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Everlasting Moments

EMAILPRINTIFC Films

Everlasting Moments reviews
80
7.7 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 24 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 4 votes
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Drama

Written by: Jan Troell (story)
Niklas Rådström

Directed by: Jan Troell

Release Date:
Theatrical: March 6, 2009

Running Time: 131 minutes, Color

Origin: Denmark | Finland | Norway | Sweden | Germany

Language(s): Swedish | Finnish

Summary

RATING: Not Rated

Starring Mikael Persbrandt, Maria Heiskanen, Jesper Christensen, Callin Ohrvall, Ghita Norby, Amanda Ooms, and Emil Jensen

Sweden, early 1900s. In a time of social change and unrest, war and poverty, a young working class woman, Maria, wins a camera in a lottery. The decision to keep it alters her whole life. The camera grants Maria new eyes with which to see the world, and brings the charming photographer "Piff Paff Puff" into her life. Trouble ensues when Maria's alcoholic, womanizing husband, feels threatened by the young man and his wife's newfound outlook on life. (IFC Films)

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer

Troell, at 78, continues to turn out films that will last for as long as there are movies. No wonder he feels such a deep connection to Maria in Everlasting Moments. The film is one hero's salute to another.

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100

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

It is a great story of love and hope, told tenderly and without any great striving for effect.

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100

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

As magical as it is realistic.

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100

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

A movie like Everlasting Moments comes along maybe once in a decade.

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91

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Bill White

Everlasting Moments both is a tribute to Larsson -- a relative of the director's wife, Jan (author of the original story) -- and a love letter to the art of photography.

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90

Variety Todd McCarthy

Artistically on a plane with or near the vet filmmaker's best work, this period drama about a woman slowly discovering her metier is an artisanal creation par excellence.

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90

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

This exquisite film by the Swedish master Jan Troell is about seeing clearly, and fearlessly. It's also about subdued passion, the birth of an artist and a woman's struggle to live her own life.

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90

New York Magazine David Edelstein

Troell’s entrancingly beautiful Everlasting Moments uses surfaces--light, texture, faces--to hint at another world, a shadow realm.

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88

Boston Globe Ty Burr

Quiet, observant, and intensely moving whenever Heiskanen is on screen, and it has a valedictory sweep that feels like a summing up.

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80

The New York Times A.O. Scott

The result is an experience that, even as it feels a bit familiar, is nonetheless engrossing and satisfying.

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80

The Hollywood Reporter Michael Rechtshaffen

An affecting film that manages to find glimmers of beauty in the encroaching bleakness, and coaxing richly dimensional performances which, like Maria's photographs, transcend the conventionally black and white.

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78

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

Leisurely unfolding, much like a fat novel, this turn-of-the-century Swedish drama has a warm, enveloping feel. It's flawlessly steeped in early 20th century atmosphere, costumes, and culture, but a gripping page-turner this family saga is not.

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75

New York Post Staff (Not credited)

Heiskanen is a revelation as the put-upon wife, and the cinematography (some by Troell) effortlessly transports us back 100 years.

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75

TV Guide Nathan Southern

On a narrative level, Troell seems to occasionally take on more than he can handle; from time to time he leans toward an ensemble approach, with multiple, intersecting stories, but the film lacks the length to sustain this, so we are left with fragments of substories that never fully blossom.

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75

San Francisco Chronicle Walter Addiego

Artful filmmaking of the old school.

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75

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

There is a good deal of honest charm in this story, and in the three principal performances.

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75

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

All staged as a harsh poem of survival, with no great psychological interest, yet the ending carries a surprise feminist tug that’s worth the wait.

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75

ReelViews James Berardinelli

There's something old-fashioned about Everlasting Moments. Although the shots are beautifully composed, they are classically represented. Both the filmmaking methods and the storytelling are uncomplicated.

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75

The Onion (A.V. Club) Tasha Robinson

Heiskanen plays her layers beautifully, alternately revealing a talented artist stymied by poverty and marital problems, and a woman fiercely devoted to family first.

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70

Chicago Reader Andrea Gronvall

In the films of Swedish director Jan Troell (The Emigrants, The New Land), ordinary lives assume epic dimensions, and this drama, based on the experiences of his wife's protofeminist grandmother, doesn't sugarcoat the hardships of the early 1900s.

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70

Washington Post Desson Thomson

There's another satisfying benefit to Everlasting Moments. It's gloriously absent of the hyper-speed anxiety that passes for storytelling on our multiplex screens.

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60

Empire Anna Smith

Superficially interesting in many ways but this doesn't really engage on a deeper level.

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60

New York Daily News Joe Neumaier

This unhurried, novelistic movie is worth looking into.

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50

Village Voice Ella Taylor

The movie satisfies for an hour, but never quite persuades that its subject is worth two.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 7.7 (out of 10) based on 4 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Jay H. gave it an8:
A hauntingly beautiful film, the cinematography is magnificent, the attention to detail is amazing, particularly period detail. Wonderfully acted by all, Maria Heiskanen stands out though. Superb art direction. Jan Troell does an amazing job directing.

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