Jan Troell Jan Gustaf Troell (born 23 July 1931) is a Swedish writer-director and cinematographer. His realistic films, with a lyrical photography in which nature is prominent, have placed him in the first rank of modern Swedish film directors along with I ...

Jesper Christensen Jesper Christensen (; born 16 May 1948) is a Danish actor. A veteran of European cinema, he has made the transition to English language projects, including '' The Interpreter'' and '' Revelations''. He has also appeared as the mysterious vill ...

Pernilla August Pernilla August (; born 13 February 1958), also known as Pernilla Östergren Pernilla Wallgren, and Pernilla Wallgren-Östergren, is a Swedish actress, director and screenwriter. She was a longtime collaborator with director Ingmar Bergman and ...

Björn Granath Björn Gösta Tryggve Granath (5 April 1946 – 5 February 2017) was a Swedish actor who appeared in over 100 films and television shows. Life and career Granath was born in Örgryte, Gothenburg, Sweden. He starred in a broad range of roles fr ...

Ulla Skoog Ulla Marie Skoog (born 23 February 1951) is a Swedish actress and comedian. She also works as director in TV and at Stockholm City Theatre. Skoog studied at the Swedish National Academy of Mime and Acting from 1979 until 1981, when she started wo ...

Torgny Segerstedt Torgny Karl Segerstedt (1 November 1876 – 31 March 1945) was a Swedish professor and scholar of comparative religion, who later became editor-in-chief of the newspaper ''Göteborgs Handels- och Sjöfartstidning''. He is most remembered for ...

Hávamál ''Hávamál'' ( ; Old Norse: ''Hávamál'',Unnormalised spelling in the Codex Regius:''Title'': hava mal''Final stanza'': Nv ero Hava mál q''ve''ðin Háva hꜹ''l''lo i ..classical pron. , Modern Icelandic pron. , ‘Words of Hávi

Cast

*

Jesper Christensen Jesper Christensen (; born 16 May 1948) is a Danish actor. A veteran of European cinema, he has made the transition to English language projects, including '' The Interpreter'' and '' Revelations''. He has also appeared as the mysterious vill ...

as

Torgny Segerstedt Torgny Karl Segerstedt (1 November 1876 – 31 March 1945) was a Swedish professor and scholar of comparative religion, who later became editor-in-chief of the newspaper ''Göteborgs Handels- och Sjöfartstidning''. He is most remembered for ...

*

Pernilla August Pernilla August (; born 13 February 1958), also known as Pernilla Östergren Pernilla Wallgren, and Pernilla Wallgren-Östergren, is a Swedish actress, director and screenwriter. She was a longtime collaborator with director Ingmar Bergman and ...

as Maja Forssman *

Björn Granath Björn Gösta Tryggve Granath (5 April 1946 – 5 February 2017) was a Swedish actor who appeared in over 100 films and television shows. Life and career Granath was born in Örgryte, Gothenburg, Sweden. He starred in a broad range of roles fr ...

as Axel Forssman *

Ulla Skoog Ulla Marie Skoog (born 23 February 1951) is a Swedish actress and comedian. She also works as director in TV and at Stockholm City Theatre. Skoog studied at the Swedish National Academy of Mime and Acting from 1979 until 1981, when she started wo ...

as Puste Segerstedt * Peter Andersson as Foreign Minister Christian Günther">Peter Andersson (actor)">Peter Andersson as Foreign Minister Christian Günther * Amanda Ooms * Maria Heiskanen as Pirjo * Lennart Hjulström as Marcus Wallenberg * Johanna Troell as Ingrid Segerstedt * Birte Heribertsson as Estrid Ancker * Lia Boysen as Anita * Josef Persson as young revolutionary * Kenneth Milldoff as Prime Minister

Per Albin Hansson Per Albin Hansson (28 October 1885 – 6 October 1946) was a Swedish politician, chairman of the Swedish Social Democratic Party, Social Democrats from 1925 and two-time Prime Minister of Sweden, Prime Minister in four Government of Sweden, gov ...

