In 19th century northern Sweden, a widow (Stina Ekblad) loses her home to a salesman (Ernst Günther) who makes her a deal; it’s the beginning of a humiliation that will last through generations.

When the director took on this lauded novel the results were true to his style: it’s a passionate working-class portrait with a dash of visual natural poetry. Unsentimental in spite of all the starvation-era misery, but there are times when the hurried pace over four decades doesn’t allow for the tragedies to have much of an impact.

Awful special effects near the end, but brilliant cast, and much of it is a fascinating rumination on human nature.

1986-Sweden. 112 min. Color. Written, directed and edited by Bo Widerberg. Novel: Torgny Lindgren. Cinematography: Jörgen Persson. Music: Stefan Nilsson. Cast: Stina Ekblad (Tea Alexisdotter), Stellan Skarsgård (Karl Orsa Markström), Reine Brynolfsson (Johan “Jani” Johansson), Pernilla August, Tomas von Brömssen, Pernilla Wahlgren, Ernst Günther, Johan Widerberg, Melinda Kinnaman… Nils Brandt. 

Trivia: Original title: Ormens väg på hälleberget.

Guldbagge Award: Best Actress (Ekblad).

Last word: “He’s evil in the way that his actions cause pain. But he’s no sadist. It’s more about selfishness and a slightly perverted sense of order.” (Skarsgård on Karl Orsa, Sydsvenska Dagbladet)