ddude1116 I was very excited for this film. I wanted to like it. Maybe I'm just cynical; I don't know. I greatly enjoy films which use extensive cinematography ("Days Of Heaven" "Lawrence Of Arabia" etc.), and so when I heard about this one, I was very glad. Oh, how it disappointed me. For one thing, it's less romance and more a celebration of mankind's folly, which is hardly a problem, all things considered, but it lacked the weight of the issue. What I didn't like was how neither Sixten nor Hedvig were compelling characters; they're as simple as the story they inhabit. When the ending arrived and they shot themselves, I couldn't help but wonder if they shot themselves for their lost love, or the shame of their incessant stupidity. Both characters are selfish and immoral, and while Hedvig can be forgiven due to her youth, but Sixten is older and came from a situation which required legitimate maturity and responsibility, for he abandoned a wife, two kids and an officer's position in the military to accompany a young girl who couldn't give him much else than sex. This film is about love, but I saw very little of it between the two main characters. I understand the point of this film, a celebration of man's selfishness, but for one thing, that's farcically stupid. Selfishness is a reprehensible quality, and only brings suffering, which is another thing, the film makes light of that very subject. Neither character feels any remorse for what they've done, they're so blinded by love, their horrifically shallow love, they don't realize the consequences of their actions. So then they kill themselves. But why? Love. Okay. At this point, I won't bother asking.

Elisabetha49 Looking back on my 40thy years of "movie/pictures" endeavor's and enjoyment, this particular work resounds loudly in respect with it's subject, appearance (=filming) and musical score, as most people should and do remember. Mostly the atmosphere and film moods' rendition are not to be easily forgotten nor equaled... though I have other (more than hundreds...) personal pictures to recommend or promote, starting -maybe- with "Magnolia" or "Boogie nights"... not to mention "Urga", "Amores Perros", "21 Grammes", "Mulholland Drive", "Remains of the Day", "La Meglio Gioventu", "Old boy", "Angels in America", "In the mood for Love", "Amelie", "Respiro", "When the light comes", "Gegen die wand", ...or, recently, such as "Blue Valentine", "Innocent Saturday", "In a better World" ...; In short, there are out-there so many worthy experience(s) that it's a shame most people seem contended with "fast-food" Industry's or television contents..., which doesn't require consent nor criticism, not to mention appraisal...To all and any one of the reader(s) of the preceding, just take advantage of your right to "free- choice" and "commom-sense", based on your "information-gathering" -possibilities- of the medias (Paper or Virtual ), to make your OWN Mind Up about eventual worth of these advises or informations... !!?!

Lina Westman I'm not usually a fan of these pure-love-conquers-all type of films, but I really liked Widebergs "Elvira Madigan". It's funny to see how many Americans think of it as "slow" and "boring" because there are so few dialogs and you already know the end. Old Scandinavian movies kind of follows their own way of building a story, nowadays they follow the American style more, which isn't bad either, just different. But even though a movie is made in a different way than you are used to, it might be worth giving it a chance. "Elvira Madigan" needs to be read between the lines, you have to notice all the details to see the beauty and the complexity of the story, and since it's so "slow" you get a lot of time to do that. The dialogs are very few, but they all mean something. I especially liked when Sixten talked to his friend about that the world could be just one straw (if that's the right word?) of grass and that love is when you want to See the world from your lovers eyes. Often when you try to explain love, all your words become clichés but in this film it's like you have never heard about love before. But actually I didn't really notice how good I thought this film was until the ending, when the beautiful picture of Hedvig capturing a butterfly froze to the sound of the gunshot. Thanks to that frozen image, the beauty became immortal. It wouldn't have been the same if you could actually see them dying. It left a nice, warm feeling in my chest that I think will stay for long.

FloatingOpera7 Looking for a rare and good film to watch for Valentines Day ? Director Bo Widerberg's classic 1967 film Elvira Madigan is tailor made for lovers. It was a big hit in the 60's, when love and individual freedom was the popular philosophy. In fact, looking at this film, audiences must have sighed in relief that such a case as that of Elvira Madigan and Lt. Sixten Sparre would not have occurred in their time. Elvira Madigan (played by the beautiful Pia Degermark) is a tightrope walker for the circus. She falls in love with the married Lt. Sixten Sparre (Thommy Berggren). The 19th century world they live in shuns their love and is even after them. A life on the run is at first tolerable. At least they are able to eat picnics in the forests and make love. This scene, by the way, is the most romantic in the film. The Mozart Piano Concerto 21 second movement, andante, is played repeatedly as the romance theme. It became so popular that even the concerto was named the "Elvira Madigan" concerto though surely Mozart would have none of it.The acting may appear stilted and pantomime, and there are plenty of moments in which there is no talk but visually and dramatically it's a very well-done film. Also in the score is Vivaldi's Four Seasons. The story is said to have been based on an actual event in the 1850's. A pair of lovers on the run killed themselves in the woods. The movie has set the time to either late 1890's or early 1900's. The reference to Toulousse Latrec and the style of dress gives it away. This movie is very romantic and haunting. It will move you to tears.