Venice of the North: A Quiet Trip to Stockholm

Is this for you?

If you are looking for a plot, look elsewhere. Venice of the North is basically a travel postcard stretched into a film. It’s perfect if you like old black-and-white city shots, but if you need a story to keep you awake, you’ll probably find this pretty boring.

Honestly, watching this feels a bit like digging through an old box of vacation slides in someone's dusty attic. It’s not meant to be analyzed for deep meaning. It’s just... Stockholm. A bunch of canals. Boats. People walking around in coats that haven't been in style for eighty years.

The Vibe

The whole thing is oddly spotless. Everything looks so clean, even through the grain of the old film. There’s this one shot of a canal where the water is so still it looks like glass, and it makes you want to reach out and touch it. It’s almost too quiet.

I found myself comparing it to the mood in Piccadilly, though this one lacks that specific kind of nightlife energy. It’s more of a morning-coffee-and-stroll vibe. Alois Havrilla narrates with that old-school, slightly booming voice that sounds like he’s trying to sell you a miracle tonic. It works for the setting, I guess.

Random Thoughts

• The camera lingers on some of the buildings for way too long. I get it, the architecture is nice, but move on already!
• There’s a weird transition around the midway point that feels like it was spliced in by a toddler.
• The sunlight hitting the water is actually quite pretty. Like, surprisingly pretty for such a short, unassuming flick.

It’s not trying to reinvent the wheel. It doesn't have the tension of Midnight Phantom or the grit of Mountain Law. It just wants to show you a city. Sometimes that’s enough. Other times, you just want the credits to roll so you can get on with your day.

If you're in a specific mood—maybe you're procrastinating on work or just want something calm on in the background—this fits. Otherwise, it’s just a footnote. A nice one, but still a footnote. 🛶