Bo Widerberg

Bo Widerberg 1990.

Bo Widerberg ( pronunciation : [ ˌbuː ˈviːdəʁbæʁʝ ], * actually Bo Gunnar Widerberg ; born June 8, 1930 in Malmö , Skåne län , Sweden ; † May 1, 1997 in Båstad , Skåne län, Sweden) was a Swedish film director , screenwriter and film editor .

biography

He made his first film for television in 1961 with The Boy with the Dragon . In this 34-minute black and white short film, the later well-known director Jan Troell was at his side as cameraman and co-director. The story of the film, written by Widerberg, describes the birthday of a six-year-old boy, played by Arild Möller . From 1962, his film reviews and a book about Swedish film in which he strongly criticized Ingmar Bergman, among others , caused a sensation. He thought that Swedish films were completely unrealistic.

His feature film debut in 1963 was the drama Kinderwagen , which is about a young Swedish woman who is pregnant by a pop musician and who has to change her life from now on. Jan Troell also took over the camera for this film, Inger Taube played the leading role. As with about half of his directorial work, Widerberg also edited this film himself .

His next work, Das Rabenviertel , was published that same year and marked the director's breakthrough. The Rabenviertel tells about a young man in Sweden in the 1930s. He wants to leave his parents' house and become a writer. Like its predecessor, Das Rabenviertel is located in Malmö, the birthplace of Widerberg. Thommy Berggren , the main actor, was also seen in several other productions of the director. After receiving praise from the Swedish press, the film received an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film in 1965 .

After the films Roulette der Liebe (1965) about a director and his love life and Hallo Roland (1966), which is based on his novella Den gröna draken , his first color film The End of a Great Love (1967) for the Golden Globe in nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film category. The romantic film tells of the tragic love affair between the Danish tightrope walker Elvira Madigan ( Pia Degermark ) and the Swedish officer Sixten Sparre (Thommy Berggren) towards the end of the 19th century and was Widerberg's international breakthrough.

Since The End of a Great Love had been particularly successful in English-speaking countries, the director received initial offers to shoot films in Hollywood. Among other things, he was to film F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby . He made his first American film in 1971 with Joe Hill , which is about a Swede who emigrated to America around 1900. Joe Hill was a success and won the jury award in Cannes, but it remained Widerberg's only US project.

Two years before Joe Hill , he had published his romantic drama Adalen 31 , which was criticized in Sweden for its political statements, but was nominated for the main prize in Cannes , the Oscar and the Golden Globe. For this film, he received his first Guldbagge for Best Director . His next project, the children's film Fimpen, der Knirps (1974), tells the story of a six-year-old who neglects school due to his talent in football . The 1976 police thriller The Man on the Roof is based on a novel by Per Wahlöö and Maj Sjöwall . Also, Victoria (1979) was a literary film and was nominated for the Golden Palm in Cannes.

From the late 1970s to the early 1990s, he made several television films in addition to films such as The Man from Mallorca and The Path of the Snake on the Rock . His last big film before his death in 1997 due to stomach cancer was the romantic drama Schön ist die Jugendzeit, set in World War II, about the love affair between a young student and his 37-year-old English teacher. Widerberg won the Silver Bear for the film at the Berlinale 1996 and received his second Guldbagge. In addition, the youth was nominated for an Oscar.

Widerberg's children are Nina (* 1960) and Johan Widerberg (* 1974). Both work as actors, Johan played the role of 15-year-old Stig in Schön ist die Jugendzeit , among others .

Filmography

• 1962: The Boy with the Dragon ( Pojken och draken ) (TV short film )
• 1963: baby carriage ( Barnvagnen )
• 1963: The Rabenviertel ( Kvarteret Korpen )
• 1964: Zoo story (TV movie)
• 1965: Roulette of love (Kärlek 65)
• 1966: Hello Roland ( Heja Roland! )
• 1967: The End of a Great Love ( Elvira Madigan )
• 1969: Adalen 31 ( Ådalen '31 )
• 1970: En Mor med två barn väntandes sitt tredje (short film)
• 1971: Joe Hill
• 1974: Fimpen, the Knirps ( Fimpen )
• 1976: The man on the roof ( Mannen på taket )
• 1979: Victoria
• 1979: En Handelsresandes död (TV movie)
• 1980: Rött och svart
• 1981: Linje lusta
• 1984: The Man from Mallorca ( Mannen från Mallorca )
• 1986: The Serpent's Path on the Rock ( Ormens väg på hälleberget )
• 1988: En Far (TV movie)
• 1989: Vildanden (TV movie)
• 1990: Hebriana (TV movie)
• 1992: Efter föreställningen (TV film)
• 1995: The youth is beautiful ( Lust och fägring stor )

Web links

• Bo Widerberg in the Internet Movie Database (English)