Cinema
The Great Adventure
Det stora äventyret
Arne Sucksdorff · 1953
Synopsis
A farm beside a lake, in Sörmland, over the course of a year. Two little brothers, Anders and Kjell, save a young otter caught in a trap, Utti, and hide it without their parents knowing; all winter long, it has to be fed, by fishing under the ice, and the secret has to be kept. Around them, the forest lives its own life: a vixen and her five cubs, the black grouse, the owls, a lynx, the spider's web covered in dew at daybreak. An adult voice, that of Anders grown up, tells the story.
Context
The first feature film by its director, the film carries a warning that none of its characters is an actor: they play themselves, or someone else; the director plays the father, and his own son plays in it. It was first meant to follow a lynx from Norrland to the centre of the country. An animal was brought from Finland, but the director fell ill with meningitis and the shooting stopped for several months; money then ran out, he had to finance it himself and the script changed. A loan from Sandrews saved the undertaking.
Who it is for
Ninety-five minutes, in Swedish; it can be shown to children from the age of seven. Almost no dialogue: a voice narrates, the rest is image.
Prizes and reception
International Prize at Cannes in 1954 and Grand Silver Medal at Berlin the same year; an international success.
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