Bröderna Lejonhjärta (Swedish)

"Skorpan is sick. He has tuberculosis and will soon die. Skorpan is afraid of dying and to comfort him, big brother Jonathan tells him about Nangijala, the paradise land where you go after death. There Skorpan and Jonathan will also meet once. "But you can live until you're 90", protests Skorpan, but then Jonatan says that 90 years in Nangijala feels like two days on earth. "And two days you can be alone", says Jonatan. But it won't be Skorpan who gets to be alone for a while in Nangijala, it becomes Jonatan. A fire breaks out in the house where the brothers live and Jonatan sacrifices his own life to save Skorpan. Shortly afterwards, Skorpan also heads off to Nangijala and there the Lionheart brothers meet in the Cherry Valley. There are two valleys in Nangijala, Körsbärsdalen and Törnrosdalen. Sleeping Beauty Valley has been occupied by the evil Tengil and the population is now terrorized by his black knights. Those who dare to protest against Tengil are thrown into the Katla Cave where Tengil's cruel dragon Katla finishes them off. Orvar is imprisoned in Katlagrotta. Orvar is the one who leads the fight for freedom in Sleeping Beauty Valley and without him the fight is doomed to be lost. In Cherry Valley, plans are made to free Orvar and the entire Sleeping Beauty Valley from Tengil's reign of terror. Jonatan will be the one to try to get Orvar out of Katla's cave. But that's easier said than done, and it seems even harder when you understand that there is a traitor among the people of Cherry Valley. After Skorpan waited several days for Jonatan to return home, one night he heard Jonatan calling for help in his dream. Skorpan doesn't hesitate – he's one of the Lionheart brothers and now he's going to show it. Astrid Lindgren's Brothers Lionheart is a fairy tale about the struggle between good and evil. Together, Jonatan and Skorpan fight for good to prevail, and it becomes a life and death battle against oppression and tyranny for freedom and love. Ingmar Bergman had expressed that he wanted to make the Brothers Lionheart, but Astrid Lindgren was faithful to Olle Hellbom as long as he wanted and was able. Bröderna Lejonhjärta was his last major film and perhaps he recognized himself in the boy Skorpan, since he himself was ill for a long time as a child. Finding the actor for the role of Skorpan was easy; Lars Söderdahl, who played Little Brother in the film about Karlsson on the roof, had grown a few years older and fit the role perfectly. Finding Jonatan was more difficult. A 13-year-old boy was envisioned for the role, but it proved difficult to find the maturity required among children of that age. That's why they chose Staffan Götestam, who had just turned 23 and was a trained actor. However, finding a place full of cherry trees was impossible, cherries don't grow that way. Olle Hellbom was very pleased when he realized that it is not so easy to tell the difference between an apple tree and a cherry tree; so you could go to Brösarp's slopes and record! The film crew had to rent accommodation at Hasse Alfredson's farm. After the premiere, some literature students started a debate about the film. The origin was above all the final scene, where Skorpan takes Jonatan on his back and steps straight out over a cliff. Some believed that Astrid Lindgren encouraged suicide, a charge that Astrid protested against. Through letters and visits from children, she herself realized that she had both written a happy ending and that both children and adults felt great comfort in the fact that there was finally a way to talk about death with children who actually had life-threatening illnesses and knew that they would die. The film became the first Swedish children's film to be exported to China, it was also named "Film of the Year" in 1977 and gave Olle Hellbom a Guldbagge in 1978 for best director; for his ability to renew himself after many years of work as a children's film director. The film has also been broadcast as a TV series, then somewhat extended.