''Waltz for Monica'' ( sv, Monica Z) is a Swedish

biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or c ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Per Fly Per Fly Plejdrup (born 14 January 1960) is a Danish film director, generally credited simply as Per Fly. He has made many films and television shows broadcast on Danish television. Per Fly's awards includes the Crown Prince Couple's Culture Prize ...

. It is based on the life and career of the singer and actress

Monica Zetterlund Monica Zetterlund (born Eva Monica Nilsson; 20 September 1937 – 12 May 2005) was a Swedish jazz singer and actress. Through her lifetime, she starred in over 10 Swedish film productions and recorded over 20 studio albums. She gained int ...

, portrayed by Edda Magnason. The film was released theatrically in Sweden on 13 September 2013.

Plot

Monica makes it from a telephone operator to a national celebrity. But fame and party life take their toll.

Cast

* Edda Magnason as

* Sverrir Gudnason as Sture Åkerberg *

Kjell Bergqvist Kjell Bertil Leonard Bergqvist (born 23 February 1953 in Enskede, Stockholm County) is a Swedish actor. Bergqvist finished the Royal Dramatic Training Academy in 1973 and made his debut in '' En enkel melodi'' and ''Jack''. He has since coope ...

as Monica's father *

Cecilia Ljung ''Ylva Cecilia Larsdotter'' Ljung (born 4 April 1961) is a Swedish actor, actress. She studied at Malmö Theatre Academy 1982–85. Selected filmography *1989 - ''Tre kärlekar'' (TV) *1994 - ''Rederiet'' (TV) *1995 - ''Evil Ed'' *1997 - ''P ...

as Monica's mother *

Vera Vitali Anna "Vera" Vitali (born 3 October 1981) is a Swedish actress and playwright, who stars as Lisa in the drama series '' Bonus Family''. Biography Anna Vera Vitali was born October 3, 1981 in Stockholm. Vera Vitali grew up in a film family. Her ...

as Marika * Johannes Wanselow as Beppe Wolgers * Oskar Thunberg as

Vilgot Sjöman David Harald Vilgot Sjöman (2 December 1924 – 9 April 2006) was a Swedish writer and film director. His films deal with controversial issues of social class, morality, and sexual taboos, combining the emotionally tortured characters of Ingm ...

* Randal D. Ingram as Bill Evans * Rob Morgan as

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musi ...

* Amelia Fowler as

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

* Clinton Ingram as

Tommy Flanagan Thomas Lee Flanagan (March 16, 1930 – November 16, 2001) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He grew up in Detroit, initially influenced by such pianists as Art Tatum, Teddy Wilson, and Nat King Cole, and then by bebop musicians. ...

* Harry Friedländer as Hasse Alfredson * Andréa Ager-Hanssen as

Lena Nyman Anna Lena Elisabet Nyman (23 May 1944 – 4 February 2011) was a Swedish film and stage actress. Having had her first film roles in 1955, Nyman had a role in Vilgot Sjöman's '' 491'' (1964) and got her breakthrough in his ''I Am Curious (Yel ...

Reception

''Waltz for Monica'' received generally positive reviews. In Sweden, ''Kulturnyheterna'' on SVT gave it a 4 out of 5 and especially praised Magnason's performance. '' Svenska Dagbladet'' also praised Magnason's performance, giving the film a 4 out of 6. '' MovieZine'' also liked the film, giving it 4 out of 5. Many newspapers gave the film with a 4 out of 5, among them '' Aftonbladet'', '' Expressen'', ''

Göteborgs-Posten ''Göteborgs-Posten'' (lit. "The Gothenburg Post"), abbreviated GP, is a major Swedish language daily newspaper published in Gothenburg, Sweden. History and profile ''Göteborgs-Posten'' was first published in 1813, but ceased publication in 1 ...

'' and ''

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urb ...

''. However, the film was criticized by the documentary filmmaker Tom Alandh, who wrote an article in the newspaper ''

Dagens Nyheter ''Dagens Nyheter'' (, ), abbreviated ''DN'', is a daily newspaper in Sweden. It is published in Stockholm and aspires to full national and international coverage, and is widely considered Sweden's newspaper of record. History and profile ' ...

'' where he objected to the film's negative portrayal of Zetterlund's father. ''Waltz for Monica'' received 11

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 nam ...

nominations.

Soundtrack

A soundtrack album of the film was released by Universal Music, charting in various Scandinavian charts, notably Sweden, Finland and Denmark.

Track listing

#"Sakta vi gå genom stan" #"Hit The Road Jack" #"Monica's vals" #"O vad en liten gumma kan gno" #"En gång i Stockholm" #"It Could Happen to You" #"Gröna små äpplen" #"Trubbel" #"Du" #"Bedårande sommarvals" #"I Can't Give You Anything But Love" #"I New York" #"Monica Z – Svit ur filmen"

Charts

References

External links

* * * {{Per Fly 2013 films 2013 drama films 2013 biographical drama films 2010s Swedish-language films Biographical films about singers Cultural depictions of jazz musicians Cultural depictions of Swedish women Drama films based on actual events Films directed by Per Fly Films set in the 1960s Films set in Stockholm Films shot in Gothenburg Films shot in New York City Films shot in Stockholm Films shot in Trollhättan Films whose director won the Best Director Guldbagge Award Jazz films Swedish biographical drama films 2010s Swedish films