The Unthinkable (2018 film)
The Unthinkable (Swedish: Den blomstertid nu kommer) is a 2018 Swedish thriller disaster war movie produced by Crazy Pictures, starring Christoffer Nordenrot, Lisa Henni, Jesper Barkselius and Pia Halvorsen. The film imagines a scenario in which Sweden is invaded during a rainy summer.
| The Unthinkable | |
|---|---|
| Swedish | Den blomstertid nu kommer |
| Directed by | Crazy Pictures |
| Written by |
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| Produced by | Crazy Pictures |
| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Crazy Pictures |
| Music by | Gustaf Spetz |
Production company | Crazy Pictures AB |
| Distributed by | SF Studios |
Release date |
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Running time | 129 minutes |
| Country | Sweden |
| Language | Swedish |
| Budget | $2.2 million[1] (18.5 million Swedish kronor)[2] |
| Box office | $974 (USA) $6,390 (Turkey)[3] |
Plot
In 2005, Alex lives in a village with his mother and his aggressive, unloving father Björn. His mother leaves the family, and Alex's closest friend Anna moves to Stockholm. Alex decides to leave his father and moves to a relative.[4]
Ten years later, Alex lives in Stockholm and is now a famous pianist. During Midsummer, there are multiple explosions in Stockholm. Alex splits with his manager and decides to go back to his home village to buy the church piano he and Anna used to play on when they were younger. There, Alex meets Anna again who has moved back to the village. The attacks on Sweden worsen to include people recklessly driving and crashing cars in the rainy summer. The electricity and mobile networks are hit and become unavailable.
At the same time in Alex's home village, his father Björn fights off armed men from entering a restricted area with access to the electricity network. Civilians come there to seek safety in the bomb shelter, including Alex and Anna. They have contact with the military via radio and go to meet them in the village church. Helicopters shoot at them, but Björn takes down a helicopter from his airplane, saving Alex and Anna, however Björn's airplane crashes.
The film ends with a scene in the village church, which has been destroyed and is on fire. Alex stands in the rain facing Anna in the shelter of the church, apparently having lost his recent memory due to the chemical weapons in the rain. Anna is taken away by the military. The very last clip of the film features Putin – suggesting that Russia was behind the attacks.[5][6]
Cast
- Christoffer Nordenrot - Alex
- Lisa Henni - Anna
- Jesper Barkselius - Björn
- Pia Halvorsen - Eva
- Magnus Sundberg - Konny
- Krister Kern - Kim
- Karin Bertling - Grandma
- Ulrika Bäckström - Klara
- Alexej Manvelov - Tholén
- Yngve Dahlberg - Emil
- Linda Kulle - Pettersson
- Håkan Ehn - Lasse
- Tarmo Sakari Hietala - Berry picker
- Niklas Jarneheim - Uncle Erik
- Arvin Kananian - Sharokh
- Lo Lexfors - Elin
- Liselott Lindeborg - Lenny
- Rickard Lundqvist - Landers
- Carlos Paulsson - Policeman
- Rikard Svensson - Jögga
- Johan Wåhlin - Råsmark
- Eleonor Leone - Julia
- Erik Bolin - Incident commander
- Magdalena Eshaya - The beggar
Production
Financing
The financing of the film started as a crowdfunded project on Kickstarter in 2015, where the project received 800,000 Swedish kronor ($100,000).[2] After the initial crowdsourced funding, the film received more traditional funding,[2] from SF Bio, Svenska Bio and others.[7] The final budget for the film was 18.5 million Swedish kronor ($2.2 million[1]).[2][8]
Music
Gustaf Spetz composed the soundtrack to the film.[9] It features a version of the Swedish traditional summertime hymn Den blomstertid nu kommer, after which the film is named. The hymn is associated with summer and the film is set during Midsummer.
Release
The film was released in Sweden on 20 June 2018, two days before Midsummer in Sweden, with the film itself being set during Midsummer. The Swedish title of the film is the name of a traditional hymn strongly associated with summer, Den blomstertid nu kommer.
During the first weekend after its release, The Unthinkable was the second most seen film in cinemas in Sweden.[10] In March, 2019 the company announced that the film had been sold to 100 countries, making it one of Swedish film industry's biggest exports in 2018.[11]
Reception
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 78% based on 23 reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10.[12]
References
- "Wild Bunch Acquires Disaster Movie 'The Unthinkable' for France, Italy". Variety. 3 April 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
- Demirian, Natalie (19 June 2018). "Sverige under attack i midsommarens storfilm" (in Swedish). Metro. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
- "The Unthinkable (2018)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
- Kvandal, Magnus (15 June 2018). "Recension: "Den blomstertid nu kommer"". King (in Swedish). Retrieved 2018-08-04.
- Lindvall, Sebastian (20 June 2018). "Actionscenerna bäst när katastrofen drabbar Sverige". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Svd.se. Archived from the original on 7 July 2018.
- Blomberg, Jonatan (22 June 2018). "Vi måste prata om det grymma slutet av "Den blomstertid nu kommer"" (in Swedish). MovieZine. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
- TT (20 June 2018). "Östgötarna som får filmduken att explodera". Upsala Nya Tidning (in Swedish). Retrieved 2018-08-09.
- Hainer, Caroline (15 June 2018). "Filmrecension: "Den blomstertid nu kommer"" (in Swedish). SVT Nyheter. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
- Sandelin, Ann-Charlotte (12 June 2018). "Crazy Pictures inför galapremiären". Kultursidan.nu (in Swedish). Retrieved 4 August 2018.
- Dunerfors, Alexander (25 June 2018). ""Den blomstertid nu kommer" är tvåa på biotoppen" (in Swedish). MovieZine. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
- Holmqvist, Tobias (2019-03-04). "Filmkollektivet Crazy Pictures skördar nya framgångar". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 2019-03-04.
- "The Unthinkable (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 30 October 2021.