Livet är en schlager Once in a Lifetime | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Directed by | Susanne Bier |
Produced by | Thomas Heinesen |
Written by | Jonas Gardell |
Starring | Helena Bergström Jonas Karlsson Björn Kjellman |
Release date |
|
Running time | 106 minutes |
Country | Sweden |
Language | Swedish |
Livet är en schlager (Life is a Schlager , also known as Once in a Lifetime or Hånden på hjertet in Danish) is a Swedish film released in 2000, written by Jonas Gardell and directed by his usual directing partner Susanne Bier. The film features cameo appearances by many Swedish singers. The film was produced by Nordisk Film and Sveriges Television in association with Sonet Film and TV2 Denmark. [1]
The film is based around the life of Mona Berglund, a mother-of-four obsessed with the Eurovision Song Contest - so much so, that her house is decorated with posters of her idols, and she has named her children after Swedish Eurovision performers: Kikki, Anna Book, Lena PH and Carola. Her partner Bosse is unemployed, and she is left to feed the family. Her brother, Candy, is a transvestite and an AIDS-sufferer who designs clothes. David, Mona's employer has cerebral palsy and is a proficient songwriter, and composes a song which Mona steals and sends a demo of (with her own lyrics) into Melodifestivalen, the Swedish heats for the Eurovision contest. Much to Mona's delight, the song qualifies for the finals. Mona's new-found fame takes her to unexpected places, including a TV interview, and an invitation to lunch at Berns. Throughout, the film, though, Mona is torn as to whether she should reveal that she was not in fact the only writer of her song, and thus risk losing the public's support.
The film features several songs by well-known Swedish singers, such as "If Life Was a Song", performed by Carola Häggkvist, "I Believe in Miracles" performed by Lena Philipsson and "Kärleksikonen" performed by Regina Lund. [2]
The film also features the song "Aldrig ska jag sluta älska dig", originally performed by Helena Bergström, which was later released by Gardell, [3] and "Handen på hjärtat" performed by Sofia Källgren. "Handen på hjärtat" was released on the soundtrack but was performed by Björn Kjellman feat. Salome.
Björn Kristian Ulvaeus is a Swedish singer-songwriter, producer, a member of the Swedish musical group ABBA, and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!. He co-produced the films Mamma Mia! and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again with fellow ABBA member and close friend Benny Andersson.
Carola Maria Häggkvist, also known as simply Carola, is a Swedish singer and songwriter. She has been among Sweden's most popular performers since the early 1980s and has released albums ranging from pop and disco to hymns and folk music. Her debut album, Främling (1983), sold around one million copies and remains the biggest-selling album in Swedish music history. She has also worked as a songwriter. During her career, she has recorded many top-selling albums and singles and is referred to as Sweden's most prominent female singer. Some of her biggest hits are "Främling", "Tommy tycker om mig", "Fångad av en stormvind", "All the Reasons to Live", "I Believe in Love", "Genom allt", and "Evighet". She has released records in various languages: Swedish, Dutch, German, English, Norwegian and Japanese.
Maria Magdalena "Lena" Philipsson is a Swedish singer, songwriter and media personality. She represented Sweden in the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest, finishing fifth.
Allsång på Skansen is a Swedish show held at Skansen, Stockholm, every summer on Tuesdays between 8pm and 9pm. The audience is supposed to sing along with musical guest stars to well-known Swedish songs. The show started in 1935 on a small scale; about 50 people in the audience. Today about 10,000–25,500 people come to each performance.
Regina Charlotta Theodora Lund is a Swedish actress and singer. She is the daughter of actress Sonja Lund.
Melodifestivalen 2006 was the selection for the 46th song to represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest. It was the 45th time that this system of picking a song had been used. Five semifinals had taken place to select the ten songs for the final, in Leksand, Karlstad, Karlskrona, Gothenburg and a Second Chance round in Stockholm. The final was broadcast on SVT1 and Sveriges Radio's P4 network. Carola Häggkvist was the clear favourite to win the final, with bookmakers making her the favourite and an Aftonbladet web poll showing her to have a clear margin over the other participants. The rehearsals sold out for the fourth year running; however, Carola was unable to perform in the final rehearsal due to throat problems. This led to speculation that the final would be closer than expected. Aftonbladet claimed in April 2006 that the televote may have been tampered with, as various sources reported unexplained voting on their telephone bills. It is clear that this would not have affected the result. Various finalists and semifinalists entered the Swedish Hitlistan chart after the competition. The second placed song, "Temple of Love", finished fourth in the Eurovision Madrid National Finals Song Contest.
