 DIRECTOR
SVEN NYKVIST
Amazingly, this was Nykvist's directorial debut
at the age of 69, and OXEN is actually an intimate re-telling of a story told to him by
his father. It takes place, and was filmed, in Beckshire, the region of southern Sweden to
which most Swedish-American families in Minnesota trace their heritage. Nykvist was
interested not in the emigrant families, however, but those who stayed behind and endured
the ravages of famine. Not surprisingly, the story is told as much with images as with
words. "It's not difficult to understand why I wanted to make the film. There is very
little dialogue, and I had the feeling that I would tell the story with the camera, making
it as visual as possible. But the main reason is that the story has followed me my whole
life. I told myself that I wasn't going to die before I made that picture."
He had originally written a synopsis of the story in the mid-70s. Years later, through
Woody Allen, he met American TV producer Jean Doumanian (Saturday Night Live) at
a dinner party and told her the tale. According to the first-time director, she was
immediately interested in producing it, even after he "explained it would have to be
filmed in Swedish." The screenplay was ultimately co-written with editor Lass
Summanen.
Nykvist endows OXEN with an exquisitely photographed sense of melancholia. The
wretchedness is suspended only once, in a scene that is all the more memorable for its rarity: on his way home from prison, Helge encounters a
vivacious country woman who persuades him to dance at a local gathering. They're attracted
to each other. She wants to kiss him--it would be his first bit of emotional, physical
warmth in years. Instead, he tenderly caresses her with his eyes and gently touches her
cheek before moving on. Not a word is spoken. The scene is brilliant - a rare, precious
cinematic moment.
IMAGES
POSTERS
PRAISE FOR THE FILM:
"Grim, somber, morally resonant and unusually moving, Nykvist is a master of
composition, with every detail seen and every moment sharp and clear -- this is one film
that lingers in the memory longer than you might expect." ...Austin
Chronicle
"Sven Nykvist brings a somber artistry to Oxen, a sparsely worded film
well suited to the legendary cinematographer's latent directorial talents. A harsh
portrait of rural life in 19th-century Sweden, this deeply moral story springs from an
incident that took place during a famine in the 1860s. The facts, worn away over time,
take on the neat shape and bleak tone of a Calvinist fable in Nykvist's
version." ...Washington Post
"What's most impressive here is the way this film looks, especially the unforced
and lovely handling of landscape and period, and the purity of the performances."
...Chicago Reader
"The great cinematographer Sven Nykvist makes a commendable directorial debut with
this simple but compelling tale, each frame having the dazzling immediacy of a
painting." ...Entertainment Weekly
"A spiritual odyssey of a study of the psychology of guilt, an impeccable period
piece depicting hardship amid the most beautiful of settings, a love story, an affirmation
of the power of faith in the face of cruel injustice and a celebration of community life
sustained by religious belief." ...Los Angeles Times
"The film is very much in the stern, silent, pensive manner of Bergman's work, and
Nykvist carries on the tradition quite well. As might be expected, it is stunningly
photographed (by Dan Myhrman) and the characters are very well played... If you have
missed this kind of solid but deliberate storytelling since Bergman retired, you'll find Oxen
a most satisfying venture." ...Deseret News
"There is a kind of biblical simplicity and inevitability to the story that Mr.
Nykvist makes ponderous with Dan Myhrman's all-too-beautiful camerawork. The individual
images are sometimes stunning. The lighting often suggests the work of Vermeer."
...NY Times
"This 1991 film from Ingmar Bergman's cinematographer is worth waiting for. Sven
Nykvist has been responsible for some of the most visually stunning films of the past 40
years." ...The Salt Lake Tribune
"Oxen is a powerful exploration of poverty, struggle, guilt, punishment
and forgiveness. As might be expected of Sven Nykvist this is a beautiful film to
watch." ...Talkingpix.co.uk
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Sven
Nykvist