* Jan Tiselius as

Gustaf V Gustaf V (Oscar Gustaf Adolf; 16 June 1858 – 29 October 1950) was King of Sweden from 8 December 1907 until his death in 1950. He was the eldest son of King Oscar II of Sweden and Sophia of Nassau, a half-sister of Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxe ...

Production

Development

After finishing his previous feature film, ''

Everlasting Moments ''Everlasting Moments'' () is a 2008 Swedish drama film directed by Jan Troell, starring Maria Heiskanen, Mikael Persbrandt and Jesper Christensen. It is based on the true story of Maria Larsson, a Swedish working class woman in the early 20th c ...

'' from 2008, director

Jan Troell Jan Gustaf Troell (born 23 July 1931) is a Swedish writer-director and cinematographer. His realistic films, with a lyrical photography in which nature is prominent, have placed him in the first rank of modern Swedish film directors along with I ...

has said that he felt an emptiness and wondered whether he ever would get to make another film. Around that time he received a phonecall from the writer

Kenne Fant Carl-Henrik "Kenne" Fant (1 January 1923 – 29 May 2016) was a Swedish actor, director, and writer. Early life Kenne Fant was born in Strängnäs to Captain Tore Fant and Stina Fant (née Gustafsson). He was the younger brother of actor, direct ...

, who in 2007 had published a biography about

Torgny Segerstedt Torgny Karl Segerstedt (1 November 1876 – 31 March 1945) was a Swedish professor and scholar of comparative religion, who later became editor-in-chief of the newspaper ''Göteborgs Handels- och Sjöfartstidning''. He is most remembered for ...

, an early outspoken critic of

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

who before and during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

had been the editor-in-chief of the newspaper ''

Göteborgs Handels- och Sjöfartstidning ''Göteborgs Handels- och Sjöfartstidning'' (GHT) was a daily newspaper published in Gothenburg, Sweden, from 1832 to 1985. History and profile ''Göteborgs Handels- och Sjöfartstidning'' was founded in 1832 by publisher Magnus Prytz and had ...

''. Fant wondered whether Troell would be interested in making a film based on Segerstedt's life. Troell accepted the offer when his friend

Klaus Rifbjerg Klaus Rifbjerg (15 December 1931 – 4 April 2015) was a Danish writer. He authored more than 170 novels, books and essays. In 1965 he co-produced the film '' 4x4'' which was entered into the 4th Moscow International Film Festival. Biography R ...

, a Danish writer, was enthusiastic about the project and wanted to be Troell's co-writer. Initially, Troell had problems finding an approach for the film's narrative, but soon read another biography about Segerstedt, written by his secretary Estrid Ancker. Troell also read Ancker's research material for the book, which included interviews with more than 300 people connected to Segerstedt. Through this material Troell found out more about Segerstedt on a personal level, including his personal motivations and private relationships. The director then chose to make a film which focuses on Segerstedt as a human being more than as a public figure. According to Troell it took "a couple of years" to form the narrative and write the screenplay with Rifbjerg. Production was led by Filmlance International. Co-producers included

Film i Väst Film i Väst (English: "Film in West") is a film company located in Trollhättan, Sweden, nicknamed "Trollywood"), founded in 1992 by the Älvsborg County Council. Lars von Trier used its facilities in his movies, such as ''Dogville'' and '' ...

, Filmpool Nord,

Sveriges Television Sveriges Television AB ("Sweden's Television aktiebolag, Stock Company"), shortened to SVT (), is the Sweden, Swedish national public broadcasting, public television broadcaster, funded by a public service tax on personal income set by the Riksd ...

,

Nordisk Film Nordisk Film A/S () is a Danish entertainment company involved in film production and distribution and a subsidiary of Egmont Group. The multimedia entertainment company is also involved in television production, cinemas, computer games and ...

and companies in Norway. The project received eleven million kronor in support from the

Swedish Film Institute The Swedish Film Institute () (SFI) is a statutory body located in Stockholm, Sweden that supports the Swedish film industry. Founded in 1963, the institute is responsible for administering the annual Guldbagge Awards, and for managing the Swed ...

and 450,000 euros from

Eurimages Eurimages is a cultural support fund of the Council of Europe, established in . Eurimages promotes independent filmmaking by providing financial support to feature-length fiction, animation, and documentary films. In doing so, it encourages co-op ...

