Review: ‘Everlasting Moments’

It’s been my experience that period dramas tend to be very hit and miss. If the story is interesting and the photography, costume and set design is accurate, then period dramas can be very engaging. On the other hand, the pace and the tone play heavily in the success or failure of these films as well. In the case on ‘Everlasting Memories’, the outcome is somewhere in between, leaning towards success.

Director Jan Troell brings us ‘Everlasting Memories’, a Swedish film set in the early 1900s centered around Maria Larsson (Maria Heiskanen). Maria is Finnish woman married to Sigfrid (Mikael Persbrandt) who finds her living in Sweden during this turbulent time period. Sigfrid is a Swedish laborer, an alcoholic and abusive to his wife and children. Sweden itself is enduring political changes, social unrest, poverty epidemics and labor strikes. Maria struggles to hold her family together while protecting her children.

During the peaks and valleys of her marriage, Maria does some sewing to bring extra income, but discovers a knack for photography when she attempts to pawn a camera she’d received years ago at a local shop. Here she meets Sebastian Pedersen (Jesper Christensen), a photographer and owner of the shop, who refuses to take her camera without having learned to use it first. As a result, Sebastian discovers she has the “gift of seeing” and encourages Maria to pursue her gift by supplying her with the paper and chemicals needed. Maria and Sebastian’s relationship that awkwardly evolves is perhaps the best part of the story.

In the coming years, Sigfrid’s drunken fits come and go, the beatings occur likewise, he finds himself in and out of work while maria continues to become pregnant with more children. As the threat of Sweden’s involvement in World War I looms closer, Sigfrid is called to duty, leaving Maria to care for the children on her own. From here, things continue to grow more dire and Maria toils over whether to leave Sigfrid or hold strong to their sacred bond as her father had insisted she do.

On a level of historical interest, I found ‘Everlasting Moments’ a fascinating journey. Add the element of Maria discovering her knack for photography and I found myself even more intrigued. The costume and set design are believably accurate and the cinematography was approached well enough, but at times I felt the sepia-toned palette that spans the entire film was more of a hindrance that distracted me from the story.

Overall, ‘Everlasting Moments’ is a worthwhile film with a good story and wonderful acting, but the one single element of the film that failed to work was it’s length and, to some extent, it’s pace. At 131 minutes, combined with it’s slower pace, the film is a bit of a chore to get through after about half-way. I would be surprised if the film didn’t play much more successfully if it had perhaps been cut a bit shorter. Regardless, if you like these types of movies I think it will ultimately satisfy such tastes. Otherwise, if you’re not accustomed to these types of movies, it’s probably best to save your money and take a nap at home for free.

‘Everlasting Moments’ in Saint Louis today at Plaza Frontenac Cinema.

[Overall: 3.75 stars out of 5]