Lars-Eric Gustav "Lasse" Holm is a Swedish composer, lyricist and singer of pop music and with a career spanning several decades.
"Fångad av en stormvind" is a song by Swedish singer-songwriter Carola Häggkvist. It was written and produced by Stephan Berg. The song is the best known as Sweden's winning entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1991 held in Rome, Italy, with 146 points.
Lars Jonas Holger Gardell is a Swedish novelist, playwright, screenwriter and comedian. He is the brother of religion scholar Mattias Gardell. He is well known for his books and plays in all of Scandinavia and also published in Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Poland.
John Björn Sture Kjellman, is a Swedish actor and singer.
Melodifestivalen is an annual song competition organised by Swedish public broadcasters Sveriges Television (SVT) and Sveriges Radio (SR). It determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest, and has been staged almost every year since 1959.
Värsta schlagern is a song by Linda Bengtzing and Markoolio. It was written by Patrik Henzel, Karl Eurenor, Gustav Eurenor and Niclas Arn. It was released as a single in Sweden on 31 January 2007 reaching number one on the Swedish Singles Chart.
"Handen på hjärtat" is a Swedish song by Lasse Holm (music) and Ingela Forsman (lyrics) performed by Sofia Källgren in Melodifestivalen 1990 and finished in 4th place. Källgren was backed up by three dancers wearing partially furry suits.
Anna Sofia Helena Källgren, known as Sofia Källgren, is a Swedish singer. She sings in two other languages, English and Mandarin Chinese, in addition to in Swedish.
"Lena Anthem" is a song by Swedish singer Lena Philipsson from her ninth studio album Det gör ont en stund på natten men inget på dan (2004). It was released as the album's third single on 11 October 2004 through Columbia and Sony Music. Written by Thomas "Orup" Eriksson and produced by Anders Hansson, "Lena Anthem" is a disco song with synthesizer instrumentation and interpolations of Philipsson's 1987 single "Dansa i neon". Lyrically, the song contains exaggerated and tongue-in-cheek statements that proclaim her greater than her rivals.
Lena Marianne Andersson is a Swedish singer, scoring several hits in the early 1970s. Andersson was signed at 17-years-old as a Polar recording artist in 1971. Benny & Björn of ABBA wrote a song for her which placed third in the 1972 Swedish Eurovision selection contest. Andersson also recorded as a backing singer for ABBA.
Melodifestivalen 2016 was the 56th edition of the Swedish music competition Melodifestivalen, which selected Sweden's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2016. The competition was organised by Sveriges Television (SVT) and took place over the six-week period between 6 February and 12 March 2016.
Stjärnorna på slottet is a Swedish show featuring five film or music stars which is usually broadcast during the Christmas and New Year Eve weekend and a bit into January each year. The show was broadcast for the first time in January 2006 on SVT. The show has received a lot of attention in media and has had high ratings. The show has been filmed at several castles over the years, including Trolleholm Castle in Scania, Häckeberga Castle in Scania (2008), Thorskog House in Bohuslän, Görväln House in Uppland (2011), Bäckaskog Castle in Scania (2012–2013), Bjärsjölagård Castle in Scania (2014) and Ericsberg Castle in Södermanland (2015).
Established by Swedish magazine QX in 1999, the Gaygalan Awards are an annual event created to hand out prizes for LGBT achievements. In 2004, the gala was broadcast for the first time on Sveriges Television when it was held at Hamburger Börs with Annika Lantz as the host.
"Delirium" is a song by Swedish singer Lena Philipsson from her ninth studio album Det gör ont en stund på natten men inget på dan (2004). It was released as the album's second single on 7 July 2004 through Columbia and Sony Music. Written by Thomas "Orup" Eriksson and produced by Anders Hansson, "Delirium" is a disco and power pop song with synthesizer and guitar instrumentation and schlager influences.
(in Swedish) Review from Filmtipset.se