gmwhite
As happens, one's own views on a particular movie will vary the majority received opinion. Most of the time, the reason for an under- or over-rating is comprehensible. In the present case, however, I am at a complete loss as to understand such an extraordinarily low vote. Is this the same movie that I saw? The date, the cast and plot description would indicate that it is. The only reason I can think of is that since the other reviewers currently listed are Swedish, perhaps the majority of ratings are from Swedes also. Is a native Swede, therefore, able to pick out some particular aspect of the film which I was oblivious too - a cultural or linguistic point perhaps? A brief look at the film will be required first. Three Suns is set in Sweden in the Middle Ages. Some of the men have left to join the crusades, and the black death is a recent arrival. The film focuses on one woman who is waiting for news about her husband, Ulf. Upon hearing about his imminent return, she leaves her two children in the care of her father in law and sets out for the coast to meet him there. Without giving away too much of the slender plot, she meets various people, good , bad, generous, selfish, infectious, healthy, along the way.Generically speaking, then, this is a road movie, the journey of a woman done very much in a woman's terms - and I think this is where so many of the negative reviews stem from, not out of conscious sexism, but from the terms on which this journey is carried out, its tempo, its motivation and its denouement. Without wishing to push a particular stereotype, I think it is possible to comprehend much of the action in terms of a womanly response to certain situations, complete with certain foibles like impatience, vanity, impulsiveness and the occasional lapse of logic. The action makes more sense when seen in this light, with the only caveat being whether a woman would have been permitted to behave in such a manner at such a time in history, or be allowed to express so openly her opinions and attitudes. As for the other characters, I found them utterly believable, especially insofar as superstition and selfishness surge forth when disaster seems imminent.As for the actors, I thought they did well. I haven't seen many recent Swedish films, so wasn't thinking about how a particular actor or actress usually looked (something which also seems to have irked some reviewers). Nor was I particularly distressed by the wigs, having had the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy to get used to them. The clothing, buildings, carriages, and so on, all seemed authentic enough to my untrained eye. The scenery was lovely to look at, and in my mind was the high point of the film. As for the language, I was reading the subtitles, so the subtleties of older versus modern Swedish were not an issue for me - the language in the subtitles seemed appropriate enough, with no glaring lapses into modern idioms. The dialogue was fairly standard, with occasional humour. There is none of the pondering depth found in, say 'The Seventh Seal', set in a similar time and place, but there is enough to occupy the viewer in the simple human interactions. The music was standard, but pleasant, complimenting the action well.For me, this was, at face value, an enjoyable film. It was hardly earth-shatteringly original, but was competently done, with the interesting setting and attractive photography making up for a relatively uncomplicated plot, and some unusualness regarding character actions and motivations, which I've examined in this review already. I'm glad I took a risk on this one, in spite of its incomprehensibly poor rating.
Wolf von Witting
Maybe one has to be Swedish to fully appreciate Tre Solar. Understanding the words is not enough. In the making of this film one could have chosen between fantasy and realism. Apparently writer and director Richard Hobert went for realism. The sets, the cast, the acting and the costumes are all convincing enough. But then his heroine Hanna (Endre) acts like a serious anachronism. She is a modern day Swedish woman with none of the taboo or restrain that medieval patriarchate put on women. While the story runs from AD to BC, modern Swedish film-making often deems it necessary to be vulgar and offensive to make a point. Though Hoberts script is mild in this respect (from Swedish point of view), its arrogance may still be enough to cause contempt. To paraphrase a Swedish idiom; "At least two of the three suns come down like pancake." In script and in ambition. There are many really poor films being made. This is not one of them. This one is medieval and plain mediocre... Though we have to acknowledge its potential.
Enchorde
** IF POSSIBLE THERE ARE SPOILERS HERE **Hanna has lived for four years alone with her kids since her husband went abroad to join a crusade (or something like it). Now, a messenger brings the news that her husband is coming home and she leaves her village to go to the harbor to greet him. But danger lurks everywhere, the plague has come to the land. Hanna meets a lot of characters along her journey (which seems to go on forever without getting anywhere). She meets Joel, who has lost his family to the plague and a she meets a girl, abused as sacrifice by a corrupted priest. She meets the imprisoned Torben and the abandoned Emma, whose husband has closed the city gates and refuses to let anyone in. Finally she finds her husband Ulf, but the once powerful and happy man is now an addict to some foreign substance, barely able to speak. Hanna feels that her husband has betrayed her and leaves him, just to come back a few days later to pick him up again. Then the girl get struck by the plague and everything seems to go wrong at once...A movie with lot of known and good Swedish actors, but many has small roles. This is a road movie, set in medieval times, without any roads. The main character goes around thinking, contemplating and meeting different characters. There are many long shots of riding and few with any real action. The plot becomes very slow and dull. When Hanna actually meets anyone, it seems like all suspense and emotions that lack from other parts must be said in just one sentence. This gives greeting sentences with threats of rape and murder as the norm which seems very uncharacteristic. The dialog which could bring the plot forward instead seem odd and stupid. In addition, Hanna seems inconsistent with herself and her own motives. The only good things are that Lena Endre seem to try to do her best with the material she haves, and that the scenery and outfits are good. However, a real dull experience.3/10
