Released by: Klubb Super 8
Released: 2010
Director: Jí¶rn Donner (as Bjorn Thunder)
Cast: Diana Kjí¦r, Jí¶rn Donner, Rolf Bengtsson
Year: 1973
The Movie:
Baksmí¤lla (or The Hangover) tells the story of a man named Lasse (the film's director, Jí¶rn Donner), a man who makes a living as a car salesman and an avowed bachelor. One morning he wakes up completely hung-over, his memory of the night before more than just a little bit fuzzy and quite curious as to why there's a wedding ring on his finger and a naked lady laying in bed beside him.
The woman's name is Lena (Diana Kjí¦r) and she remembers things a bit more clearly than he does. As their morning begins we learn through a series of flashbacks how these two wound up together and just as importantly, what may happen to them know that they've tied the knot. Curiously there's a female houseguest (Lisbeth Westergaard) wandering around the place stark naked - is she a friend of Lena's and did Lasse sleep with her too? Why is there a portly insurance salesman named Karlsson (Rolf Bengtsson) hanging about trying to unload a policy on anyone willing to listen to him? Why is there a mysterious woman calling on the phone for Lasse and then promptly hanging up when anyone answers?
Not surprisingly, Lena tells her new husband that she wants a divorce - no one would blame her for that, Lasse is obviously a womanizer with a drinking problem. And yet, as they sit down to talk about it and tell one another of their past sexual encounters, they start to form a strange bond, one that just might save this marriage after all, no matter how rocky a start it may have had.
Donner is probably best known for producing Ingmar Bergman's 1982 film, Fanny And Alexander, and you definitely get the impression that he was sort of going for a Bergman-esque vibe with this odd slice of life film. Baksmí¤lla is an interesting film in that it's kind of like watching paint dry but at the same time, somehow fairly captivating. Nothing much happens in the picture, it's mostly just two people talking, bickering even, with a couple of racy bits spliced in to give audiences a reason to watch in the first place. There's a quick hardcore insert in the picture when we learn how Lena watched a dirty movie with one of her ex's, but everything else, sexually speaking, is far less explicit barely approaching softcore.
When people aren't having fairly tepid sex, we simply watch them go about their daily business exemplified by an unusually long scene in which Lana takes the trash out and then puzzlingly removes her wig. This doesn't move the story along nor does it provide any obvious character development of actual substance. Yet it's visually interesting in that we see this attractive red-headed woman outside, her hair contrasting quite vividly against the white snow covered ground. It's pointless, but watchable - which kind of sums up the whole movie. Donner was obviously out to craft a character study of sorts rather than a sexploitation picture (the hardcore insert stands out here and doesn't jive at all with the rest of the movie) and to a large degree he succeeds. He and Kjí¦r both do decent work with the very natural feeling dialogue, at times it feels improvised, and they create perfectly believable characters. So while, again, not much really happens in the movie it is worth seeing. It is occasionally quite funny and at times even touching - just don't go into this one expecting a typical Swedish sex romp.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Baksmí¤lla arrives on DVD in a 1.78.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer and it looks fairly decent. Colors are a bit faded in spots but this isn't the most colorful film in the first place given that most of it takes place indoors without a lot of light. Skin tones look fine and while there is some minor print damage throughout, it's never particularly distracting.
The only audio option on the disc is a Swedish language Dolby Digital Mono track, though optional English subtitles are provided. Audio quality is on par with the transfer quality in that it won't blow you away but it gets the job done without any issues. This is a fairly dialogue intensive film so the single channel mix is more than capable of handling all of this.
The main extra on the disc is a bonus feature film - Lovelier Than Love which is a 1978 movie that is essentially a remake of the 1973 feature attraction on this disc. This is actually presented in English with optional Swedish subtitles and taken from what appears to be a tape source. The storyline here is pretty much the same - Larry (Jí¶rn Donner again) is a bachelor who doesn't want to get married but keeps winding up in various tricky situations with the women in his life only to wind up with Diana Kjí¦r again. This version has a lot more sex in it (and in turn, much of the dialogue between the two leads has been trimmed or removed all together) and it runs 1:16:31 and it's an interesting variation on the more serious Baksmí¤lla version of the movie that runs 1:18:27.
Aside from that we get a still gallery, promo trailers for the feature and for some other Klubb Super 8 movies (Nana, Fanny Hill, Jorden Runt Med Fanny Hill, Vindingevals, Jag En Kvinna, Som Hon Daddar Far Han Ligga), static menus and chapter selection.
The Final Word:
Baksmí¤lla is more of a Bergman-esque drama than a sexploitation picture but the two leads really sell it. While it moves slowly, the story is intriguing enough to keep us interested while the minimalism on screen in terms of camerawork and production values grounds the film in reality. Klubb Super 8 presents both the original version of the movie and the 'sexed up' Lovelier Than Love version as well as a few fun bonus trailers.