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Involuntary (film)
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Wikipedia article
'Involuntary' is a 2008 Swedish film directed by Ruben stlund described as "a tragic comedy or comic tragedy." It features five parallel stories with human group behaviour as the common theme.'[http://www.sfi.se/en-gb/Swedish-film/Swedish-film-eng/?type=Movie&itemid=314 Involuntary]' at the Swedish Film Institute. Retrieved 2009-07-14. The film is notable for its long takes with no cuts within the scenes. This is related to stlund's background as a skiing film director, where a cut would only indicate failure. The longest scene lasts for seven minutes.Carlberg, Ingrid (2009-01-18). "[http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=2204&a=874917 Folkfilmaren Ruben stlund] " (in Swedish). 'Dagens Nyheter'. Retrieved 2009-02-15.
The film received mainly positive reviews. It has won several awards at international film festivals and was nominated for five Swedish Guldbagge Awards including Best Film, but didn't win in any category. It was also selected as Sweden's submission for Best Foreign Language Film at the 82nd Academy Awards.Rehlin, Gunnar (2009-09-15). "[https://www.variety.com/article/VR1118008643.html?categoryid=13&cs=1 Swedes send 'Involuntary' to Oscars]". 'Variety'. Retrieved 2009-09-16.
Production
The work with the script started already in autumn 2004, when stlund and Hemmendorff started to write down vignettes on the theme, inspired by or taken directly from their own experiences.Pham, Annika (2008-10-30). "[http://cineuropa.org/interview.aspx?lang=en&documentID=87563 Interview with Ruben stlund]". Cineuropa.org. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
Filming started in the summer 2006. One scene per day was shot during the production, with around 20 takes for each scene, although some scenes demanded far more.Pallas, Hynek (2007-01-05) "[http://www.svd.se/kulturnoje/nyheter/artikel_188759.svd Skandet efter rtt gonblick]" (in Swedish). 'Svenska Dagbladet'. Retrieved on 2009-02-15. The independent stories were shot one at a time, meaning that many of the actors never met before the premiere.Holmberg, Jonas. "[http://www.flm.nu/FLMdennyavaren.pdf Den nya vren] " (PDF) (in Swedish). 'FLM'. Autumn 2008. Retrieved 2009-02-15.
Release
The film premiered on 19 May 2008 at the Cannes Film Festival in the section Un certain regard.[http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/10802521/year/2008.html Page on Festival-cannes.com]
Critical reception
The general reception in Swedish press was positive. As of 14 July 2009 it had an average rating of 4.3 out of 5 based on 24 reviews at the Swedish-language review site Kritiker.se, making it the highest rated Swedish film from 2008."[http://www.kritiker.se/recension.asp?i=51267 De ofrivilliga]" (in Swedish). Kritiker.se. Retrieved 2009-07-14."[http://www.kritiker.se/year.asp?y=2008&c=5 Top films 2008] " (in Swedish). Kritiker.se. Retrieved 2009-07-14. An exception was Jan-Olov Andersson at 'Aftonbladet', who rated the film 2 out of 5 and dismissed it as "Roy Andersson light."Andersson, Jan-Olov. (2008-11-28) "[http://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/film/recensioner/article3871709.ab Roy Andersson i light-version]" (in Swedish). 'Aftonbladet'. Retrieved 2009-02-15.
Awards and honours
References
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