Plot
A successful international conductor suddenly interrupts his career and returns alone to his childhood village in Norrland...

Release Year: 2004

Rating: 7.5/10 (7,884 voted)

Director: Kay Pollak

Stars: Michael Nyqvist, Frida Hallgren, Helen Sjöholm

Storyline
A successful international conductor suddenly interrupts his career and returns alone to his childhood village in Norrland, in the far north of Sweden.It doesn't take long before he is asked to come and listen to the fragment of a church choir, which practises every Thursday in the parish hall. Just come along and give a little bit of good advice. He can't say no, and from that moment, nothing in the village is the same again. The choir develops and grows. He makes both friends and enemies. And he finds love.

Writers: Ola Olsson, Kay Pollak

Cast:
Michael Nyqvist - Daniel Daréus
Frida Hallgren - Lena
Helen Sjöholm - Gabriella
Lennart Jähkel - Arne
Ingela Olsson - Inger
Niklas Falk - Stig
Per Morberg - Conny
Ylva Lööf - Siv
André Sjöberg - Tore
Mikael Rahm - Holmfrid
Barbro Kollberg - Olga
Axelle Axell - Florence
Lasse Petterson - Erik
Ulla-Britt Norrman-Olsson - Amanda (as Ulla-Britt Norrman)
Nils-Anders Vallgårda - Gordon, Gabriella's Son

Taglines: Sometimes, inspiration is where you least expect it . . .

Release Date: 3 September 2004

Filming Locations: Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria

Box Office Details

Budget: SEK 25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend: $2,402 (USA) (4 May 2008) (1 Screen)

Gross: $10,236 (USA) (1 June 2008)

Runtime: Sweden: 132 min

Trivia:
First film role for actress Helen Sjöholm, one of Sweden's biggest stars on the musical stage.

Quotes:
Inger: God doesn't forgive because He has never condemned.

Wonderful, inspiring film that touches important themes

Rating: 10/10

I really loved this movie and so did the audience that I saw it with in Los Angeles. After the film, lots of people were crying and saying how much the film had affected them. I can see why it was such a huge hit in its homeland, Sweden. The film is masterfully directed and each character brilliantly drawn so that by the end you really know these people and care about them. The music is very natural and the main song in the film quite heartbreaking but inspiring. Would definitely recommend this film for everyone to see - even people who don't normally go to subtitled films. Definitely deserved the Oscar Nomination because of the profound themes of the film reflected without pretension in a small-town community with everyday people. It is a film that unites us in this divided world and shows us the potential of the human spirit. A MUST SEE!

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