Swedish director Jan Troell's first feature film in five years was not a big commercial success in its home country, but if "As White as in Snow" is too long for modern audiences at 158 minutes, one wonders how his earlier acclaimed films like Oscar nominee "The Emigrants" would fare today.
In competition at Montreal and slated for the Nordic Visions sidebar at the Toronto International Film Festival, "White" is a beautifully made period film about Sweden's first aviatrix, who starts around the turn of the 20th century, and concludes with a tragedy, as so often happened in the early decades of aviation. It's a natural for festivals, and like Troell's critically championed "Hamsun", the film could earn a bit of a cult following among airplane bluffs and connoisseurs of so-called "old-fashioned" filmmaking.
Structured around a train trip to a 1922 aviation show in which fearless Elsa Andersson (Amanda Ooms) intends to thrill the crowd with the still new spectacle of parachuting from a plane, "White" does take a little while to gather steam. Troell's attention to detail and poetic approach to the material make it a satisfying journey.
Haunted by the death of her mother when she was a young girl and not about to become a complacent farmer's wife, Elsa has to outmaneuver her father (Bjorn Granath) in order to learn the art of flying. In some ways this is easier than learning about the men who come and go in her life, including a fellow flier (Bjorn Kjellman), a dashing "flying hussar" (Rikard Wolff), her brother (Shanti Roney) and the German (Ben Becker) who hires her to perform stunts.
Ooms is terrific in a performance with the full range of good times and disappointments. The vintage airplanes are showcased with a minimum of special effects, while 70-year-old Troell's cinematography and editing are as good as it gets.
AS WHITE AS IN SNOW
Nordisk Film
Director: Jan Troell
Screenwriters: Jan Troell, Jacques Werup, Karl-Erik Olsson-Snogerod, Jimmy Karlsson
Producer: Lars Hermann
Directors of photography: Jan Troell, Mischa Gavrjusjov
Production designer: Peter Bavman
Editor: Jan Troell
Costume designers: Katja Watkins
Music: Magnus Dahlberg
Color/stereo
Cast:
Elsa Andersson: Amanda Ooms
Sven Andersson: Bjorn Granath
Robert Friedman: Rikard Wolff
Erik Magnusson: Bjorn Kjellman
Lars Andersson: Shanti Roney
Running time -- 158 minutes
No MPAA rating...
In competition at Montreal and slated for the Nordic Visions sidebar at the Toronto International Film Festival, "White" is a beautifully made period film about Sweden's first aviatrix, who starts around the turn of the 20th century, and concludes with a tragedy, as so often happened in the early decades of aviation. It's a natural for festivals, and like Troell's critically championed "Hamsun", the film could earn a bit of a cult following among airplane bluffs and connoisseurs of so-called "old-fashioned" filmmaking.
Structured around a train trip to a 1922 aviation show in which fearless Elsa Andersson (Amanda Ooms) intends to thrill the crowd with the still new spectacle of parachuting from a plane, "White" does take a little while to gather steam. Troell's attention to detail and poetic approach to the material make it a satisfying journey.
Haunted by the death of her mother when she was a young girl and not about to become a complacent farmer's wife, Elsa has to outmaneuver her father (Bjorn Granath) in order to learn the art of flying. In some ways this is easier than learning about the men who come and go in her life, including a fellow flier (Bjorn Kjellman), a dashing "flying hussar" (Rikard Wolff), her brother (Shanti Roney) and the German (Ben Becker) who hires her to perform stunts.
Ooms is terrific in a performance with the full range of good times and disappointments. The vintage airplanes are showcased with a minimum of special effects, while 70-year-old Troell's cinematography and editing are as good as it gets.
AS WHITE AS IN SNOW
Nordisk Film
Director: Jan Troell
Screenwriters: Jan Troell, Jacques Werup, Karl-Erik Olsson-Snogerod, Jimmy Karlsson
Producer: Lars Hermann
Directors of photography: Jan Troell, Mischa Gavrjusjov
Production designer: Peter Bavman
Editor: Jan Troell
Costume designers: Katja Watkins
Music: Magnus Dahlberg
Color/stereo
Cast:
Elsa Andersson: Amanda Ooms
Sven Andersson: Bjorn Granath
Robert Friedman: Rikard Wolff
Erik Magnusson: Bjorn Kjellman
Lars Andersson: Shanti Roney
Running time -- 158 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Swedish director Jan Troell's first feature film in five years was not a big commercial success in its home country, but if "As White as in Snow" is too long for modern audiences at 158 minutes, one wonders how his earlier acclaimed films like Oscar nominee "The Emigrants" would fare today.
