Cult Review
Senior Film Conservator
If you enjoy films where people just kind of sit around and worry about money, you might find something to like here. If you need a movie to actually go somewhere, though, stay away. This isn't exactly high-stakes drama.
It’s a story about a widow, Maja Brummell, and her five daughters. They live in Stockholm, or at least they try to. Maja has the business instincts of a houseplant. Watching her try to navigate finances is like watching someone try to do long division with a crayon.
The girls—Elsa, Brita, Ann-Marie, Svea, and Ingrid—are mostly there to fill up the frame. Sometimes they’re fighting, sometimes they’re just existing in the background. It feels less like a structured plot and more like hanging out in someone else’s living room for an hour too long.
It reminded me a bit of the domestic chaos in It's a Boy, though without the same level of manic energy. This one prefers to simmer in its own mediocrity.
The pacing is all over the place. One minute you’re deep into a conversation about the family’s future, and the next, everyone is just staring at a teapot. I’m not sure if the director wanted it to feel like real life or if they just ran out of script.
I found myself staring at the wallpaper in one scene. It’s a very specific shade of beige. Why is it so beige? I don't know. Does it matter? Probably not.
It’s not a bad film, really. It’s just kind of there. It exists in the same way a half-finished puzzle exists on a coffee table. You’ll probably forget half of it by the time the credits roll. But for a rainy afternoon? Maybe.
I wouldn’t go recommending this to anyone who likes, say, The Wheel of Life. That movie has a pulse. This one is more like a slow heartbeat in a quiet room. ☕️

Year
1936
IMDb Rating
—

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