Pure

Rising young Swedish star Alicia Vikander, 23, former ballerina as well as TV soaps actress, delivers a striking performance in her first movie role as a complex young woman seeking something ‘pure’ in her life.

Stuck in a dreary life headed nowhere in the rough suburbs outside Gothenburg, 20-year-old Katarina stumbles upon a YouTube clip of Mozart’s Requiem. Instantly moved by the music, she senses a new world opening up to her and begins an attempt to get as far away from her ugly reality as soon as possible. Managing to land a job as a receptionist at the Gothenburg Concert Hall, a strict world closely ruled by rules and traditions, her new identity includes the maestro, a situation full of dangerous temptations that threaten to destroy all she has worked for.

Based on her 2004 play at Stockholm’s Royal Dramatic Theatre, acclaimed stage director Lisa Langseth, 36, in her own fine screen debut, crafts a moving story about a girl revolting against her working class background and seeking out classical music as her possible spiritual guide. (Langseth was faced with directing both 600 extras as well as the Gothenberg Symphony Orchestra, reported Swedish Film Magazine.)

Print Source: Swedish Film Institute, Gunnar Almér, gunnar.almer@sfi.se