''Raven's End'' ( sv, Kvarteret Korpen) is a 1963 Swedish drama film directed by Bo Widerberg, about an aspiring working-class writer in Malmö. The story bears some similarities to Widerberg's own background, although he claimed it to be entirely fictional.

Plot

In the mid 1930s, Anders is dreaming about becoming a writer. His friend Sixten is dreaming about becoming a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player so he can go to Paris and meet prostitutes in fur. Anders' ambitions are supported by his girlfriend Elsie and his parents. His mother supports the family by doing laundry, while his father is unemployed and has a problem with alcohol and gambling. Anders sends a script for a book he has written about the block they live in to a publisher in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

. He is asked to come to Stockholm and discuss the book, which makes his father excited. But the publisher doesn't want to publish the book, and when Anders returns they all become very disappointed. Elsie becomes pregnant with Anders' child. Anders seeks advice from his father, but the father is drunk and they end up fighting. The father blames his wife for all the misery they are suffering from, meaning it's all because he was humiliated by an affair she once had. The mother blames the father, meaning it was his violent behaviour that caused her infidelity. Anders decides to leave his family, his pregnant girlfriend and all misery behind. He joins Sixten and they both travel to Stockholm.

Cast

* Thommy Berggren as Anders * Keve Hjelm as His Father * Emy Storm as His Mother *

Christina Frambäck Christina may refer to: People * Christina (given name), shared by several people * Christina (surname), shared by several people Places * Christina, Montana, unincorporated community, United States * Christina, British Columbia, Canada * Chris ...

as Elsie * Ingvar Hirdwall as Sixten * Agneta Prytz as Neighbour *

Fritiof Nilsson Piraten Fritiof Nilsson Piraten ("the Pirate") (4 December 1895 in Vollsjö – 31 January 1972 in Malmö), born Nils Fritiof Adam Nilsson was a Sweden, Swedish author and lawyer, from the south-most province Skåne, which plays an important role in ma ...

as Himself *

Nina Widerberg Nina may refer to: * Nina (name), a feminine given name and surname Acronyms *National Iraqi News Agency, a news service in Iraq *Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, on the campus of Norwegian University of Science and Technology *No income, n ...

as Nina

Production

The film was shot on location in a run-down Malmö block that was soon to be demolished. Locals were used as extras to strengthen the feeling of authenticity.

Awards and nominations

At the

1st Guldbagge Awards The 1st Guldbagge Awards ceremony, presented by the Swedish Film Institute, honored the best Swedish 1963 and 1964, and took place on 25 September 1964. '' The Silence'' directed by Ingmar Bergman was presented with the award for Best Film. Aw ...

Keve Hjelm was awarded the

Guldbagge 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 na ...

for Best Actor. The film was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

. It was also entered into the official selection at the

1964 Cannes Film Festival The 17th Cannes Film Festival was held from 29 April to 14 May 1964. On this occasion, the Palme d’Or was renamed "Grand Prix du Festival International du Film", a name that remained in use through 1974, after which it became the Palme d'Or agai ...

, competing for the Palme d'Or.

References

External links