The Slingshot (film)

The Slingshot (Swedish: Kådisbellan) is a Swedish drama film which was released to cinemas in Sweden on 24 September 1993,[2] starring Jesper Salén, Stellan Skarsgård and Basia Frydman. Directed by Åke Sandgren, the film was based on Roland Schütt's 1989 autobiographical novel of the same name (translates to "The Condom Slingshot").

The Slingshot
Directed byÅke Sandgren
Produced byWaldemar Bergendahl
Miro Vostiar
Written byÅke Sandgren
Roland Schütt (novel)
Starring
CinematographyGöran Nilsson
Distributed byNordisk Film (Denmark)
Svenska Filminstitutet (Sweden)
Release date
  • 24 September 1993 (1993-09-24) (Sweden)
Running time
102 minutes
CountrySweden
LanguageSwedish
Box office$309,117 (USA)[1]

Plot

Roland (Salén) is the 12-year-old son of a Russian Jewish mother (Frydman) and a socialist father (Skarsgård), coming of age in 1920s Stockholm. Due to his family's background, he has become an outcast to those around him, a constant target of bullying by his peers, and often humiliated and physically punished by a sadistic schoolteacher (Ernst-Hugo Järegård) in front of classmates. In retaliation against his tormentors, Roland steals condoms from his mother's tobacco shop inventory and turns them into crude slingshot weapons. He also falls in love with a neighbourhood girl (Frida Hallgren), but as Roland attempts to toughen up and improve his troubled life, he also allies with the wrong group of friends and inadvertently makes himself a juvenile offender.

Shooting

Most outdoor scenes were shot in Prague[3] as the Stockholm townscape at the time was considered to have undergone too many changes to depict the 1920s.

Cast

Reception

The Danish-Swedish production has an 89% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[4] AllMovie critic Clarke Fountain called the film an "affectionate, richly detailed portrait",[5] while film critic James Berardinelli gave the film three and a half out of four stars and called it "a wonderful mix of tragedy, humor, and triumph." [6] Conversely, the Washington Post had an unfavorable view of the movie and called the story "a catalogue of catastrophes that surely left the real protagonist with many emotional scars."[7]

At the 29th Guldbagge Awards the film won the award for Best Film.[8] Åke Sandgren was nominated for both Best Director and Best Screenplay, while Basia Frydman was nominated for Best Actress.[8]

The film was the Swedish submission to the 66th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film, but did not make nomination.[9][10][11]

Year-end lists

See also

References
  1. The Slingshot at Box Office Mojo
  2. "Kådisbellan" (in Swedish). Swedish Film Database. 24 September 1993. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  3. "Kådisbellan" (in Swedish). Svensk filmdatabas. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  8. "Kådisbellan (1993)". Swedish Film Institute. 23 March 2014.
  10. Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
  11. Frook, John Evan (30 November 1993). "Acad inks Cates, unveils foreign-language entries". Variety. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
  12. King, Dennis (December 25, 1994). "SCREEN SAVERS In a Year of Faulty Epics, The Oddest Little Movies Made The Biggest Impact". Tulsa World (Final Home ed.). p. E1.
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