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4.9/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 4.9/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Hälsingar remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you want a cozy, old-fashioned Swedish drama where people mostly talk about farms and social standing, you'll probably like Hälsingar. If you need pacing that doesn't feel like it’s taking a nap every ten minutes, you should skip this one entirely.
The movie starts with Jonas riding his horse like he’s running away from his own personality. It’s supposed to be dramatic, I guess, but it mostly just looks like a frantic mess of dust and hooves. Poor Birgit gets knocked over while picking berries, which is just tragic if you think about the wasted fruit. 🫐
I found the interaction between Jonas and Birgit so weirdly transaction-based. He drops two crowns on her and basically says, "Sorry I almost killed you, want a job?" It’s not exactly the most romantic start to a story, but it’s 1933, so I guess we’re just rolling with it.
The whole thing feels a bit like watching a cousin's home movie, if your cousin had a massive budget for period costumes. Sometimes the camera just lingers on a landscape, and I found myself wondering if the actors were just waiting for the lunch bell to ring. It’s not quite as charming as He Fell in Love with His Wife, which at least had a bit more spark in the dialogue.
It’s not a bad film, it’s just very specific. It’s got that strange, dusty feeling you get from watching archives where the actors are trying way too hard to look natural while standing in a field. It’s a bit like Faithful Hearts in that way—earnest, but exhausting.
I wouldn't call it a masterpiece, but it’s a nice way to kill an hour if you really like horses and don't care about the consequences of reckless driving, equestrian-style.