gil 588096:

AS IT IS IN HEAVEN is a feel good/feel bad story from Sweden. It is charming, candid, opinionated, and musically beautiful about a small town choir, a famous big-city conductor, and how the power of "letting loose" can become emancipating and uplifting. Some may see this theme as controversial since it seems to suggest that sin and guilt do not come from God, but are used by religious "controllers" to invoke the wrathful side of God as a way of keeping people in line. To me, however, I took it that everyone knows it feels good to sing and there's medical evidence to suggest that people who sing are healthier than those who don't. This film just takes that idea a little further; taken to the extreme to find out how good it might be possible to feel. But the director keeps this story from becoming self-righteous by simply emphasizing that perhaps we all just need to sing more. The acting is top-notch, the characters are endearing and sympathetic, and there's plenty of action and suspense. Taglines: delightful, funny, sad, alarming, joyful, sweet, and altogether enchanting. Subtitles required. There is one scene of animal cruelty involving a white rabbit that might be disturbing. 03-28-10

DfwForeignBuff:

(Så som i himmelen / As in Heaven) 2005 7.5 rating on IMDB. One of the best movies I have seen in many years. I love movies that involve music cinema. Seeing this movie reminds me of how Hollywood fails 1000s of times every year. A world-class violinist & conductor retires to his home village in Sweden, & regains his love of life by accepting to direct the local church choir Daniel Dareus (Michael Nyqvist) is a temperamental but very successful conductor. When he suffers a heart attack after a concert, he suddenly decides to retire to his hometown in Northern Sweden. As he returns to his hometown, he remembers the difficult childhood he had, bullied by kids in school while trying to make a career in music. After he has settled in, the local reverend asks Daniel to listen to the church choir & maybe offer a few suggestions. One woman in the choir, Lena (Frida Hallgren), catches Daniel's attention. However, the choir is filled with people facing big problems in their lives. Daniel's difficulties increase when people start to believe that his interest in Lena is much greater than his interest in the choir. Will he be able to make everyone happy & find a way to get this choir to come together & sing as a group. It is an introspective character study of a small Swedish village, & develops each of its characters well. Superbly directed, acted & sung. The plot allows a newcomer to enter into a small rural Christian community meet/make friends (involve them & help them to grow) & expose some of the hypocrisies of their rural church. This is a well constructed inspirational tearjerker, soberly handled, scripted & acted, that pushes all the right buttons without ever descending into schmaltz. This is such an involving delightful movie. I could not take my eyes off the screen. Seriously beautiful & involving cinematography of rural Sweden. Believable & involving characters & emotions & really great music. This is really great tale!! I wish it had more concert music.

1d56bcdd85:

On the surface, this Swedish drama may appear as a feel-good movie, but when you really think about the story you will realize that it has a lot to say about humanity. I had never heard of Director Kay Pollak before this movie, and now I know why this movie of his earned a nomination for the best foreign language in 2005. As It Is In Heaven was written by Pollak in collaboration with other writers, one of which is Kay's wife, Carin. It tells the story of an accomplish conductor, Daniel Dareus (Michael Nyqvist) who has to come full circle to confront his fears and to find happiness. Daniel was badly bullied when he was a boy. One would think that no one would ever bully him again now that he is a famous person, but that is not the case. People blame others for their insecurities, angers and other hang-ups. This film challenges the audiene to have a look at what bullying is like among grown-ups. As It Is In Heaven is a beautiful film with great scores and a wonderful story.

HeathCliff:

I'm just blown away by this movie. Life affirming is a descriptor to a movie that is always dubious, since it's usually a bit cliched, easy fixes, artificial, formulaic, Pollyanna-ish. But this was life affirming in the most profound, authentic way - and it's not exactly a happy movie. There's a lot of suffering, people who are trying to overcome their own individual pains and pasts and issues. But it's a movie about people moving the needle just a bit, or more, in their own lives to find fulfillment, authenticity, peace, love, self-love, freedom from fears or self-inflicted prisons. The catalyst is the conductor-hero of the film, who is on that journey himself, and ends up impacting a small rural community in Sweden when he leads a choir there. I was quite transfixed by the movie, and stayed up till almost 2 am because I was so moved and engaged by the movie. The lead actor is quite special, along with the rest of the cast. The director is pretty sensational. Highly recommended.