In competition at Montreal and slated for the Nordic Visions sidebar at the Toronto International Film Festival, "White" is a beautifully made period film about Sweden's first aviatrix, who starts around the turn of the 20th century, and concludes with a tragedy, as so often happened in the early decades of aviation. It's a natural for festivals, and like Troell's critically championed "Hamsun", the film could earn a bit of a cult following among airplane bluffs and connoisseurs of so-called "old-fashioned" filmmaking.
Structured around a train trip to a 1922 aviation show in which fearless Elsa Andersson (Amanda Ooms) intends to thrill the crowd with the still new spectacle of parachuting from a plane, "White" does take a little while to gather steam. Troell's attention to detail and poetic approach to the material make it a satisfying journey.
Haunted by the death of her mother when she was a young girl and not about to become a complacent farmer's wife, Elsa has to outmaneuver her father (Bjorn Granath) in order to learn the art of flying. In some ways this is easier than learning about the men who come and go in her life, including a fellow flier (Bjorn Kjellman), a dashing "flying hussar" (Rikard Wolff), her brother (Shanti Roney) and the German (Ben Becker) who hires her to perform stunts.
Ooms is terrific in a performance with the full range of good times and disappointments. The vintage airplanes are showcased with a minimum of special effects, while 70-year-old Troell's cinematography and editing are as good as it gets.
AS WHITE AS IN SNOW
Nordisk Film
Director: Jan Troell
Screenwriters: Jan Troell, Jacques Werup, Karl-Erik Olsson-Snogerod, Jimmy Karlsson
Producer: Lars Hermann
Directors of photography: Jan Troell, Mischa Gavrjusjov
Production designer: Peter Bavman
Editor: Jan Troell
Costume designers: Katja Watkins
Music: Magnus Dahlberg
Color/stereo
Cast:
Elsa Andersson: Amanda Ooms
Sven Andersson: Bjorn Granath
Robert Friedman: Rikard Wolff
Erik Magnusson: Bjorn Kjellman
Lars Andersson: Shanti Roney
Running time -- 158 minutes
No MPAA rating...
In competition at Montreal and slated for the Nordic Visions sidebar at the Toronto International Film Festival, "White" is a beautifully made period film about Sweden's first aviatrix, who starts around the turn of the 20th century, and concludes with a tragedy, as so often happened in the early decades of aviation. It's a natural for festivals, and like Troell's critically championed "Hamsun", the film could earn a bit of a cult following among airplane bluffs and connoisseurs of so-called "old-fashioned" filmmaking.
Structured around a train trip to a 1922 aviation show in which fearless Elsa Andersson (Amanda Ooms) intends to thrill the crowd with the still new spectacle of parachuting from a plane, "White" does take a little while to gather steam. Troell's attention to detail and poetic approach to the material make it a satisfying journey.
Haunted by the death of her mother when she was a young girl and not about to become a complacent farmer's wife, Elsa has to outmaneuver her father (Bjorn Granath) in order to learn the art of flying. In some ways this is easier than learning about the men who come and go in her life, including a fellow flier (Bjorn Kjellman), a dashing "flying hussar" (Rikard Wolff), her brother (Shanti Roney) and the German (Ben Becker) who hires her to perform stunts.
Ooms is terrific in a performance with the full range of good times and disappointments. The vintage airplanes are showcased with a minimum of special effects, while 70-year-old Troell's cinematography and editing are as good as it gets.
AS WHITE AS IN SNOW
Nordisk Film
Director: Jan Troell
Screenwriters: Jan Troell, Jacques Werup, Karl-Erik Olsson-Snogerod, Jimmy Karlsson
Producer: Lars Hermann
Directors of photography: Jan Troell, Mischa Gavrjusjov
Production designer: Peter Bavman
Editor: Jan Troell
Costume designers: Katja Watkins
Music: Magnus Dahlberg
Color/stereo
Cast:
Elsa Andersson: Amanda Ooms
Sven Andersson: Bjorn Granath
Robert Friedman: Rikard Wolff
Erik Magnusson: Bjorn Kjellman
Lars Andersson: Shanti Roney
Running time -- 158 minutes
No MPAA rating...
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