If you live in a place with a cool arthouse cinema or a museum that show older movies, there’s a chance that every so often they schedule a retrospective of an actor or director. A week or even a month dedicated to their various films from the major titles guaranteed to bring in a crowd to the more obscure entries that will hopefully gain traction with people who want more than just the hits. A retrospective elevates the artist’s oeuvre and lets people truly grasp why they’re worth the attention. Most of the time, a retrospective features a well-known filmmaker or actor. Occasionally the curator will pick someone obscure and remind you how much you liked the last retrospective. Trust them on this one. Most of the time you’re rewarded. For those of us who don’t live near a theater that hosts weeklong celebrations, there is the Home Edition. A well curated Blu-ray boxset with proper bonus features can being the magic to your entertainment system. When the Lukas Moodysson Collection arrived in the mail, I had very little idea of the Swedish filmmaker’s work outside of the title of his first film. How can you forget F__king Amal (named altered)? It was easy to miss upon release since the US distributor change it to the MPAA approved Show Me Love. We weren’t looking for that name on the marquee. The boxset contains seven of his films and while I hadn’t a clue about most of them before I put the discs in the Blu-ray player, I trusted the curator and was rewarded with a deep sense of Lukas Moodysson’s cinematic career and a tour of Sweden.
F__king Amal (1998 – 89 minutes) has Elin (Alexandra Dahlstrom) and Agnes (Rebecca Liljeberg) as two high school girls stuck in the small town of Amal. Elin is the extrovert who is very popular while Agnes is rather shy. The two aren’t really friends, but Agnes has a massive crush on Elin. Around this time a high school boy wants Elin to know that he has a crush on her too. Agnes gets her chance to be intimate with Agnes at a party when during a game of truth or dare, Elin gets dared to kiss Agnes. This eventually leads to the two girls getting a little friendlier with each other. They even plot to take the five-hour car trip to Stockholm to see what’s really happening in the big city. Is this becoming a friendship or more between the two girls? As a first-time film, Lukas Moodysson makes film that gets deep into the strange confusions of high school romances. The teenagers seem natural in their desires to want to be more than stuck in Amal.
Together (2000 – 106 minutes) has Elizabeth (Lisa Lindgren) grabbing her two children Eva (Emma Samuelsson) and Stefan (Sam Kessel) and fleeing her abusive husband Rolf (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo‘s Michael Nyqvist). She moves in with her brother Goran (Gustaf Hammersten) who lives in a commune house with a large number of people who are looking for an enlightened lifestyle in ’70s Sweden. The house has a free love element and plenty of free drama. It’s a colorful time that features ABBA’s “SOS.” The kids find themselves growing up fast since the adults are too busy bring free to deal with little things. Rolf attempts to clean himself up so that he can reconcile with his wife and kids. But will he really deserve another chance?
Lilya 4-ever (2002 -109 minutes) with an abused Lilya (The Bourne Supremacy‘s Oksana Akinshina) wanting to jump off a bridge. The film flashback to see that it hasn’t been a wonderful life for the girl growing up in a former Soviet republic. Her mom and new boyfriend are emigrating to the USA and will send for Lilya when things are good. She’s supposed to finish up school while living with her aunt. But that falls apart quickly when the aunt wants her sister’s old apartment but doesn’t want to deal with Lilya. The girl ends up dealing with more horrible things until she’s given a chance by her new boyfriend to flee to Sweden to find a new life. His dream of a life in the land of clogs and Ikea falls short when she discovers the reality. The nightmare leads to her being on the bridge. This was based on a true story. Lukas doesn’t make things happy and comic like in his first to films.
