Exhausted from a day of travel, yet determined not to sleep early, I saw Falkenberg Farewell (Farväl Falkenberg) last night. A nearly narrative-free mood piece may not have been the most obvious choice for this task, but it was close to home and the Stranger had it in their “don’t miss!” list [#]. I’m not sure that I’d echo such high imperative praise, mostly because it really felt like a film for a particular audience and I’m still deciding how much (of if) I liked it.

It does, however, present a late lesson and good case study about the importance of acquiring the official SIFF program and for why it’s worth reading the longer blurbs instead of the abbreviated ones from the SIFF website.



Compare & contrast, after the cut (with minor insinuated spoilers).

from the SIFF official program:

A cinematic requiem, Falkenberg Farewell is an elegant mood piece about five 20-somethings in a Swedish seaside town whose life has come to a sort of pause. While Holger never wants to move away, Jesper consistently returns home without anybody really noticing that he’s been gone. Jörgen finances his catering company by burglarizing houses, but even such compromises with the responsibilities of adulthood are alien to David, who yearns to be a child again. And John, always in a bad mood, believes that bacon makes him unhappy. Oppressed by the end of their carefree days, preferring to relive the past rather than plan for the future, the five friends can feel the future looming at the horizon; but not all of them will be there to see it. Writer-director Jesper Ganslandt, who also plays one of the characters, considers the film an attempt to combine two of his greatest influences: Terrence Malick and Lars von Trier. And if the former inspires the poetic shots of the human body and natural landscapes, the latter emerges most forcefully as the model for the film’s refreshingly episodic, non-linear structure. A film of great primal beauty about friendship and memories and a final farewell to the little town by the sea.

the SIFF website distills it to the following:

The struggle of five twentysomething male friends to find their place in the world provides the focus for Falkenberg Farwell. A refreshingly episodic, non-linear film of great primal beauty about friendship, memories and a final goodbye to a little town by the sea. [siff]

See what I mean? I’m not sure why SIFF doesn’t put the longer descriptions online, but this should convince you that buying the official program early and reading it often is the way to go.

Although both re-arrange material from the press kit, I made the critical error of not consulting the SIFF bible before walking over to the Egyptian. I probably still would have seen it, but appropriate expectations generally make me a happier moviegoer. With a little preparation I might have decoded “Malick” and “poetic shots” to mean “if you don’t require much plot or structure and like long, quiet shots, this might be for you”. Sure, the spoiler-averse might not like the hint that there are dots to be connected between “cinematic requiem” and the ominous “not all of them will be there to see it“, I think I prefer knowing there’s A Big Important Event lying in wait as real life friends play versions of themselves in a collection of diary-narration, photo collages, and disconnected vignettes. I suppose there were hints in the scenes of aimless village life, naked swimming in the sea, mushroom-fuelled psych trips, naked swimming in a creek, lingering naturalism, evening shenanigans, and low-impact conversations. (oh, and we also learn that the Swedes don’t seem to have a problem with guy friends hanging out in various states of undress without things getting awkward or sexual.)

These disconnected moments inspired more than a few frustrated walkouts. I admit that I considered leaving, too. Yet, by the end, I was surprised to have developed some affection for the characters and came to appreciate the film’s “episodic”, unhelmed approach to storytelling. I almost wish that the filmmakers didn’t feel the need to put in That One Thing That Happened; it seemed like the only forced element in an otherwise dreamy collection with an otherwise pseudo-personal documentary feel.

(Falkenberg Farewell plays again on Thursday, June 14, 4:00 PM)