We discuss the two features of Swedish filmmaker Magnus von Horn: his latest, Sweat, and his first feature from 2015, The Here After, with particular focus on how empathy is so crucial to his work.
The episode features Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney, Executive Editor Orla Smith, Associate Editor Brett Pardy, and Contributing Editor Lindsay Pugh.
On This Episode
- Why we paired these films (7:45)
- The Here After (12:42)
- Sweat (39:17)
- Comparisons (1:15:59)
- Preview for next week (1:28:36)
The Here After (2015)
The Here After is the story of John (played by Ulrik Munther), a teenage boy who has just been released from juvenile detention and must find a way to reintegrate into his family and community in rural Sweden. The John we meet is quiet, sensitive, and sweet, but it’s slowly revealed that he was in juvie because he killed his ex-girlfriend. Everyone in the town is either afraid of him or hates him, and even his father, who clearly loves him, doesn’t know how to give him the support and care he needs. John is extremely isolated, but still attempts to go back to school, with many difficulties, develops a romance with a new girl in town, and tries to rebuild a his relationship with his father.
The Here After is streaming on MUBI UK
Sweat (2020)
Set over the course of just a few days, Sweat follows social media influencer and fitness enthusiast Sylwia (Magdalena Kolesnik), as she navigates the challenges of her job and personal life. She lives alone in Warsaw in a nice apartment, and spends most of her time alone and feeling lonely, despite her 600,000 adoring instagram followers. She’s always the centre of attention but nobody is really interested in the real her — not her mother, her date, or her fans. As she picks up her mother’s birthday gift, attends her mother’s birthday party, picks up a man at a club, and prepares for her breakfast television appearance, she deals with a stalker, and her conflicting desires for attention at any cost.
Sweat is streaming on MUBI worldwide.
Episode Notes
Related episodes
- Ep. 97: The Films and TV of Desiree Akhavan
- Ep. 93: The Films of Agnieszka Holland
- Ep. 85: The Films of Naomi Kawase, featuring True Mothers
- Ep. 66: Francis Lee’s God’s Own Country and Ammonite (Member’s Only)
- Ep. 45: The films of Anne Émond, from Nuit #1 to Nelly (Member’s Only)