A Hole In My Heart (2004 – 98 minutes) is a low-budget film about a couple deciding to make the kind of movie that used to be exported from Sweden in brown wrapping paper. The Richard and Tess invite over a male friend to get the camera rolling to create an erotic masterpiece. What throws their production off is that the Richard’s teenage son is in the apartment. He tries to stay out of the way, but the production is a bit too much. It’s an outrageous film that shows that Moodysson isn’t shy at shooting his version of an adult film. This film is not for the prudes. Along with the carnality is surgical footage. This is graphic content. The movie was shot on DV and edited with abrupt and jarring cuts. There’s a dirtiness to the apartment and the fact that they’re hooking up on a fold out sofa bed. The film devolves into a complete psycho drama.
Container (2006 – 74 minutes) is completely an experimental film with strange images involving Peter Lorentzon, Mariha Aberg and a lot of trash. The black and white non-narrative film includes a visit to Chernobyl. The film seems like it has a narration since Jena Malone (Inherent Vice & The Hunger Games) is reading lines over Peter and Mariha’s actions as if there’s insight and connection.
Mammoth (2009 – 125 minutes) returns Moodysson to a “normal” narrative drama although he’s completely out of Sweden. Leo (Y tu mama tambien‘s Gael Garcia Bernal) and Ellen (Brokeback Mountain‘s Michelle Williams) are a successful couple in Manhattan. She’s an emergency room surgeon who puts in long hours at the hospital. He is behind a video gaming website. He has to travel to Thailand to sign a contract. The duo really doesn’t have that much time for their daughter Jackie (Margot At the Wedding‘s Sophie Nyweide). She’s being raised by the nanny Gloria (Marife Necesito). She’s great with the kid, but back in the Philippines, her mother is raising her two young sons. Leo’s trip to Bangkok gets tempting when he meets a woman at the resort. Mammoth seemed the kind of film that would elevate Moodysoon in the indie film world, but didn’t quite click with audiences or critics. Nearly 14 years later, Mammoth feels better with its theme of people taking care of others in the hopes that they’re supporting those closest to them.
We Are The Best! (2013 – 102 minutes) is a bit of a family film since Lukas adapted the script from his wife Coco’s graphic novel about teenage girls forming a punk band in 1982. Being punk in 1982 was a hard thing since way too many people swore punk was dead at this point and New Wave was the thing. Bobo (Mira Barkhammar) and Klara (Mira Grosin) have gone androgynous with short hair and roomy clothes. They refuse to sell out to the system. At the local youth club, the duo decided to start a punk band since they’re sick of the boys rock band that is taking up the rehearsal space. Even though neither plays an instrument, they take up bass and drums. They find a reluctant guitarist in classmate Hedvig (Liv LeMoyne). She’s not quite punk since she comes from a very religious family, but she plays guitar quite well. Bobo and Klara get her to join the band and get a haircut to fit in with the group. Her family is not happy at the changes in their little girl. Will they ever be a real band? We Are The Best is a great little punky film about not being completely intimidated by not being way too talented. It’s punk and a fun way to bring the Lukas Moodysson retrospective to an end.
The Lukas Moodysson Collection boxset is a retrospective film festival for your entertainment room. After each film, Lukas comes out and talks a bit about his experiences making the films. There’s something personable about the experience. His movies are deeply rooted in the characters and filmed in such a way that sometimes you feel they are documentaries about the people. The fact that most of the cast aren’t Hollywood stars (outside of Mammoth) does make the experience feel more authentic. By the time you’re done watching his films, you’ll realize the Swedish experience is more than eating meatballs at Ikea. And you’ll be glad you trusted the curator.
The videos are 1.85:1 anamorphic for six of the films. Mammoth is 2.35:1 anamorphic. The transfers bring out the details of life in Sweden. The audio for most of the films are Swedish 5.1 & 2.0 DTS-HD MA. Lilya 4-ever features Russian/English/Swedish soundtrack in 5.1 DTS-HD MA and 2.0 DTS-HD MA. Container has Swedish 5.1 & 2.0 DTS-HD MA and English 5.1 & 2.0 DTS-HD MA. Mammoth has 5.1 & 2.0 DTS-HD MA in English, Thai & Tagalog. The levels are fine and you will hear ABBA’s “SOS” clearly. The movies are subtitled in English.
