Working-class mother Maria Larrson (Maria Heiskanen) discovers a talent for photography that allows her to survive her abusive marriage well-meaning longshoremen husband Sigfrid (Mikael Persbrandt) and enter into a quiet, almost romantic friendship with local merchant and fellow photographer Sebastian Pedersen (Jesper Christensen).

CRITIQUE

I didn’t quite think I could love Jan Troell’s (The Emigrants) magical Everlasting Moments any more than I did last year when I ultimately placed it at number five on my 2009 top ten. After watching the sterling Criterion Collection DVD I’m happy to say how wrong that statement is, my groundswell of emotion for this instant classic only blossoming even more now in subsequent viewing here at home. This is an absolutely perfect motion picture, and I challenge anyone who watches it not to ultimately be moved by its stirring saga of artistic creation under the most extreme of emotional circumstances.

To quote my original March 2009 review:

“On paper, the film sounds pretty simple and familiar. In reality, Troell’s epic is so much more, going way beyond the routine to become universal and timeless. Moving with an elegantly controlled grace, what would normally seem cliché suddenly feels fresh and new. The director taps right into the very essence of his characters, all of them becoming fully formed flesh and blood creations right before my eyes.

Romance drips off the screen, something I’d thought I’d never say about a movie containing so many instances of domestic abuse and alcoholic rage. Yet I can think of no more heart-tugging sequence of film than the sight of Maria reaching for Sebastian’s cheek, no more tearful bit of longing than the beauty of her watching him disappear down a wooded street covered in the ebulliently glowing embers of rust-colored leaves.

The film builds slowly, each transition as measured and as patient as the woman at the center of the majority of them. Troell never pushes, never forces the viewer into the places he wants them to go. Instead he subtly leads them there, almost without our noticing, finally delivering a staggering last 20 minutes that had my tears flowing down my cheeks to the point you’d have thought I was a faucet.

Heiskanen is marvelous. She finds an inner grit and determination inside of Maria that’s sublime. This is a performance of few words yet one that speaks volumes. Heiskanen runs the gamut of emotions, crossing divides so wide they went beyond any I could have anticipated. I sometimes think that actors forget the power silence can have, how quiet can have both elegiac and devastating consequences. That is this performance, and even as the last image fades to black Maria herself never does.

As for the finished movie, it feels a lot like the images its protagonist takes. Troell moves his camera smoothly and with precision only to sometimes stop and linger like a photograph. Shooting the film himself (along with co-cinematographer Mischa Gavrjusjov), there are so many haunting moments I can’t possibly recount them all. This stuck with me, body and soul, capturing my imagination and my heartstrings so smoothly I didn’t even notice while it was happening.

The more I think about it, the more Everlasting Moments makes me smile. Not just in happiness or enjoyment, but also in that knowledge that I’ve witnessed my first monumental triumph of 2009, that I have been reminded the pure power and vivacious rapture cinema can sometimes achieve. Like a treasured photograph, this is a film to love.” 

THE VIDEO

Everlasting Moments is presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. I’m quickly becoming Blu-ray spoiled (and considering this film was released by Criterion in that format I’m also a little depressed that wasn’t the disc I received for review), but this standard definition presentation is still pretty stunning.

THE AUDIO

Everlasting Moments is presented in its original Swedish 5.1 Surround Sound audio with English subtitles. Again, I’m Blu-ray spoiled, but as standard audio tracks go I have to say this film sounded better in my home than it ever did in the movie theatre which is probably really saying something.  

THE EXTRAS

Extras on this two-disc set include:

• Troell Behind the Camera – A short documentary about the director made during this film’s production.
• The True Story of Maria Larsson – Fascinating featurette that is basically a collection of her actual photographs narrated by writer Agneta Elfäster-Troell.
• Troell’s Magic Mirror – An absolutely essential 60-minute documentary on the director covering the majority of his career.
• Theatrical Trailer
• Booklet featuring an essay by Film Critic Armond White 

FINAL THOUGHTS

Everlasting Moments is a masterpiece. Buy it immediately and cherish the fact that it has become a part of your collection.