''Elvira Madigan'' is a 1967 Swedish film directed by

Bo Widerberg Bo Gunnar Widerberg (; 8 June 1930 – 1 May 1997) was a Swedish film director, writer, editor and actor. Biography Early life Widerberg was born in Malmö, Malmöhus County, Sweden. Career Widerberg was the director of films such as ''Rave ...

, based on the tragedy of the Danish slackrope dancer Hedvig Jensen (born 1867), working under the stage name of Elvira Madigan at her stepfather's travelling circus, who runs away with the Swedish nobleman lieutenant

Sixten Sparre Bengt Edvard ''Sixten'' "Sigge" Sparre af Rossvik (September 27, 1854 – July 19, 1889) was a Swedish nobleman, lieutenant, cavalry officer, journalist, poet, mostly known for the murder of circus performer Elvira Madigan in a murder-suicide act. ...

(born 1854).

Plot

Elvira Madigan and Sixten Sparre are together in the Danish countryside, having run away together and abandoned their past lives. Sparre has renounced the military and now claims to be "on the women's side." Elvira, who was the main attraction at her circus, has got her identity back and starts to refer to herself with her real name Hedvig. A friend from Sparre's regiment tries to persuade him to come back, but fails. They have no money or future and try to fish and earn money the best they can. Hedvig sells a picture of herself drawn by

Toulouse-Lautrec Comte Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa (24 November 1864 – 9 September 1901) was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman, caricaturist and illustrator whose immersion in the colourful and theatrical life of Paris in the l ...

and is paid to entertain a party with her dancing. Eventually, Sparre shot her to death and then took his own life.

Cast

Pia Degermark Pia Charlotte Degermark (born 24 August 1949) is a Swedish actress. She is best known for her role as Elvira Madigan in the 1967 drama film ''Elvira Madigan'', for which she won a Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress. Career Born Pia Char ...

- Hedvig Jensen, "

Elvira Madigan Hedvig Antoinette Isabella Eleonore Jensen (December 4, 1867 July 19, 1889), better known by her stage name Elvira Madigan, was a circus performer who performed as a slack rope dancer, artistic rider, juggler and dancer. She is best known today ...

" *

Thommy Berggren Thommy Berggren, né Tommy William Berggren (born 12 August 1937) is a Swedish actor. He is known for having starred in several films directed by Bo Widerberg, and was often considered one of the foremost Swedish film and theatre actors from t ...

- Lt.

* Lennart Malmer - Kristoffer * Cleo Jensen - Cleo * Yvonne Ingdal - Elvira Madigan's voice

Soundtrack

The soundtrack features

Géza Anda Géza Anda (; 19 November 192113 June 1976) was a Swiss- Hungarian pianist. A celebrated interpreter of classical and romantic repertoire, particularly noted for his performances and recordings of Mozart, he was also considered to be a tremendo ...

playing the Andante from Piano Concerto No. 21 in C by Mozart, which is now sometimes referred to as the "Elvira Madigan" Concerto, as well as Vivaldi's '' Four Seasons''. Anda's

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

LP of Concerto No. 21 was re-issued with a cover showing Pia Degermark in costume in a still from the film.

Awards and nominations

* BAFTA Awards ** Best Cinematography (Persson, nominated) ** Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles (Degermark, nominated) *

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

** Best Actress (Degermark, won) ** Golden Palm (Widerberg, nominated) * Golden Globe Awards ** Best Foreign-Language Foreign Film (nominated) ** Most Promising Newcomer - Female (Degermark, nominated) *

National Board of Review The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures is a non-profit organization of New York City area film enthusiasts. Its awards, which are announced in early December, are considered an early harbinger of the film awards season that culminat ...

** Best Foreign Language Film (won)

Critical responses

According to the '' Time Out Film Guide'': "Candidate for the prettiest pic ever award. ... you may be enchanted by it if you don't laugh yourself sick." Describing it as breathing the "hippie mid-sixties",

Edgardo Cozarinsky Edgardo Cozarinsky (; born 1939 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) is a writer and filmmaker. He is best known for his Spanish-language novel ''Vudú urbano''. Life Cozarinsky was born to an Argentine family of Ukrainian-Jewish descent. His name reflects ...

writes: "Though the lovers are there as early instances of drop-outs, and several contemporary readings effortlessly emerge, Widerberg's real concern is with the sensuous presence of cream and berry juice on lips and fingertips". For Widerberg, "this affirmation in the face of death carries ... the weight of a modest but combative ideological point".

References

External links

* *
''Chicago Sun-Times'' review
{{National Board of Review Award for Best Foreign Language Film 1967 drama films 1967 films Films directed by Bo Widerberg 1960s Swedish-language films Films about suicide Swedish drama films 1960s Swedish films