|
With only two weeks to go before she
turns the dreaded 30, Tin-Tin, a Swedish piano player
hastily tries to achieve her two highest goals: to
perform in the lounge of the Grand Hotel in Stockholm
and to find a husband. Tin-Tin's endeavors provide the
basis of this black Swedish comedy. She has a live-in
lover, but Paul, who hosts the popular radio call-in
show "Such Is Life," shows little interest in serious
commitment, even though the subject of his series is how
to make relationships work. Tin-Tin is also the object
of her manager Stef's hottest fantasies. Olle, the owner
of a large hotel has similar designs, though he is
married. All of them are floored when she suddenly
announces that she is marrying a Norwegian industrial
tycoon in a tiny, picturesque northern town. That
wedding is where the bulk of the film's most darkly
humorous moments occur.
|
|
Aftonbladet review: Nutley has
woven a story in which the scenes vacillate between
seriousness and humor, and are at times almost macabre.
The recording may be a bit too slow, but at the end is
the best Nutley has done to date.
There is a lot to praise: the actors,
the dialogue, the cinematography, the superb way to
create "Swedish" atmosphere but above all two scenes are
stuck in memory:
The Swedish police's permanent police
Lassgård showcases a whole new page. The scene where he
breaks down in explaining his love for Tin-Tin is a show
of great acting.
The wedding scene of the film is a
future classic, a completely brilliant mix of comedy and
tragedy. It is on the same level as the best scenes in
"Four Weddings and a Funeral".
As a whole, "Such is life" is a big
Swedish movie, the best Colin Nutley has done beside
"Black Jack".
Gunnar Rehlin, Variety:
When the film opens, Tin-Tin is two
weeks away from her 30th birthday. She is surrounded by
men: she lives with Paul (Jakob Eklund), the
charming but wild host of a radio show, Such Is Life, to
which listeners call in with their relationship
problems; her cynical manager, Stef (Philip Zanden),
lusts after her; and so does married hotelier Olle (Rolf
Lassgard). She also meets a Norwegian industrialist,
Harald (Sverre Anker Ousdal), and, when he proposes, she
much to her own surprise accepts.
The wedding is scheduled to be held
at a small church by a Norwegian fjord, and events
quickly take a turn into a black and very funny farce.
Others in Tin-Tin's life include her estranged parents.
Her mother (Lena Nyman) is a man-eater, while her father
(Sven-Bertil Taube) is always away traveling.
Lenser Peter Mokrosinski (taking over
from Nutley's regular cameraman, Jens Fischer) has come
up with a stylish look for the picture. Editing by Perry
Schaffer is sharp, and Marie Fredriksson, of the w.k.
rock group Roxette, has written an ear-catching theme
song. Performances are all tops, even though Nyman
playing a sexually voracious character has almost become
a cliche. Lassgard is convincing as the love-struck Olle,
Zanden is delightful as the cynical Stef, and Eklund has
the right combination of cocky arrogance and sadness to
make Paul believable. However, the center of the film is
Bergstrom, a highly photogenic actress who dominates the
frame whenever she's on. Nutley knows this, and uses her
as much as he can.
|
