There have been many war stories coming from World War II some fiction and others based on fact. Now out on DVD is a movie based on a novel by Marianne Fredriksson called Simon and the Oaks and it’s a tearjerker. Set in Sweden during the Nazi invasion, the first half of the film deals with Jewish discrimination. There are few films that deal with this Nordic country in conjunction with German occupation so it’s fascinating to see how Sweden’s people resisted domination.
Marianne Fredriksson was born in Gothenburg, Sweden in the late 1920’s and lived all of her life in the country. She became a journalist for various magazines and publications before becoming a noted novelist. Her first novel was “The Book of Eve” in 1980 followed by 14 others with her last being “Ondskans leende (Evil Smile)” in 2006 approximately a year before her death at the age of 80. Simon and the Oaks was published in 1985 and the film was released on December 2011 in Sweden.
The story opens with a short scene of Simon overlooking a bay from the cliff-side of a small Swedish Village. It then flashes back to 1939 where we find adolescent Simon (played by Jonatan S. Wachter) living at home with his Father Erik (Stefan Godicke) and mother Karin (Helen Sjoholm). Most every day you can find Simon in a giant oak tree that overlooks the wide inlet that leads to the Atlantic Ocean. He’s one with the tree having built a platform that allows him to lay back and use his imagination, especially for cloud figures including a pair of Camels.
Not wanting to follow in his father’s footsteps of being a carpenter, Simon is a reader and gets his mother to allow him to go to a private school. There he meets and befriends Isak (Karl Martin Eriksson), a Jewish boy who gets a lot of attention from bullies who have been picking on him with Nazi ethnic cleansing in the news received from Germany. But Simon sees Isak as someone with whom he can equate so the two become close pals. One day Isak brings Simon to his opulent home in the city where he meets his father Ruben (Jan Josef Liefers) a book dealer. Ruben visions Simon as a friend for Isak and foresees a good relationship forming between them.
The story moves on showing the Nazi’s becoming more prominent in the small city and Isak going to live with Simon in the country away from danger. Director Lisa Ohlin moves her film along during the first hour ending act one with the end of the war. From there we are introduced to the older Simon (Bill Skarsgard) and Isak (Karl Linnertorp) who get into the meat of the film involving ethnicity, their vocations, family relationships and dealing with tragedy.
The actors give very good performances providing poignant characters in the gripping storyline. As the young Simon, Wachter follows direction well bringing his character to life, making him endearing, and a music enthusiast, but later conflicted. Likewise Ohlin pushes Eriksson to show the abusive shroud of the Nazis affecting his future. He changes from the silver spoon fed boy to a path that will take him in the direction of Simon’s father, rather than that of the arts.
Skarsgard lifts his older Simon to expand his horizons leaving the homestead to be with Ruben who pushes his enthusiasm for music. He starts to slowing movie away from Erik and Karin as parental figures getting involved with a fast life. Linnertorp’s Isak becomes the tradesman, one who has his mind set on building boats and more down to earth with his future. Both actors are superb with their performances and create convincing figures.
Simon and the Oaks has not been rated by the MPAA, but contains language, sex and nudity. The film is presented in Swedish and German with English subtitles. The subtitles are easy to read and with the option of pause, there should not be a problem for the dialogue. Be cautious when deciding to allow immature children see the film as it does have scenes that are highly inappropriate for adolescents.
Specifications and additional film information:
Cast: Bill Skarsgard, Helen Sjoholm, Jan Josef Liefers, Stefan Godicke, Karl Linnertorp, Jonatan S. Wächter, Karl Martin Eriksson, Katharina Schuttler, Cecilia Nilsson
Director: Lisa Ohlin
MPAA Rating: Not Rated, Language, sex, nudity
Genre: Drama, Foreign, WWII
Running Time: 2 hrs 2 min
Video Release Date: May 6, 2014
Language: Swedish, German
Format: DVD
Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0
Video: Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Subtitles: English
Number of Discs: 1 Disc
Distributed by: RLJ Entertainment
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