Lukas Moodysson on F__cking Amal (18:11) has the director discuss how he made his first feature film. He brought over a few crew members who worked on his previous short. He wanted to leave and go home after the first day of shooting. He was frozen by the seriousness of being a real director. He speaks about finding the tone in the film and working with the cast and crew. Sarah Lutton conducts all the new interviews on the boxset.
Being Elin with Alexandra Dahlstrom (17:31) has her talk about acting and being an assistant director on Lilya 4-ever. She is now at the same film school that Lukas attended. She feels the part is close to her and something she also created. Elin had a different dialect than her. It wasn’t a “reality” show.
Did You Know She’s A Lesbian (21:50) is an appreciation of the film by Dr. Clara Bradbury-Rance. She goes into the desires between the young teenage characters. She talks about how the film was marked as a teen film, a Swedish film and a lesbian film. She talks about how the film fits with other films from the ’90s with similar themes.
Talk: Bara Prata Lite (14:312) is Lukas Moodysson’s first short film with Memfis Film that has produced his feature films. An older guy forces a conversation on a girl while riding a public bus. Turns out he’s been laid off from Volvo, but keeps lurking around the plant. He seems like a lonely guy, but he has issues. It’s a twisted tale at the end. If you’re doing a retrospective at home, this is the first thing to run.
Theatrical Trailer (1:26) has teens bored with life in their small town and getting messed up with their desires for companionship.
Image Gallery has eight press photos and two posters.
Lukas Moodysson on Together (15:49) has him get into how he originally wanted to make a film about adults because it was so tiring to work with teenagers. He also wanted to make a film about men with beards since it was a ’70s thing. He wanted to get into this era since this was his childhood years.
Working Together with Malin Fornander (23:21) gets the script supervisor’s perspective on making the film and others with Lukas. She accepted the gig on F__king Amal without knowing anything about Lukas or the script. She enjoyed the playful feeling on set.
Servant of Art with Michal Leszczlowski (30:49) gets in depth with Lukas’ longtime editor. They have worked together on six of the features and a TV mini-series. They started with the short film Talk. They met when Lukas was a student at the Swedish film school where Michal was on staff. He gets into his relationship with Lukas and their approach to editing the films.
Deleted Scenes (9:21) are 13 moments that were clipped including a character taking a leak on a building.
Trailers and TV Spots includes Swedish Theatrical Trailer (0:51), Swedish TV Spots (1:24) and UK Theatrical Trailer (0:58). The spots let you know ABBA’s music is in the film.
Image Gallery has 18 press photos, behind the scenes photos and the poster.
Lukas Moodysson on Lilya 4-Ever (9:57) has him discuss what drew him to the news story of the girl smuggled in the Sweden to be forced into prostitution. He talks about working outside his country and in a foreign language. He enjoyed his cast and crew. He did feel nervous working outside his background.
Dressing Lilya with Denise Ostholm (28:17) goes into figuring out what kids in a former-Soviet bloc country would wear. Denise had applied for a job at a clothing store only to find herself working with the store owner’s sister that was a filmmaker. She began work with Moodysson thanks to an ex-boyfriend that she remained friends with. I guess that happens. She also talk about working on Mammoth.
Guardian Interview with Lukas Moodysson 2002 (93:20) takes place after the screening of Lilya 4-ever at the Regus London Film Festival. Actress Oksana Akinshina is in the audience. Lukas talks about going from a poet to a filmmaker. He did want to either be a lawyer, restaurant cook or filmmaker. But he got into film school first.
Theatrical Trailer (0:32) is a barrage of images to rave music
Image Gallery is around 60 press photos, behind the scenes shots and a poster.
Lukas Moodysson on A Hole In My Heart (15:17) has him talk about the film being a comedy with horrible scenes. He likes the film now although he swore his children would be embarrassed by it. He thought after his first three films, he could do a crazy project. He wasn’t even sure if he’d release A Hole In My Heart since it was such a small thing.
