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5.8/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 5.8/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. En stilla flirt remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
Honestly, you either want to spend an hour with a dusty, sweet-natured Swedish film from the thirties, or you don't. If you’re looking for a plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat, look elsewhere. If you want something that feels like finding an old, slightly faded postcard in a thrift store bin, you might actually dig this.
It’s not for the people who need constant action or sharp, modern banter. It is, however, perfect for a rainy afternoon when you just want the screen to be pleasant.
The whole conflict centers on Diddi and her two aunts, Lotten and Amalia. They are basically the entire engine of the movie. One aunt is obsessed with school, the other is obsessed with cards and marriage predictions. It feels a bit like being stuck in a family living room where everyone is talking over each other.
There is a moment early on where the fortune-telling happens, and the way the cards are handled made me laugh. It felt less like magic and more like someone trying to shuffle a deck of giant, unwieldy playing cards for the first time on camera. Very charmingly clumsy.
It is interesting to compare this to something like The Barretts of Wimpole Street, where the family dynamics are a bit more… intense. Here, the drama is about as high-stakes as picking a major in college or marrying a "dark, older man." It’s low-calorie storytelling.
I found myself zoning out during the middle section. The pacing gets a bit circular, just like a long conversation with an aunt you haven't seen in a while. Sometimes the movie just drifts.
Still, Tutta Rolf keeps things from falling completely flat. She has that classic, expressive face that does half the work before she even says a word. It’s the kind of performance that belongs to a different era entirely.
It’s not a masterpiece. It’s barely even a "film" in the way we talk about movies today. It’s a stilla flirt—a quiet little wink of a movie that doesn't ask for much and doesn't give much more, either. ☕
IMDb —
1917
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