''Jerusalem'' is a film which was released to cinemas in Sweden on 6 September 1996, directed by

Bille August Bille August (born 9 November 1948) is a Danish director, screenwriter, and cinematographer of film and television. In a career spanning over four decades, he has been the recipient of numerous accolades, making him one of the most acclaimed co ...

, based on the two-part novel ''

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

'' by

Selma Lagerlöf Selma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlöf (, , ; 20 November 1858 – 16 March 1940) was a Swedish author. She published her first novel, ''Gösta Berling's Saga'', at the age of 33. She was the first woman to win the 1909 Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Pr ...

. The film, also broadcast as a TV-series, was a

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

n co-production headed by

Svensk Filmindustri SF Studios is a Swedish film and television production and distribution company (both Swedish and international) with headquarters in Stockholm and local offices in Oslo, Copenhagen, Helsinki and London. The studio is owned by Nordic media cong ...

. The film was selected as the Swedish entry for the

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

at the

69th Academy Awards The 69th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) took place on March 24, 1997, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. EST. During the ceremo ...

, but was not accepted as a nominee.Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The cast includes

Ulf Friberg Ulf Sven Friberg (born 4 October 1962) is a Swedish actor, screenwriter, theatre and film director. Friberg studied in Malmö 1986–89. After that he was engaged at Stockholm City Theatre. He has also been engaged at the Orion Theatre in Stoc ...

Sven-Bertil Taube Sven-Bertil Gunnar Evert Taube (24 November 1934 – 11 November 2022) was a Swedish singer and actor. Internationally, he was perhaps better known for his acting career. Taube played Henrik Vanger in the film ''The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'' ...

Maria Bonnevie Anna Maria Cecilia Bonnevie (born 26 September 1973) is a Swedish- Norwegian actress. She was born in Västerås, Sweden, but grew up in Oslo, Norway. Her parents are Norwegian actress Jannik Bonnevie and Swedish actor Per Waldvik. Bonnevie wa ...

Pernilla August Pernilla August (; born Mia Pernilla Hertzman-Ericson; 13 February 1958) is a Swedes, Swedish actor, actress, film director, director and screenwriter. Being one of Sweden's leading actresses and a longtime collaborator with director Ingmar Bergm ...

Max von Sydow Max von Sydow ( , ; born Carl Adolf von Sydow; 10 April 1929 – 8 March 2020) was a Swedish-French actor. He had a 70-year career in European and American cinema, television, and theatre, appearing in more than 150 films and several television ...

Reine Brynolfsson Reine Claes-Göran Brynolfsson (born 15 January 1953) is a Swedish actor. He was born in Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capita ...

Lena Endre Lena Endre (born 8 July 1955) is a Swedish actress of film and television,* primarily in the Swedish and Norwegian markets, known for her parts in the Liv Ullmann film '' Trolösa'' (2000), and the ''Millennium series'' of films (e.g., ''The Gir ...

Olympia Dukakis Olympia Dukakis (June 20, 1931 – May 1, 2021) was an American actress. She performed in more than 130 stage productions, more than 60 films and in 50 television series. Best known as a screen actress, she started her career in theater. Not lon ...

Michael Nyqvist Rolf Åke Mikael Nyqvist (; 8 November 1960 – 27 June 2017) was a Swedish actor. Educated at the School of Drama in Malmö, he became well known for playing police officer Banck in the 1997–1998 Martin Beck TV series and for his leading role ...

Mona Malm Mona Kristina Wahlman (24 January 1935 – 12 January 2021), better known by her stage name Mona Malm, was a Swedish film, stage, and television actress. Born in 1935 to Harald Ericsson and Inez Malmberg, she began her career with the Swedish R ...

Sven Wollter Sven Justus Fredrik Wollter (11 January 1934 – 10 November 2020) was a Swedish actor, writer, and political activist. Wollter is one of the most renowned Swedish actors, he was awarded Best Swedish actor twice. In his native country, he becam ...

Hans Alfredson Hans Folke "Hasse" Alfredson (28 June 1931 – 10 September 2017) was a Swedish actor, film director, writer, and comedian. He was born in Malmö, Sweden. He is known for his collaboration with Tage Danielsson as the duo Hasse & Tage and their p ...