A Hole In My Second Heart (16:48) is behind the scenes shot of cast and crew in the small apartment.
NFTS Masterclass with Lukas Moodysson 2004 (26:34) was held in London and supported by the Stanley Kubrick fellowship. Lukas admits he wasn’t into films until he started making them. He jokes that they made a mistake when the Swedish film school picked him.
Theatrical Trailer (0:48) shows this as an experimental project shot on video.
Image Gallery only has five photos and a poster from the film.
Lukas Moodysson on Container (19:01) has him talk about making a gallery installation in conjunction with the film. He wanted to create an immersive effect to bring the audience into the film. He talks about the Cure and Sisters of Mercy’s effect on his youth. He gets into the experimental nature of the film.
Inside the Container Crypt (22:14) is from London in 2006 at a festival. This is a rather experimental view of the festival and setting up the gallery near the theater. He brings in a psychoanalyst to examine the filmmaker based on the filmmaker.
Theatrical Trailer (1:48) lets you know this is not a straight-out narrative drama. She is going to cool the Chernobyl reactor with yogurt.
Image Gallery has 20 press photos, behind the scenes shots and posters.
Lukas Moodysson on Mammoth (13:43) goes into his largest production that completely went beyond Sweden. He had no issues working with the major actors. His only problem were the paparazzi that were constantly following Michelle Williams around New York City. He tries to stay positive, but this was film that he had problems. Although he talks about going into a pizza place and seeing a movie on the small TV set. He got into the movie and after a minute he realized it was his Mammoth. He does talk about the parts that made the film difficult to him. This includes the heat of being in Asia which didn’t work well on him.
Not Being Mr. No with Matte Forssell (24:11) gets into making these films with the production manager and line producer. They first worked together on Talk. Matte explains what those jobs require him to do.
Promotional Interviews include Gael Garcia Bernal (5:50) and Lukas Moodysson (4:02) giving answers that can be used by media outlets. Gael talks about how this is a movie about the state of the world and eternity. Lukas talks about how this film came about while he was cleaning his home. He pondered how other people feel while hired to clean up for other people.
Theatrical Trailer (2:19) explains that Mammoth is a $3,000 pen.
Image Gallery has around 19 press photos, behind the scenes shots and the poster.
Lukas Moodysson on We Are The Best! (15:34) has him talking about the movie is based on a graphic novel by his wife Coco. He talks about how he wanted to make the film after the effort that went into Mammoth. He goes into how part of it reflected himself coming to age in the ’80s.
Fly On The Wall with Ulf Brantas (32:38) interviews the cinematographer who worked on F__king Amal, Together, Lilya 4-Ever and We Are The Best! He talks about his relationship with Lukas. Their first meeting didn’t go to well according to Ulf. But two weeks later, they started their times together.
A New Expression with David Andersson (22:14) goes into the Swedish punk life. He shows off the staid life of Sweden at the end of the ’60s when people from the country moved into the big cities to live in the giant apartment buildings. He talks about how the rebel kids came out of this. We get to see band fliers from this time.
London Film festival Premiere Q&A 2014 (16:15) has Lukas explains that he’s not sure why he made the movie except that it was fun. He wrote the screenplay without collaborating his wife.
Theatrical Trailer (1:34) opens up with the dance crew and the Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me Baby.” We feel the racket of the teen punk band.
Image Gallery has around 28 press photos, behind the scenes shots and the poster.
Arrow Video presents Lukas Moodysson Collection. Directed by Lukas Moodysson. Screenplays by Lukas Moodysson. Starring Michelle Williams, Gael Garcia Bernal, Alexandra Dahlström & Rebecka Liljeberg. Rating: Unrated. Boxset Contents: 7 movies on 6 Blu-ray discs. Release Date: January 31, 2023.
