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 edit
In 2005, Alex lives in a village with his mother Klara and his cruel, unloving father Björn. Klara finally leaves the family, Alex's closest friend Anna moves to Stockholm, and Alex moves in with his uncle.[4]
Ten years later, Alex has become a famous musician in Stockholm. During Midsummer, the city is struck by multiple explosions, one of which kills his mother. Alex splits with his manager and goes back to his home village to buy the church piano that he and Anna used to play when they were younger. There, Alex again meets Anna, who has moved back to the village. When he learns that she has a husband, Kim, and daughter, Elin, he angrily departs.
As attacks on Sweden worsen and the military is activated, people begin crashing their cars in the rain and Alex returns to help Anna and her family. After the Parliament is destroyed and communications networks become unavailable, Anna's mother, a government minister, manages to escape Stockholm and heads into the country, where she is rescued by the military.
Meanwhile, Alex's father Björn, who works at a transformer station, kills a group of armed men who are attacking the electricity network. Helicopters and dead birds crash to the ground, apparently affected by contaminated rain, and civilians come to the station seeking safety in its bomb shelter. Among them are Anna and Alex, who is injured and unconscious.
After Anna leaves in search of Elin, Alex comes to and tells his unapologetic father that Klara is dead. Anna returns with her daughter and tells Alex that her husband and many others were killed by helicopters. However, Kim is in fact alive. When helicopters approach the power station, the civilians head to the village church to meet the military, whom they have contacted by radio. The enemy attacks the military and kills Anna's mother, but Alex destroys an enemy helicopter by crashing a car into it and Björn takes down another helicopter by crashing his plane into it. He dies but saves Alex, Anna, and Elin.
In the village church, which has been destroyed and is on fire, Alex tells Anna that Kim is still alive, then plays the piano until he loses his memory due to chemical weapons in the rain. Anna is taken away by Kim. News clips during the credits indicate that 800,000 Swedes have lost their memory, and images of Vladimir Putin suggest that Russia was behind the attacks.[5][6]
Cast edit
- 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 edit
Financing edit
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 edit
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 edit
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 edit
Critical response edit
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 edit
- ^ a b "Wild Bunch Acquires Disaster Movie 'The Unthinkable' for France, Italy". Variety. 3 April 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
- ^ a b c d 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.
External links edit
- The Unthinkable at IMDb
- Kickstarter campaign