The Crown Jewels (2011)

I debated whether or not to see this movie, I thought it was a typical Swedish "Nordic Noir" crime drama. It was not. To my surprise this movie completely captivated me.Trying to explain this movie is difficult. I suspect it's the kind of movie you either love, or you don't. If you appreciate artistic license and a bit of surrealism, like I do, you might thoroughly enjoy this movie. If you need everything to be factual and believable, you probably won't. It beautifully mixes a rather tragic story with hope and dreams. Some things, characters or views might seem a bit simple or childish, but remember this is a story told through a girl growing up. There's a beauty in that, in the dreams, the beliefs - and the filmmakers capture this in a excellent way. Many movies try to mix surreal with reality, but few gets it right, not to mention executes it with this kind of great imagery. I adore a good bedtime story, and I loved the one this movie uses as a red thread. It's a warm tale consisting of every emotion known to man. It's not about a certain time period, an agenda or like anything I've seen before. It's a story, about people, about life and about relationships of every kind. It lets you dream, think, relate, escape and wonder. I thoroughly and utterly adored this movie.

Great directing, great acting, magnificent script.Just way too sad. The redeeming of the characters in the end comes too late and is a little unbalanced - only that leads me to give it 8 stars.For everyone who has enjoyed Amelie, or Big Fiss, or Mr. Nobody, this will be a great movie.It has it all, passion, death, innocence, humor, crime, life's roughness and life's lessons, a little magic, some sad poetry and a story so strong and so original you will be able to unglue your eyes from the screen.

Me and my kids 16 and 23 just loved this film. We have seen a lot of Swedish movies but never something even close to this. Who does not want to cook their own gold? The story of the keys was also very touching and nice. There are many symbols in the film that has great significance for the story. We loved the little boy with Down Syndrome and his sister Fragancia. Alicia Vikander is a star! All roles were played by very talented actors. Bill Skarsgård will probably become just as famous as his brother Alex Skarsgard. But best of all was the underwater scenes. Incredibly beautifully filmed by photographer Anders Bohman. We hope that there will be more movies like this from Sweden

If you are a white lower middle age father and husband watching this movie with your wife and daughter - don't expect this movie to be for you. Unless you are a masochist who enjoys being described as the root of the evil on this Earth.This movie has it all:Evil white male capitalist -- check. Evil white male raping his own wife -- check. Evil white male racist -- check. Dysfunctional white family -- check. Spiritual immigrant family -- check. Wonderful, caring immigrant husband -- check. Wonderful, caring and spiritual immigrant mother - check. White teenagers harassing retarded immigrant child -- check. Gay marriage -- check. Interracial gay marriage -- check.I guess these are the ingredients you end up with, when you are funded by a highly political, left-wing liberal, public Swedish Film Institute which acts on the orders from the Swedish government. (As may be known. the Swedish prime minister (in 2006) said (freely translated): "the only thing original Swedish' is barbarism - everything good comes from the outside").So, why do I give the movie 3 (out of 10)? I think the filming and directing is good. Also, the acting is really good from all actors, not at least by Loa Falkman (the evil white middle-aged male). Jesper Lindberger, playing the boy with Downs Syndrome gives the film its warmth.If you are a white, left wing liberal female, between 14-60 years old - you will love this movie!