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Everlasting Moments (2008) Amazon
Director: Jan Troell

This has quickly become one of my favorite DVDs. Ever since the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series came out, I’ve begun to revisit Swedish movies and this one is a gem. Here is the plot in brief: “Sweden, early 1900s – an era of social change and unrest, war and poverty. A young working class woman, Maria Larsson (played by Maria Heiskanen), wins a camera in a lottery. The camera grants her the eyes to view the world, and empowers her over several decades to raise and nurture her family of six children and an alcoholic, womanizing and sometimes violent, although ultimately loving, husband Sigfrid Larsson (played by Mikael Persbrandt).”

The performances and the direction are superlative. Jan is an amazing Swedish director. I think if you are a student of film making the extras are a must view.

Extras are on disc two. The first disc contains the new HiDef digital transfer movie.

  • New high-definition digital transfer
  • Jan Troell’s Magic Mirror, an hour-long documentary about Troell’s life
  • “Troell: Behind the Camera” Short documentary on the making of Everlasting Moments
  • “The True Story of Maria Larsson” Documentary featuring photographs by the real Maria Larsson along with narration
  • Theatrical trailer
  • PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Armond White

Troell Behind the Camera is a wonderful documentary featuring Jan and most of the principle actors. jan talks about his thought process during production and before production giving you a bit of insight into his directing style. It is filled with on set videos showing cast and crew working. He also goes into the editing room as he makes critical decisions with his editor.

The True Story of Maria Larsson. As narrated by her distant relative Agneta Ulfsater-Troell and features the actual photos taken by Maria. She talks about the people, the places, the times in which Maria and her family lived.

Troell’s Magic Mirror is a documentary on the work and life of the director Jan Troell. It is fairly long at some 60 minutes, but it really shows the breath and significance of this international film maker.

It helps if you speak Swedish to get a more clear understanding, but the subtitles are a welcomed feature!

Along with this Criterion Collection DVD is a wonderful booklet by Armand White (film critic for the New York Press).

So, I’d say you have to check out the extras on this DVD.

I give it ★★★★★

Victor