Selma and Johanna
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Selma and Johanna |
| Original title | Selma & Johanna - en road movie |
| Country of production | Sweden |
| original language | Swedish |
| Publishing year | 1997 |
| length | 91 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK o.A. |
| Rod | |
| Director | Ingela Magner |
| script |
Sara Heldt , Ingela Magner |
| production | Lennart Dunér |
| music | Coste Apetrea |
| camera |
Dan Myhrman , Michael Spicer |
| cut | Leave Lundberg |
| occupation | |
| |
The children's film Selma and Johanna is a Swedish road movie from 1997.
action
introduction
10 year old Johanna is angry. She should repeat the fourth grade. She then decided to take her teacher to the European Court of Justice in Strasbourg. She is accompanied by her best friend Selma.
Bulk
First of all, the two girls take the train black because they don't have enough money for the ticket. But they are discovered at the next station and have to leave the train. At the train station they meet two elderly women who they take with them in their car.
In the meantime, the disappearance of the two children has been noticed. Selma and Johanna's parents meet at the police station. Selma's parents live together, but Johanna's parents are divorced. Johanna lives with her mother; in essence, however, she is much more like her father Göran. Therefore, he immediately understands how Johanna must have felt after the transfer was rejected. Meanwhile, Commissioner Kjellman did some research and found out the reason for the rejection of Johanna's teacher: Johanna is not that bad at school, only she is very unconventional in her way. In addition, the teacher has prejudices against children from divorced families.
After the police brought out a missing person report, the two elderly women learn that they have two runaways in the car. Before the two women can hold the girls, they manage to escape. The two children manage the next stage of their journey, hidden in the back of a truck. They are discovered at the destination of the truck, but are able to flee again. However, this will tell the police where they have turned up.
Kjellman then goes to look for the children together with Göran. The two men are of very different characters, which leads to a lot of arguments between the two. While the inspector wants to do everything strictly according to the rules, Johanna's father acts more instinctively. After all, it is also his instincts that repeatedly bring them close to the two girls during the pursuit.
Selma and Johanna have now found a new ride. Two men driving an old American road cruiser take them away. These two soon realize that the two children have run away, but they want to help the girls. So they finally arrive at the next stage destination.
There they visit Johanna's grandmother, who gives them money for the further train journey. Since Göran had the same idea, he turns up there shortly after the girls and learns that the girls want to go to Strasbourg. Instead of on the train, Johanna and Selma continue their journey on a truck, as the police are monitoring the station.
In the meantime, the detective and Johanna's father have quarreled again, so they finally split up and Göran leaves. When he is standing on the side of the road thinking about how to proceed, the truck with the two girls comes by. When Johanna sees her father, she decides to go to him. Meanwhile, Kjellman has thought about the last argument and decides to turn around to meet Johanna's father again. So he meets Göran and the two children and drives everyone home.
Enough
The inspector talks to the director and Johanna's teacher. After this conversation, Selma and Johanna go back to school. And thanks to the intercession, Johanna doesn't have to repeat the fourth grade after all.
analysis
construction
The introduction begins in the middle of the action. Johanna decides to sue her teacher in Strasbourg because she should not be transferred. A flashback then explains how this situation came about.
The film follows the conventions of the road movie genre. The protagonists move from stage to stage and get to know many people and their problems. For example, they learn from the two men that they lost their parents very early in an accident at a railroad crossing.
The film runs on two levels. In addition to the story of the two girls, the plot also follows their two pursuers, Kjellman and Göran. The different characterization of the two creates a lot of conflicts that increase the tension of the story.
people
Johanna is a 10 year old girl who goes her own way. She's maladjusted, but not stupid. She immediately takes the initiative when she is faced with a decision by her teacher that appears to be unjust. Their character is further strengthened on the journey.
Selma is Johanna's best friend, and that's why she accompanies Johanna on her trip. Selma is very adjusted and wants to please everyone. On the trip, she learns to weigh up situations and make decisions herself.
Kjellman is an overly correct officer. For him everything has to happen according to the rules. But eventually he realizes that you have to take care of the human factor too. And so he can finally help Johanna and her father.
Like Johanna, Göran is an unadapted character. This ultimately resulted in his being unable to keep his marriage. In addition, despite his professional qualifications, he has no job. By driving with Kjellman, he was able to convince him of his human qualities, so that he can get him a new job.
The two men who take Selma and Johanna with them for most of the journey dream of the big wide world and adventure. They fulfill this with their old American road cruiser. One of you in particular has suffered from a train phobia since the accident. In doing so, they show the two girls that even adults can find it difficult to cope with blows of fate, but that you have to fight not to let them get you down.
Background information
“We want to make a film that shows that children have a right to resist and that they will not be driven out.”
Director Ingela Magner on the film
Grete Havnesköld played her second and last child role in this film. She had previously become known as Lotta in the series of the same name. In 2006 she continued her acting career as an adult actress in the film Frostbiten .
Reviews
“A film about how problems can be overcome together with imagination and self-confidence. A touch of freedom u. This road movie conveys adventure for children. ”
Kinderfilm-online.de
“In a humorous way, the road movie fulfills the claim to show childlike resistance that is ultimately crowned with success.”
FWU Institute for Film and Image
Awards
At the German LUCAS Film Festival in Frankfurt, Ingela Magner won an audience award for Selma & Johanna in 1997. In the same year she also won another audience award at the Cinekid Festival in the Netherlands. In 1998, this was followed by an award for best film at the Children's Film Festival in Montreal (Canada), as well as the MoMo Audience Award at the film festival in South Korea.
Web links
- Selma and Johanna in the Internet Movie Database (English)