and offers a rich gallery of brave knights, powerful queens and treacherous kings. It is a tale of war and intrigue, friendship and betrayal, but also an unforgettable love story.

Arn Magnusson is born in 1150 on Arnäs farm in West Gothia in the western part of Sweden. He grows up to become an educated young man and a skilled swordsman. He meets Cecilia, the love of his life, but a cruel and jealous world forces them apart. Cecilia is imprisoned in a convent and Arn is sent away as a Knight Templar to the Holy Land, where war is raging between Christians and Muslims. They both have to fight to survive, they have to learn how to confront evil and overcome physical hardship. Their painful separation causes their faith in God and His goodness to waver – though not their faith in each other and their confidence that they will one day be reunited.

When Arn returns home he has to fight for his love and what has become his life’s mission: to unite Sweden into one kingdom.

Joakim Nätterqvist - Arn Magnusson
 Sofia Helin - Cecilia Algotsdotter
 Stellan Skarsgård - Birger Brosa
Morgan Alling - Eskil Magnusson
 Gustaf Skarsgård - Knut
Fanny Risberg - Cecilia Blanka
Milind Soman - Saladin
 Driss Roukhe - Fakhr
Bibi Andersson - Moder Rikissa
Nicholas Boulton - Gerard De Ridefort
 Anders Baasmo Christiansen - Harald Øysteinsson
Frank Sieckel - Sigfried De Turenne
 Göran Ragnerstam - Biskop Erland
 Annika Hallin - Syster Leonore
Michael Nyqvist - Magnus Folkesson
Vincent Perez - Broder Guilbert
 Simon Callow - Fader Henry

* * * * *

Director - Peter Flinth
Screenplay - Hans Gunnarsson 
Based on the novel by Jan Guillou
Cinematography - Eric Kress
Music - Tuomas Kantelinen
 

The Arn films were the most expensive Scandinavian production at around $30 million and were recorded in several places in the world. The Swedish parts of the film were filmed mostly in the province of Västergötland, while the foreign scenes are filmed in Morocco and Scotland. According to the UK's Herald Today, most of the film was actually shot in Scotland because there are so few surviving medieval buildings in Sweden. The filmmakers made use of the Lothians' medieval locations: Craigmillar Castle, Seton Collegiate, Torphichen Perceptory, in addition to exterior locations near Penicuik and on the Hopetoun estate.

Its international appeal was served by seven different languages ​​in the film: Swedish, English, Latin, Arabic, Norwegian, Danish and French. The first film premiered in Sweden in December 2007, the second in August 2008 and the TV series in March 2010.

Michael played Arn's father and he discussed the way family was portrayed in the film - "The story takes place at a time when the blacksmith changed children with the baker so as not to get too close to them. Children often died early. Of course, the parents loved their children, but probably did not know how we would understand today. Therefore, we try to show the relationship between Arn and his parents in a way that reflects both the past and the present. For example, I tried to bite Arn, like a good father would have done at that time, but I was not allowed to do that."