Reviews of Fyra små filmer (1998) and related work
- Entry: “Gunnar Rehlin – en liten film om att göra någon illa” (1999)
- Entry: “Ben & Gunnar – en liten film om manlig vänskap” (1999)
- Entry: “På sista versen – en liten film om döden” (1999)
- Entry: “Torsk på Tallinn – en liten film om ensamhet” (1999)
Fyra små filmer (1998
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Four hour-long TV movies, all with unrelated plots, by one tragicomedy troupe.
‣ “Gunnar Rehlin – en liten film om att göra någon illa” (1999)
As the premise of this mockumentary, the comedy troupe responsible for this series of films has gone into advertising instead, but decides to run a campaign solely for the purpose of disparaging respected film critic Gunnar Rehlin.
“It’s a must!” Translated title: “Gunnar Rehlin: A Small Film About Hurting Someone”.
‣ “Ben & Gunnar – en liten film om manlig vänskap” (1999)
Two guys who met on the way to a Springsteen concert run into each other again, talk beards and realize that male friendship leads to love.
A gloriously queer paraphrase of When Harry Met Sally (1989). I wonder how gays look at it. It’s a nice coda to the obsession with gender seen in NileCity 105.6 (1995). The title means “Ben & Gunnar: A Small Film About Male Bonding”.
References here: Striking Vipers (2019).
‣ “På sista versen – en liten film om döden” (1999)
To save his job, a state television filmmaker decides to record his ailing father’s death.
Black comedy on the verge of farce. Translated title: “Approaching the End: A Small Film About Death”.
‣ “Torsk på Tallinn – en liten film om ensamhet” (1999)
Gratingly lonely men, including some chauvinists in it for pussy, take a coach bus tour from Sweden to Estonia for a pre-arranged meet-and-greet and party with single Estonian women interested in marrying and moving to the richer country.
The official translation of the title is Screwed in Tallinn. The original is also a pun, readable as either “Johns in Tallinn” or “Sold on Tallinn”, with a subtitle meaning “A Small Film About Loneliness”.
This is a mockumentary featuring the greatest of the troupe’s megatextual characters, the horrid small-time entrepreneur Percy Nilegård. Despite his inclusion it’s a realistic black comedy, nearly at the genre’s finest.
References here: Percy tårar (1996).