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''As It Is in Heaven'' () is a 2004 Swedish
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. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...
directed by
Kay Pollak Kay Gunnar Leopold Pollak (born 21 May 1938) is a Swedish film director. Career After a long break from film-making, he returned in 2004 with '' As It Is in Heaven'' (''Så som i himmelen''), a major box office success in Sweden. The film was no ...
and starring
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 ...
and
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 childr ...
. It was a box office hit in Sweden and several other countries. It was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Hollywood
77th Academy Awards The 77th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on February 27, 2005, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. Durin ...
.


Plot

Daniel Daréus (
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 ...
) is a successful and renowned international
conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...
whose life aspiration is to create music that will open people's hearts. His own heart, however, is in bad shape. After suffering a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
on stage at the end of a performance, he retires indefinitely to
Norrland Norrland (, , originally ''Norrlanden'', meaning 'the Northlands') is the northernmost, largest and least populated of the three traditional lands of Sweden, consisting of nine provinces. Although Norrland does not serve any administrative p ...
in the far north of
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
, to the village where he endured a terrible childhood of
bullying Bullying is the use of force, coercion, Suffering, hurtful teasing, comments, or threats, in order to abuse, aggression, aggressively wikt:domination, dominate, or intimidate one or more others. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. On ...
. Daniel buys the old
elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...
in the village, and soon after is asked to come along one Thursday night and listen to the local
choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...
. He is only asked to listen, and maybe offer some helpful advice, but their intentions of persuading him to help are obvious. He eventually agrees to help, albeit reluctantly. Daniel approaches the
parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
minister to seek the position of
cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. Cantor as a profession generally refers to those leading a Jewish congregation, although it also applies to the lead singer or choir director in Christian contexts. ...
. He starts helping the choir grow and develop, rediscovering his own joy in music. Almost immediately, Lena (
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 childr ...
), an attractive young girl in the choir, catches his attention. As they grow closer and fall in love, he realises that he is surrounded by the villagers' personal problems. Inger ( Ingela Olsson) is married to the respected minister, Stig ( Niklas Falk), but has failed to develop a loving sexual relationship with him. Siv (
Ylva Lööf Ylva Lööf (born 28 February 1958) is a Sweden, Swedish actress who has appeared in a number of films and television shows. Filmography *1989 in television, 1989–1991 in television, 1991 – ''Tre kärlekar'' (English title ''Three Lov ...
) is so obsessed with morality that she cannot enjoy herself. Arne (
Lennart Jähkel Carl Gustav Lennart Jähkel (born 27 September 1956) is a Swedish actor. He is active at the Stockholm City Theatre, where he participated in several plays. Filmography Films *1991 - ''Infödingen'' *1992 - ''Nordexpressen'' *1992 - ''Ha e ...
) is so ambitious for the choir's success that he obsesses over tiny mistakes, failing to see that he is making bigger mistakes himself. Tore (
André Sjöberg André Sjöberg (born 9 February 1974) is a Sweden, Swedish actor who is best recognised for his part as Nils in 2006 television miniseries ''Snapphanar (miniseries), Snapphanar''. He also appeared as a mentally affected Tore in 2004 film ''Så ...
) is mentally handicapped and shunned but is eventually included in the choir; Holmfrid ( Mikhael Rahm) has put up with being called "Fatso" by Arne since childhood and eventually stands up to him. Gabriella (
Helen Sjöholm Marie Helen Sjöholm (; born 10 July 1970) is a Swedish singer, actress and musical theatre performer who lives in Gamla Enskede in Stockholm. She grew up in Sundsvall and started to sing in choirs at an early age, working, among others, with Sw ...
) is beaten and abused by her husband, Conny (
Per Morberg Per Henrik Morberg (; born 23 June 1960) is a Swedish actor, author, chef, and TV host. Biography Morberg grew up in Hökarängen and Sköndal in Stockholm. He competed in judo when he was a teenager. He is a black belt and was named Swedish a ...
), a fact that is known to and ignored by the whole village. She eventually finds the strength to leave him, as the whole village finds its strength to help her. Conny himself turns out to be the bully who was at school with Daniel and drove him from the village. He blames the choir and Daniel for his wife's decision and beats him up. This lands Conny in jail. The minister, Stig, is jealous of the choir's success and tries to close it down. His failure precipitates his eventual nervous breakdown. The choir is accepted into the annual "
Let the Peoples Sing ''Let the Peoples Sing'' (known until 1964 as ''Let the People Sing'') is an international choral competition currently organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The final, encompassing three categories and around ten choirs, is offered ...
" competition (Arne has registered the choir without consulting anyone), and they journey to
Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...
,
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
, to perform. Lena fears Daniel will leave her for his sophisticated friends from the music world, when she sees them kissing and hugging him. He dares at last to tell her he loves her and then they make love. On the day of the competition, the choir is ready on stage but Daniel is nowhere to be seen. His heart has been affected by his
anxiety Anxiety is an emotion characterised by an unpleasant state of inner wikt:turmoil, turmoil and includes feelings of dread over Anticipation, anticipated events. Anxiety is different from fear in that fear is defined as the emotional response ...
, and he has another
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
. Daniel staggers into the restroom, unsure of how to handle the situation, then stumbles and hits his head on the pipe below a sink, causing him to bleed severely. He lies helplessly on the tile, blood gushing from his head, listening to the choir harmonising wordlessly over the loudspeakers. The audience in the auditorium is enchanted and joins in. Daniel smiles to himself and loses consciousness. The final scene shows Daniel rushing through the wheat fields towards his younger self, whom he raises triumphantly, having achieved his life's goal, to "create music that will open a person's heart".


