A Swedish Love Story

A shop-mechanic doofus demonstrates his karate moves to a nonplussed boss, and a badass teenager rides his motorcycle heroically into the sunset, until he’s passed by a bicyclist: these opening scenes set the tone for Roy Andersson’s debut film, inspired by the Czech comedies of Milos Forman. A Swedish Love Story chronicles a love affair between two teenagers as their parents’ lives slowly grind on. The film quietly observes its actors’ all-too-human expressions of incrimination and incomprehension to underline the gap between generations, and the sadness in store for all. With warmth, humor, and criticism, Andersson depicts 1960s Sweden—the disappointment over the welfare state and the hope for things new.