''Livet är en schlager'' (''Life is a Schlager'', also known as ''Once in a Lifetime'' or ''Hånden på hjertet'' in Danish) is a Swedish film released in 2000, written by

Jonas Gardell Lars Jonas Holger Gardell (born 2 November 1963) is a Swedish novelist, playwright, screenwriter and comedian. He is the brother of religion scholar Mattias Gardell. He is well known for his books and plays in all of Scandinavia and his books ha ...

and directed by his usual directing partner Susanne Bier. The film features cameo appearances by many Swedish singers. The film was produced by

Nordisk Film Nordisk Film A/S (lit. "Nordic Film") is a Danish entertainment company established in 1906 in Copenhagen by filmmaker Ole Olsen. It is the fourth-oldest film studio in the world behind the Gaumont Film Company, Pathé, and Titanus ...

and

Sveriges Television Sveriges Television AB ("Sweden's Television Stock Company"), shortened to SVT (), is the Sweden, Swedish national public broadcasting, public television broadcaster, funded by a public service tax on personal income set by the Riksdag (national ...

in association with

Sonet Film Bonnier AB (), also the Bonnier Group, is a privately held Swedish media group of 175 companies operating in 15 countries. It is controlled by the Bonnier family. Background The company was founded in 1804 by Gerhard Bonnier in Copenhagen, Denma ...

and

TV2 Denmark TV 2 (''TV to'') is a Danish government-owned broadcast and subscription television station in Denmark based in Odense, Funen. History Since 1949, Danmarks Radio had been the sole provider of television in Denmark. Wanting to end the monopoly, ...

Plot

The film is based around the life of Mona Berglund, a mother-of-four obsessed with the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

- so much so, that her house is decorated with posters of her idols, and she has named her children after Swedish Eurovision performers: Kikki, Anna Book, Lena PH and Carola. Her partner Bosse is unemployed, and she is left to feed the family. Her brother, Candy, is a transvestite and an

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

-sufferer who designs clothes. David, Mona's employer has

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sensa ...

and is a proficient songwriter, and composes a song which Mona steals and sends a demo of (with her own lyrics) into

Melodifestivalen Melodifestivalen (; literally "the Melody Festival") is an annual song competition organised by Swedish public broadcasters Sveriges Television (SVT) and Sveriges Radio (SR). It determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song ...

, the Swedish heats for the Eurovision contest. Much to Mona's delight, the song qualifies for the finals. Mona's new-found fame takes her to unexpected places, including a TV interview, and an invitation to lunch at Berns. Throughout, the film, though, Mona is torn as to whether she should reveal that she was not in fact the only writer of her song, and thus risk losing the public's support.

Music

The film features several songs by well-known Swedish singers, such as " If Life Was a Song", performed by Carola Häggkvist, " I Believe in Miracles" performed by Lena Philipsson and " Kärleksikonen" performed by

Regina Lund Regina Charlotta Theodora Lund, known professionally as Regina Lund, (born July 17, 1967) is a Swedish celebrity, award-winning Actress, Swedish Grammy nominated Artist, Singer-Songwriter, poet, writer, model, comedian and awarded painter. Regina ...

. The film also features the song " Aldrig ska jag sluta älska dig", originally performed by

Helena Bergström Helena Kristina Bergström Nutley (born 5 February 1964) is a Swedish actress and film director. From an acting family, she began her career in 1982. She has appeared on the stages of the Royal Dramatic Theatre (''Dramaten'') and the Stockholm ...

, which was later released by Gardell,

br>Musik
/ref> and " Handen på hjärtat" performed by Sofia Källgren. "Handen på hjärtat" was released on the soundtrack but was performed by

Björn Kjellman John Björn Sture Kjellman (born 4 June 1963), is a Swedish actor and singer. Kjellman was born in Östra Grevie, Scania. He played roles in Swedish movies like ''Klassfesten'' and '' Livet är en schlager'', in which he plays a Melodifestival ...

feat. Salome.

Cast and characters

as Mona *

Jonas Karlsson Sven Bert Jonas Karlsson (born 11 March 1971) is a Swedish actor and author. Karlsson was born in Salem. He won a Guldbagge Award for Best Actor in 2004 for the movie ''Details''. He published his first book, a collection of short stories, in ...

as David *

Candy Darling Candy Darling (November 24, 1944 – March 21, 1974) was an American actress, best known as a Warhol superstar and transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not ...

Thomas Hanzon Sven Thomas Hanzon (born 20 June 1962) is a Swedish actor and stage actor at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm and former footballer. He was born in 1962 in Stockholm, Sweden. He worked with Ingmar Bergman in both movies and on stage. He ...

as Bosse * Sissela Kyle as Woman at the employment office *

Katarina Ewerlöf Annette Elsa Katarina Ewerlöf (born 28 December 1959) is a Swedish actress. She began acting in theater when she was 13 years old at Vår teater, a children's theater in Stockholm. Ewerlöf was educated at the theater university at the Stockho ...

as Moa, project manager *

as Sabina *

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 Hairdresser * Jessica Zandén as Woman at the café *

Frida Hallgren Frida Sophia Hallgren (born 16 December 1974) is a Swedish actress, internationally known from ''As It Is in Heaven''. She got her start in acting as a child in Hasse Funck's children's acting school and participated in Vår teater, a children ...

as TV engineer

References

External links

Review from Filmtipset.se
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Once In A Lifetime (2000 Film) 2000 films Swedish LGBT-related films Cross-dressing in film Films directed by Susanne Bier Nordisk Film films Films about the Eurovision Song Contest Melodifestivalen 2000s Swedish-language films 2000s Swedish films