The Simple-Minded Murderer

1982 1h 48m SV

👍

7.0

SOLID

★7.0TMDB · 75

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

The feeble-minded Sven's mother dies and he gets work as a farm-hand at the rich, affluent Höglund's farm. He has to work without pay and sleeps together with the cows. He meets the disabled Anna who is the first one to treat him as an adult. One day he has had enough of Höglund's maltreatment and moves in with Anna's family. Plot by Mattias Thuresson.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Stellan Skarsgård
Sven
Hans Alfredson
Höglund
Maria Johansson
Anna
Per Myrberg
Andersson
Gösta Ekman
The New Driver
Carl Billquist
Flodin
Lena Nyman
Woman Without Legs
Nils Ahlroth
Månsson

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Hans Alfredson
Writers: Hans Alfredson
Languages: Swedish
Countries: Sweden

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

44 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Hans Alfredson, shot by Rolf Lindström. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Rolf Sersam. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Jan Persson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Stellan Skarsgård and Hans Alfredson and Maria Johansson carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0083888 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

Only 75 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Hans Alfredson directs. Rolf Lindström behind the camera. Rolf Sersam scores. Jan Persson cuts. Produced in Sweden. Dialogue in Swedish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

144 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Directed by Hans Alfredson, shot by Rolf Lindström. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Rolf Sersam. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Jan Persson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Stellan Skarsgård and Hans Alfredson and Maria Johansson carry the top of the cast.
6IMDB entry: tt0083888 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
7Only 75 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Rolf Lindström
Original score: Rolf Sersam
Editing: Jan Persson
Production design: Stig Boqvist
Costume design: Ulla-Britt Söderlund
Runtime: 108 min · 1h 48m
Status: Released
Original language: SV
IMDB: The Simple-Minded Murderer (1982)

Also by

Hans Alfredson

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2026-09-19
★ 7/10
1930s Sweden is still a largely heirarchical society and when his mother dies, "Sven" (Stellan Skarsgård) is left to fend for himself. He's a man in his late teens, with learning difficulties, and is reduced to working for the odious farm/factory proprietor "Höglund" (Hans Alfredson) and sleeping in the barn with the beasts. Whilst he isn't treated brutally by his boss, he is neglected and soon realises that on that front, he is no different from many in his community who are controlled by this man. For a while he has been friends with the wheelchair-bound "Anna" (Maria Johansson) and it is her father (Per Myrberg) who offers the young man an opportunity to quit his dung-scented squalor and come and live with them. He's delighted but "Höglund" much less so, and against a battle of attrition between them the remainder of this drama quite tightly plays out as "Sven" tries to assert his own independence. Skarsgård brings a convincingly naive vulnerability and decency to his characterisation here and the rustic surroundings and a gentle amount of light-heartedness work well too as we observe just how effective a little touch of kindnes can be in the face of oppression. It's a love story, to an extent: of people, of freedom, of a red motor bike - and he presents someone here who's likeable without inducing undue pity. Auteur Alfredson is also on good form depicting a man whom he hopefully didn't base on himself. "Höglund" is one of those outwardly avuncular figures to the pillars of his town, but in private is a bit of a brute, a bully, and he certainly treats women as commodities rather than people. The production design delivers something of the truly basic existence of some of the citizenry; it's farmyard settings also allow for a little humour to creep in and there is something of the changing eras to the thrust of the screenplay, too.

Production companies