ozjeppe
I didn't know what to expect from this hugely popular (and hilarious) Swedish comedy & satire team, as they released their first feature film. More broad satire? Well, we do get four contemporary, exceptionally memorable tales of family pains, generation gaps and fatherhood, in particular. But it's drama, thankfully, and what drama! Epic in its scope, as each episode is from carefully picked, geographically different parts of Sweden. But each story could seriously carry a whole movie, if expanded separately.It's dark, twisted, harrowing, yet massively entertaining and breathtakingly executed. Script, acting and cinematography are absolute world class, as three hours seem to get by in a blink! It's four shades of mastery, and easily one of the best films in the nations' cinema history. It's Sweden's answer to "Short cuts" or "Magnolia", if you like, and instantly on par with those!9 out of 10 from Ozjeppe
ilpintl
This film was written up in the Vancouver International Film Festival guide as the first feature by a Swedish comedy troupe, and I mistakenly concluded it would be funny. Four stories unfold simultaneously: a wealthy, amoral, and spiteful patriarch dies, but continues to harm from beyond the grave with the nastiness generated by his will. A young couple has lovingly restored an old seaside resort, and operate it successfully until his parents, accompanied by his mother's lover, drop in for a visit. A man, a pet crematorium employee, takes his son to his place of work to revive the kid's waning interest in school. A cooking class of four and their teacher meet weekly, but do absolutely no cooking. Instead their weekly meetings turn into impromptu therapy sessions. Each of these stories took extremely dark turns to horrific conclusions. Well made, I suppose, but I was thoroughly traumatized. My knowledgeable friends assured me that this was Swedish humor at its best, and that the film guide did not misrepresent this light-hearted frothy confection. Strangely, I do not find child rape, incest, murder, suicide, stealing one's son's girlfriend, psychological torture, and random violence funny. Silly me.
bjoernen
Four shades of brown kept my attention for three hours which at least makes it a pretty good movie.The movie is four independent but related stories told in parallel. In my view the common theme is fatherhood and how lack of empathy can ruin the lives of your family members.The film does an excellent job in unfolding the minds of what at first glance seems to be admirable persons (the four fathers). The revealing truth is that they really are more or less perverted by their past, a fact they all seem to suppress and/or be unaware of.However the film merely illustrates this dilemma, and doesn't teach us anything new. It dares not go any deeper when depth is needed, and could therefore be regarded as shallow profiting on strong emotions. It is also uneven in the acting and story. This could all be forgiven because of some great acting, and what seems to be an honest intent with the movie.In all it's a pretty good movie that deserves a wide audience.
mantina_rex
This movie must be exported to the rest of the world! An absolute masterpiece, with a both bizarre and grim film about four different stories from four different locations in Sweden. The one with the newly renovated hotel with the improper wooden figure of an old finance minister is absolutely the best of the four, odd story about love or career. I would love to see all four as a film on their own they can be so much more extended. Also the unique pause in the middle is something I've never seen before.Can't wait for the series (if they're doing one) or the extended DVD. Apparently they had cut out a lot to fit it in to just 3,5 hours.
AD
