Simon & the Oaks Simon & the Oaks

Epic story about two families and their friendship and common destiny in Sweden's Gothenburg in the 1940s and 1950s. Told from the perspective of young Simon Larsson, who learns that he's an adopted child who has a Jewish father from Germany. After WWII Simon travels to explore his roots - a journey that leads to the basic mysteries of the human life. After the bestselling novel by Marianne Fredriksson.

Bill Skarsgård Helen Sjöholm Stefan Gödicke Jonatan S. Wächter Jan Josef Liefers Karl Martin Eriksson Karl Linnertorp Erica Löfgren Katharina Schüttler Josefin Neldén Lena Nylén Cecilia Nilsson Pär Brundin Frederik Nilsson Iwar Wiklander Raphaël Björkroth Isak Cederberg Per Holtstrand Dellie Kamijo Tom Lidgard

Schmidtz Katze Filmkollektiv

122 mins   More details at IMDb / TMDb

Recent reviews

More
  • bemyguest

    Review by bemyguest ★★

    A clumsy interpretation of a beautiful book. Why use predictable, simplified storytelling with such great actors?

  • RutgerOtto

    Review by RutgerOtto ★★★★

    Het gevaar met boekverfilmingen is dat ze vaak worden overhaast en afgeraffeld. Niet voor niets is het boek meestal beter. Maar in Simon wordt de tijd genomen. De film behandelt bekende onderwerpen en problemen uit gelijksoortige films en lijkt daardoor wat rechttoe rechtaan, maar de kracht van Simon is de schets van twee families door de jaren heen. De eerste helft valt dat misschien niet zo op door wat kinderlijke onschuld, maar de tweede helft wordt serieuzer en dramatisch. De oorlog is aanwezig en de basis van de film, maar bovenal is het een mooi Zweeds familie-epos vol schoonheid en instorting.

    Lees mijn complete recensie: filmpjekijken.com/recensie/details/simon

  • Matt Prigge

    Review by Matt Prigge ★½

    A tale of two boys coming of age during WWIIzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...Sorry. Nominated for 13 Swedish Oscarzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...Whoops, happened again. After the war a teenaged Simon goes off to find the mother who abandoned him at birthzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Threatens to perk up once Simon's boyhood friend Isak starts stupping a chick who likes it rough, but like most potentially interesting threads, that winds up shuttled to the side in lieu of more overly-ponderous, self-important history lessons on things you probably already knew. The Nazis are introduced in super slo-mo, just in case you weren't aware they were evil. I may start using this in lieu of wine as an insomnia cure.

  • Matthew Lucas

    Review by Matthew Lucas ★★★

    Lovely coming of age drama set in Sweden around the time of WWII, follows a young man who doesn't know his real father is Jewish, a fact his adoptive parents try desperately to hide as Nazi influence begins to spread across Europe. He befriends a young Jewish boy, and their stories form something both beautiful and melancholy. A solid, if a bit schematic, family drama portraying the beautiful circle of life.

  • Henrik Wilhelmsson

    Review by Henrik Wilhelmsson ★★★

    Ok swedish film. Won tons of awards but is really very unoriginal. For a swedish movie anyway. Worth watching, but not making a fuzz about.