Viveka Seldahl Viveka Kristina Seldahl (15 March 1944 – 3 November 2001) was a Swedish actress. Born in Överammer, Jämtland, she was partner with the Swedish actor Sven Wollter from 1971 to 2001, they have the son Karl Seldahl. Besides doing television s ...

and

Johan Rabaeus Johan Rabaeus (born ''Carl Magnus Olof Johan Rabéus'' 31 July 1947) is a Swedish actor who was born in Stockholm but grew up in Paris and Geneva. He is known for portraying very unpleasant characters, such as Erik Ponti's sadistic stepfather in ...

Plot

The novel and the film were inspired by real events from the end of the 19th century, a time when many people left

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

to find a better life abroad. The story revolves around a number of struggling families from northern Sweden who share a strong

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

belief in the impending end of the world. After a long journey, these families choose to settle on the outskirts of

, where they take up farming and build a new future, waiting for

Judgement Day The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...

. A series of claimed visions only add to the difficulty of life in their adopted country, and with growing hardship and the loss of family members, some in the group decide to return to Sweden, while others stay.

Cast

as Ingmar *

as Gertrud *

as Karin *

as Tim *

as Barbro *

Jan Mybrand Jan Torsten Mybrand (born 26 January 1959 in Kolsva, Köping Municipality, Sweden) is a Swedish actor. Mybrand was educated at Dramatens elevskola and after that he practised at Gävle Folkteater. Since 1986 he works at Stockholm City Theatre

as Gabriel *

as Helgum *

Björn Granath Björn Gösta Tryggve Granath (5 April 1946 – 5 February 2017) was a Swedish actor who appeared in over 100 films and television shows. Granath was born in Örgryte, Gothenburg, Sweden. He starred in a broad range of roles from comedic t ...

as Storm *

as Stina *

as Eva Gunnarsdotter *

as Mats Hök *

as Vicar *

as Mrs. Gordon *Annika Borg as Gunhild *

as Eljas *

as Stor-Ingmar *Mats Dahlbäck as Hans Berger *

Anders Nyström Anders Nyström (born 22 April 1975), also known as Blakkheim (or formerly Blackheim), is a Swedish musician. Biography Nyström founded the Swedish metal band Katatonia with singer Jonas Renkse in 1991. Nyström is involved in the songwriti ...

as Sven Persson *Claes Esphagen as Forrester *

Fredrik Ohlsson Carl Fredrik Walter Ola Ohlsson (born 12 June 1931) is a Swedish actor. In 1956 he won a scholarship to Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where he made his stage debut as Tesman with Siân Phillips as Hedda Gabler 1957. Opening at The Duke of Yo ...

as Lawyer *John Gunnarson as Jesus *Torsten Sjöholm as Gunnar Höök *

as Carpenter 1 *Lasse Almebäck - Carpenter 2 * André Beinö as childhood Ingmar (credited as André Beijnö) *Stina Wargert - Gertrud as child *Sydnee Blake - American woman *Mel Cobb - American man *Nils Eklund - Innkeeper *Lars Engström - Doctor *Rolf Jenner - Big man 1 *

Christer Flodin Christer Flodin (born September 1, 1948 in Stockholm) is a Swedish television actor, best known for his appearances in crime drama series. In 1992 he appeared in the miniseries '' Ett Äktenskap i kris'' and in 1994 he appeared in the crime thr ...

- Big man 2 *Viktor Friberg - Saw worker *

Douglas Johansson Sten Gunnar Douglas Johansson (born 31 January 1960) is a Swedish actor, best known as Jan Martinsson in the films about Kurt Wallander. Filmography *1991 – ''Hassel – Botgörarna'' *1996 – ''Jerusalem'' *1997 – '' Ogifta par'' *1997 – ...

as Lars Tipers *Katherine Kjellgren - American girl *Jan Sjödin - Gabriel's father *Eva Stellby - Gabriel's mother *Stina von Sydow as Servant girl *Cilla Thorell - Russian girl *Amanda Steen - Greta *Tindra Laurén - Greta as a little girl *Galina Pavlovna Soboleva - Russian woman *Valeri Dmitrievitj-Lisenkov - Russian man 1 *Pavel Oetrovitj-Ostroukhouv - Russian man 2

Reception

The film was one of the most popular Swedish films of the year with a gross in excess of $2.3 million.

Awards

Lena Endre won the Swedish

Guldbagge Award The Guldbagge Awards ( sv, Guldbaggen, en, Gold scarab) is an official and annual Swedish film awards ceremony honoring achievements in the Swedish film industry. Winners are awarded a statuette depicting a rose chafer, better known by the name ...

as Best Supporting Actress, and the film was nominated in several other categories.

References

External links