The Movie Pages presents in AS IT IS IN HEAVEN asitisinheaven.htm

Synopsis

Daniel Daréus is a successful international conductor at the top of his game, but he is lonely, miserable and exhausted by the demands of his high profile life style. After suffering a physical and emotional breakdown, Daniel abruptly interrupts his career and returns, alone, to Norrland, the village of his childhood located in a remote part of northern Sweden. Immediately upon his arrival his fame makes him the object of curiosity, fascination and suspicion. Soon he is asked to come and "offer a bit of good advice" to the small church choir, which practices every Thursday in the parish hall. Daniel resists being dragged back into the spotlight, yet he finds that there is no way he can gracefully refuse the choir's request, and reluctantly he agrees to help. As he begins to work with the choir, Daniel, quite to his own surprise, begins to rediscover his long-lost joy for music. But his work with the choir is a serious threat to the town's status quo. He finds himself surrounded by enemies, including the parish priest and a dangerous and violent enemy from his past. At the same time he makes new friends, among them the lovely and sensitive Lena, a woman who helps him overcome his fear and loneliness. His life, and the lives of the people of Norrland, will never be the same.

What The Critics Say

"Filled with passion, humor and much sadness, this Swedish-language film could do very well with global audiences that enjoyed such films as "Mr. Holland's Opus" and "Billy Elliott," with their appealing mix of music and aspiration. The film is the Swedish entry for the foreign-language Academy Award."
Ray Bennett HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
"The film is carried by a top-notch cast. Nyqvist, who is an acclaimed and professionally-trained actor in Sweden, captures the initial loneliness, miserly and exhaustion of his character perfectly. Throughout the film, you see him open up, and eventually finding his own peace of mind. Hallgren, on the other hand, brings out the charm, liveliness and youth in Lena, a nice contrast to Nyqvist’s Daniel."
John Li NZ TONIGHT
"Beautiful film with normal people. The film was a nominated for best foreign film at the Oscars, this year (2005). Beautiful finale` and timing!"
FILMOVERVIEW HOLLAND

"It's a well-worn story but it's nicely handled here, blending high drama and moments of farce with some splendid music and a good love story. If there are a few choral improbabilities, the film does manage an ending both free of sentimentality and full of, well, joy actually."
Peter Calder NEW ZEALAND HERALD.
"Nyqvist makes a completely believable near-genius whose human frailty gives greater anguish to his driving musical passion. Hallgren is endearing as the young woman who offers him the chance of love. The rest of the cast offers sterling work as a range of characters masterfully established by Pollak and his co-scriptors. It's extraordinarily difficult to capture on film the indescribable miracle that results in musical creations of great wonder. This film, with an inspired score by Stefan Nilsson, comes closer than most."
Ray Bennett HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
"Sure, there are no loud explosions and no fancy computer generated effects to draw in the average movie-goer. But do yourself a favour, watch this film, experience the beauty of life, and you will take home a piece of heaven with you. A small movie with a big heart that you should not miss!"
John Li NZ TONIGHT

The Inside Story It's twenty years since Kay Pollak's last film was screened. It was 1986 and the film was Love Me! starring Tomas Fryk. The film was vying for honours at the Berlin Film Festival when news came through that the Swedish Prime Minister, Olof Palme, had been shockingly murdered in Stockholm. Pollak decided to turn his back on film-making and for the next eighteen years "made his living touring the country, holding popular lectures and hosting seminars on the subject of personal development." But Pollak had a lot of interests, and his desire to explore them on film never diminished. Pollak credits his wife Carin for giving him the idea for "As it is in Heaven" and his subsequent return to film-making after his self imposed exile. "She sang in a choir and I used to go to pick her up. I listened to the choir and studied it, and I gradually realized what a metaphor for humanity a choir is," he said. "I did not know then that this is the largest cultural movement in Sweden; that close to seven hundred thousand people take part in choir-practice every week." If you think thats a lot of people then consider this, the population of Sweden is only eight million nine hundred thousand. That's a staggering figure indeed which equates to one in thirteen of the population involved in choir-practice every week. Pollak decided to study the movement and speak with choir-leaders. Eventually a script would evolve. When it did, Pollak sent it off to producers Anders Birkeland and Göran Lindström. They in turn sent it on to Peter Possne at Sonet Film. "I got the script on a Friday afternoon, and on Saturday morning I called and said 'I´m in'. "I have never made such a decision as fast before," Possne remembers. "The script was so good." The film "Så som i himmelen" (doesn't that sound romantic) is set in northern Sweden and Pollak had a good reason for setting it in this location. "I wanted to be able to use the contrasts between the summer, with its special light," he notes, adding "and the winter, with its harsh weather and snow-storms." The film’s art director, Mona Theresia Forsén spent time touring the north of Sweden, scouting for locations. She found several perfect settings, which meant only two interiors had to built. These were the old school-house, and the church where the choir practises. The rest were already there.