, as well as funding from the Norwegian Film Institute and Nordisk Film- & TV Fond. The production involved a total budget of 43 million kronor. Early in the production process

Max von Sydow Max von Sydow (; born Carl Adolf von Sydow; 10 April 1929 – 8 March 2020) was a Swedish and French actor. He had a 70-year career in European and American cinema, television, and theatre, appearing in more than 150 films and several television ...

was considered for the role of Segerstedt. Soon however Troell decided to offer it to the Danish actor

Jesper Christensen Jesper Christensen (; born 16 May 1948) is a Danish actor. A veteran of European cinema, he has made the transition to English language projects, including '' The Interpreter'' and '' Revelations''. He has also appeared as the mysterious vill ...

. Both Troell and Christensen were initially worried about Christensen's Danish accent, which would be inconsistent with the role; this was eventually solved by changing the script to make Segerstedt's mother Danish. The casting choice was also motivated with the fact that Troell's earlier film '' Hamsun'' had starred Sydow, who there spoke Swedish in the role of the Norwegian author

Knut Hamsun Knut Hamsun (4 August 1859 – 19 February 1952) was a Norwegian writer who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1920 Nobel Prize in Literature, 1920. Hamsun's work spans more than 70 years and shows variation with regard to conscio ...

.

Filming

Principal photography commenced 21 February 2011 in

Luleå Luleå ( , , locally ; ; ) is a Cities in Sweden, city on the coast of northern Sweden, and the County Administrative Boards of Sweden, capital of Norrbotten County, the northernmost county in Sweden. Luleå has 48,728 inhabitants in its urban ...

where it continued for three weeks. Filmpool Nord's Studio Kronan was used for studio scenes set in ''Göteborgs Handels- och Sjöfartstidnings office and Segerstedt's home. Also in Luleå, footage was taken of the

Lule River Lule River (, , ''Luleälven'') is a major river in Sweden, rising in northern Sweden and flowing southeast for before reaching the Gulf of Bothnia at Luleå. It is the second largest river by watershed area and length in Norrbotten County (afte ...

, which stands in for

Klarälven Klarälven ("The clear river" in Swedish) is a river flowing through Norway and Sweden. Together with Göta älv, which it is called as the river has passed through the lake Vänern, thus regarded as an entity, Göta älv—Klarälven is the l ...

in the film. After that the team relocated to

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

for eight weeks of filming, which consisted of exterior scenes and on-location interiors. Finally they went to Stockholm for three days in May. The filming in Stockholm included a scene set inside the

Storkyrkan Cathedral Storkyrkan (, ), also called Stockholms domkyrka (Stockholm Cathedral) and Sankt Nikolai kyrka (Church of Saint Nicholas), is the oldest church in Stockholm. Storkyrkan lies in the centre of Stockholm in Gamla stan, between Stockholm Palace and ...

, which was staged as a homage to the 1947 short film '' Symphony of a City'' by

Arne Sucksdorff Arne Edvard Sucksdorff (3 February 1917 – 4 May 2001) was a Swedish film director, considered one of cinema's greatest documentary filmmakers. He was particularly celebrated for his visually poetic and scenic nature documentaries. His work ...

, a filmmaker who was a major influence for Troell's earliest works. ''The Last Sentence'' was recorded with

Arri Alexa The Arri Alexa is a digital motion picture camera system developed by Arri. The Arri Alexa was introduced in April 2010 and was Arri's first major transition into digital cinematography, after previous efforts including the Arriflex D-20 and ...

cameras. It was the first feature-length fiction film Troell shot digitally, although he had previously directed digital short films and a documentary feature.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Last Sentence Films about journalists Films directed by Jan Troell Films set in Gothenburg Films set in the 1930s Films set in the 1940s Films shot in Sweden 2010s Swedish-language films 2012 films Swedish biographical films 2010s biographical films 2010s Swedish films Swedish-language biographical films