Cast

*
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 ...
as Daniel Daréus *
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 childr ...
as Lena *
Helen Sjöholm Marie Helen Sjöholm (; born 10 July 1970) is a Swedish singer, actress and musical theatre performer who lives in Gamla Enskede in Stockholm. She grew up in Sundsvall and started to sing in choirs at an early age, working, among others, with Sw ...
as Gabriella *
Lennart Jähkel Carl Gustav Lennart Jähkel (born 27 September 1956) is a Swedish actor. He is active at the Stockholm City Theatre, where he participated in several plays. Filmography Films *1991 - ''Infödingen'' *1992 - ''Nordexpressen'' *1992 - ''Ha e ...
as Arne * Ingela Olsson as Inger * Niklas Falk as Stig *
Per Morberg Per Henrik Morberg (; born 23 June 1960) is a Swedish actor, author, chef, and TV host. Biography Morberg grew up in Hökarängen and Sköndal in Stockholm. He competed in judo when he was a teenager. He is a black belt and was named Swedish a ...
as Conny *
Ylva Lööf Ylva Lööf (born 28 February 1958) is a Sweden, Swedish actress who has appeared in a number of films and television shows. Filmography *1989 in television, 1989–1991 in television, 1991 – ''Tre kärlekar'' (English title ''Three Lov ...
as Siv *
André Sjöberg André Sjöberg (born 9 February 1974) is a Sweden, Swedish actor who is best recognised for his part as Nils in 2006 television miniseries ''Snapphanar (miniseries), Snapphanar''. He also appeared as a mentally affected Tore in 2004 film ''Så ...
as Tore * Mikael Rahm as Holmfrid * Barbro Kollberg as Olga * Axelle Axell as Florence * Lasse Petterson as Erik * Ulla-Britt Norrman as Amanda


Release

''As It Is in Heaven'' was particularly successful in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. The Hayden Orpheum in the Sydney suburb of Cremorne showed the film for 103 weeks (as of November 2008), making it one of the longest-running films in Australian history. By comparison, ''
The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. ...
'' ran in Adelaide for over three years. A celebration of the popularity and spirit of the film was held at the Orpheum in August 2007 with a concert of Scandinavian music including a finale of " Gabriella's Song" from the film. A recording of proceedings was made for the director Kay Pollak and, via a pre-recorded message to the audience, he thanked Sydneysiders for embracing the film so warmly. It ran for 52 weeks in New Zealand and had good word-of-mouth audiences in Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands.


Reception


Critical response

''As It Is in Heaven'' has an approval rating of 83% on
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, based on six reviews, and an average rating of 6.67/10.


Awards and nominations

The film was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the
77th Academy Awards The 77th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on February 27, 2005, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. Durin ...
. At the Swedish
Guldbagge Award The Guldbagge Awards (, ) is an official and annual Sweden, Swedish film awards ceremony honoring achievements in the Swedish film industry. Winners are awarded a statuette depicting a Cetonia aurata, rose chafer, better known by the name Guldbagg ...
s it made history by being nominated in every possible category, while at the same time failing to win a single award.


Stage musical

A critically acclaimed
stage musical Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...
adaptation of the film written by Carin and
Kay Pollak Kay Gunnar Leopold Pollak (born 21 May 1938) is a Swedish film director. Career After a long break from film-making, he returned in 2004 with '' As It Is in Heaven'' (''Så som i himmelen''), a major box office success in Sweden. The film was no ...
, music by
Fredrik Kempe Fredrik Kempe (born 29 April 1972) is a Swedish songwriter and opera and pop singer, who was born in Vårgårda. He has participated in Swedish versions of the musicals ''Les Misérables'' and ''Chess''. In 2002, Kempe had a hit with ''Vincerò' ...
and book by
Kay Pollak Kay Gunnar Leopold Pollak (born 21 May 1938) is a Swedish film director. Career After a long break from film-making, he returned in 2004 with '' As It Is in Heaven'' (''Så som i himmelen''), a major box office success in Sweden. The film was no ...
, Edward af Sillen and Carin Pollak opened at the
Oscarsteatern Oscarsteatern (English language, English: Oscar Theatre), also known simply as Oscars, is one of Stockholm's private theatres and is the best-known musical theatre in Sweden. It is located at Kungsgatan (Stockholm), Kungsgatan 63 in central Stock ...
in Stockholm on September 13, 2018. It has since been translated for other countries such as Germany and Norway.


Sequel

A stand-alone sequel, ''Heaven on Earth'' (), also directed by Kay Pollak was released in 2015.


See also

*
List of submissions to the 77th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of submissions to the 77th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has invited the film industries of various countries to submit their best film for the Academy Award for Best ...
* List of Swedish submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film


References


External links

* * * * {{Authority control 2004 films 2000s musical drama films 2000s Swedish-language films Swedish musical drama films Films about classical music and musicians Films directed by Kay Pollak Films set in Sweden 2004 drama films 2000s Swedish films 2004 musical films