Right from the start, Pollak had two people in mind for the lead roles. One was good friend Michael Nyqvist. "We have known each other for close to 20 years, and during the process of thinking of "As it is in Heaven", I gradually got the answer to my question ‘is it him?", says Pollak. The other person was actress Frida Hallgren "a relative newcomer with only a handful of film-roles on her resumé." You wouldn't think so after watching "As It Is In Heaven". Another person Pollak sings the praises of is the films editor Tomas Täng. "I’m grateful God sent him in my way," he says. That man is a genius." The film opened in Sweden in September 2004. Aided by positive reviews, it became an instant box office smash hit, shooting straight to the top spot in the cinema charts where it stayed for two months. Since its domestic release, the film has grossed more than 1,200,000 admissions, making it Sweden’s third biggest box office-hit in recent times. Already a well-know name in Sweden, the film added to Nyqvist’s popularity, but following her appearance in "As It Is in Heaven", Frida Hallgren has been elevated to star status, and has been crowned one of 2005's Shooting Stars at the Berlin International Film Festival. Stefan Nilsson - Composer As a composer and pianist, Stefan Nilsson has more than 25 years experience in the music business, and has worked in a wide selections of musical styles, which range from rock tours in the '70s to Jaques Brel interpretation in the '80s to his collaboration with Elvis Costello and Ann Sofie von Otter in the '90s. Many of Stefan Nilsson's compositions over the past 20 years have been for film, and his music features in over 30 TV and film productions. He has commercially released several albums, and his collection of film music is, to date, the most successful collection of its kind in Sweden. Nilsson's career as a film music composer started in 1981 with the movie "Sally Och Friheten". In 1988 he was awarded the Norwegian Amanda Award for his music which featured in the film "Sweetwater". In 1989 Nilsson's music featured in the film "Pelle the Conqueror" which won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, A decade later in 1998 Nilsson was again honoured. This time with a Guldbagge Award (For music that enriches both epic and comedy films.) Nilsson's scores have featured in include "Kim Novak Never Swims in Genesaret's Lake" (2005); "A Song for Martin" (2001); "Jerusalem" (1996); "Roseanna" (1993); "Sweetwater" (1988); "The Serpent's Way" (1986) and "The Inside Man" (1984). The Verdict "What the heck! It's a feel good movie and a damn fine one at that. Michael Nyqvist and Frida Hallgren are superb. The Stefan Nilsson score is wonderful and the choral work, while a little contrived is a delight. Do yourself a big favour and go see it. If you love a feel good movie that lifts the spirit or you're a hopeless romantic like I am, then "Så som i himmelen" ("As It Is In Heaven") is a must see experience. Not to be missed. 4 STARS." Cast & Crew Bytes "AS IT IS IN HEAVEN" stars .......
Michael Nyqvist ["Home Sour Home", "The Guy In The Grave Next Door", "We Can Be Heroes" and "Day and Night"]; Helen Sjoholm ["Where The Rainbow Ends"]; Lennart Jähkel ["Yearning for a Life", "Shit Happens", "Difficult People" and "Kitchen Stories"] and Frida Hallglen ["30:e november", "Once in a Lifetime" and "If Not"] as Lena. Directed by Kay Pollak ["Elvis! Elvis!", "Children’s Island" and "Love Me!"]; Who's Who?

Michael Nyqvist
Frida Hallgren
Helen Sjöholm
Lennart Jähkel
Niklas Falk
Ingela Olsson
Per Morberg
Axelle Axell
Lasse Petterson
Barbro Kollberg
Ylva Lööf
Ulla-Britt Norrman
Mikael Rahm
André Sjöberg

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Daniel Daréus
Lena
Gabriella
Arne
Stig
Inger
Conny
Florence
Erik
Olga
Siv
Amanda
Holmfrid
Tore

Production Crew

Director
Script

Producers
Cinematography
Set Design
Costumes
Editing
Sound
Music

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Kay Pollak
Kay Pollak in association with
Anders Nyberg, Ola Olsson, Carin Pollak
and Margaretha Pollak
Anders Birkeland and Göran Lindström
Harald Gunnar Paalgard
Mona Theresia Forsén
Hedvig Andér
Thomas Täng
Bosse Persson and Jonas Rudels
Stefan Nilsson