SILVER

[IRIS OCH LÖJTNANTSHJÄRTA]
Released the same year as Gustaf Edgren's SUNSHINE FOLLOWS RAIN, Alf Sjöberg's IRIS AND THE LIEUTENANT saw another successful re-teaming of TORMENT co-stars Mai Zetterling and Alf Kjellin, this time again alongside Sjöberg as director. Like SUNSHINE FOLLOWS RAIN, Sjöberg's romantic drama is steeped in class conflict, with Zetterling and Kjellin playing star-crossed lovers finding romance across class lines. Zetterling won the award for Best Actress at the 1946 Venice Film Festival for her role as the eponymous Iris, a housemaid in love with a young lieutenant (Kjellin), who also happens to be the nephew of her wealthy employer. The affair draws the ire of the officer's family, particularly his overbearing father, who the pair soon realize will stop at nothing to keep them apart. Zetterling's award-winning turn in IRIS AND THE LIEUTENANT boosted her profile internationally, prompting a move to the UK, where she made her English-language debut in the title role of Basil Dearden's FRIEDA in 1947. DIR/SCR Alf Sjöberg; SCR Olle Hedberg, from his novel; PROD Harald Molander. Sweden, 1946, b&w, 89 min. In Swedish with English subtitles. NOT RATED

DCP restoration courtesy of the Swedish Film Institute.