On the face of it, Everlasting Moments is an unexceptional story of the trials of the life of early twentieth-century, Swedish working class housewife Maria Larsson. But underneath this simple exterior is a detailed, nuanced and utterly mesmerizing portrait of a complex character and the tumultuous times in which she lives.

Beginning with an unhappy family crammed into a tiny tenement, we travel with Maria as she goes through the trials of her husband's flirttions with alcohol abuse, labour movements and other women, we see her fall in love with photography and watch her children grow up. Bigger events of the time are hinted at, such as the revolution in Russia and the First World War, but their impact on her world is not exaggerated beyond the worry it causes and cast change it necessitates.

The subject matter of the film is far from the simplicity of the story's structure. Taking in class warfare, working-class struggles, domestic abuse, family life, numerous love affairs, the development of the camera and a burgeoning obsession with images, this film is jam-packed with stories, themes and ideas. The risk is that the viewer is overloaded with things to follow, but this danger is never even remotely encountered. Every incident, every emotion and every twist is intricately bound to Maria's life story in a way that not only justifies and explains them but emotionally invests the audience in the world on screen with a completeness rarely created (one scene of domestic violence caused a mass gasp that measured around 4 on the Richter scale, no mean feat for a Swedish-language period drama).

As you might expect from a film which takings photography as (at least a large chunk of) its subject matter, the look of the film is carefully cultivated. It looks like it was shot on digital, but the grain that suggests its slightly incongruous format works well in creating a sense of the period, and making audiences aware of the image they are watching. This is particularly effective in the quiet, intense and focussed scenes in which Maria undertakes her own photographic escapades. We are forced to focus as she is on the subject matter, and are made aware of the layers of looking that we are engaging with. This subtle philosophising which completely lacks pretensions, and could even be passed over by those more caught up in the raw emotion of the story, is another great strength of this film.

A final piece of praise must also be reserved for the actors. Maria Heiskanen does a superb job in the lead role of Maria Larsson: conveying her strength of character through a restrained stoicism that mercifully avoids any hint of melodrama; photography mentor Sebastian Pedersen is played by Jesper Christensen with a soft touch that makes his character infinitely loveable; and Mikael Persbrandt makes Maria's husband Sigfrid at once likeable and detestable. His performance carries all of the menace required in the scenes of his low points and somehow manages to redeem him with all the cheerful vivacity he can muster, reminding us all why Maria loved him in the first place.

An exceptional film of many qualities, likely to stay with those who appreciate it for a very long time.

 

Starring: Maria Heiskanen, Sebastian Pedersen, Mikael Persbrandt, Emil Jensen, Amanda Ooms
Directed by: Jan Troell

Run time: 131 mins
Release Date: May 22nd

Certificate: 15

Rating: ****

Review by Michael Edwards