Plot
Malmoe, Sweden during the Second World War. Stig is a 15 year old pupil on the verge of adulthood. Viola is 37 years old and his teacher...
Release Year: 1995
Rating: 6.9/10 (2,684 voted)
Director:
Bo Widerberg
Stars: Johan Widerberg, Marika Lagercrantz, Tomas von Brömssen
Storyline Malmoe, Sweden during the Second World War. Stig is a 15 year old pupil on the verge of adulthood. Viola is 37 years old and his teacher. He is attracted by her beauty and maturity. She is drawn to him by his youth and innocence, a god-sent relief from her drunk and miserable husband. They start a passionate and forbidden relationship - but it has consequences they never could have expected.
Cast: Johan Widerberg
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Stig
Marika Lagercrantz
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Viola
Tomas von Brömssen
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Kjell
Karin Huldt
-
Lisbet
Nina Gunke
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Stig's Mother
Björn Kjellman
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Sigge
Kenneth Milldoff
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Stig's Father
Frida Lindholm
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Olga
Sigge Cederlund
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Biografmaskinisten
George Bisset
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Gösta Ekstrand
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Hilda Suovanen
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Per Olov Börjeson
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Jörgen Svensson
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Monica Stenbeck
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Gymnastiklärarinnan
Taglines:
Han var elev. Hon hans lärarinna. Deras kärlek var förbjuden.
Release Date: 8 March 1996
Filming Locations: Malmö, Skåne län, Sweden
Gross: $1,939,000
(Sweden)
Technical Specs
Runtime:
User Review
More films of this standard are desirable
Rating: 8/10
How much I regret the passing of director Bo Widerberg who can create a film
such as this one with its dramatic portrayal of human problems, human
relationships and human emotions. It was not so much the dialogue but more
the unspoken words that grabbed my attention and held me to the end. A long
silence can be filled with meaning....a stolen look, a fleeting glance, a
flicker of a smile, a movement of the eye....all these subtle messages
electrify the air between Viola the teacher and Stig the student in the
class room. We know at once that in some magical way their lives have been
drawn together and as we are caught up in the drama we seem to know that
eventually the ending will not be a happy one.
Under the guise of having special coaching lessons, Stig gains entrance into
his married teacher's household after his evening cinema job. Shy at first
he soon experiences the delights of a continuing relationship with Viola who
is a very competent teacher in all respects. Perhaps we can pardon Viola
for her "cradle snatching" when we find out that her husband has taken to
drink and seems almost permanently drunk.
The love scenes are sensitively handled and the remarkable changes which
develop in the characters create an imposing piece of cinema. Stig seems to
take on a degree of security in a scene where he accuses the husband of the
impossible situation. But who is really to blame? That is the intriguing
part of the film.
There are some aspects that are not explained thus the viewer
becomes
involved. As for the stolen encyclopaedia, why would Stig carry them off.
Is he just in a vindictive mood and does it just to annoy Viola or have
those volumes become special to him because they belonged to
Viola.
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