Raven's End

1963 1h 37m SV

👍

7.0

SOLID

★7.0TMDB · 37

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In 1936, aspiring writer Anders, along with his friend Sixten, is desperate to escape his working-class upbringing. Anders' father is an unemployed alcoholic and his mother slaves away at a laundry to support the family. A ray of hope comes Anders' way when he finishes his first novel and submits it to a publisher. But after his girlfriend gets pregnant, his future dims before his eyes once more.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Thommy Berggren
Anders
Emy Storm
Mother
Keve Hjelm
Father
Ingvar Hirdwall
Sixten
Christina Frambäck
Elsie
Agneta Prytz
Neighbour
Nina Widerberg
the neighbor girl Nina
Louise Gustafsson
Anders' girlfriend in the gazebo

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Bo Widerberg
Writers: Bo Widerberg
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 / 8

ERA

Did you know

63 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

CRAFT

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Bo Widerberg, shot by Jan Lindeström. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Thommy Berggren and Emy Storm and Keve Hjelm carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0057237 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 37 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Bo Widerberg directs. Jan Lindeström behind the camera. Giuseppe Torelli scores. Wic Kjellin cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Sweden. Dialogue in Swedish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

163 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
3Directed by Bo Widerberg, shot by Jan Lindeström. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Giuseppe Torelli. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Wic Kjellin shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Thommy Berggren and Emy Storm and Keve Hjelm carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt0057237 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 37 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Jan Lindeström
Original score: Giuseppe Torelli
Editing: Wic Kjellin
Production design: Einar Nettelbladt
Runtime: 97 min · 1h 37m
Status: Released
Original language: SV
IMDB: Raven's End (1963)

Also by

Bo Widerberg

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2026-08-09
★ 7/10
I know that we Brits were always fond of a gritty, kitchen-sink, style of dysfunctional family drama, but I wasn't aware that the Swedes were of a similar mind. This rather grim feature follows the life "Anders" (Thommy Berggren), a disillusioned would-be writer who hopes that his wordsmithery will offer him and girlfriend "Elsie" (Christina Frambäck) a route out of their 1930s Malmö concrete jungle. For the moment, though, the publishers aren't biting his hands off and so he must reside with his unemplyably alcoholic dad (Keve Hjelm) and his downtrodden mother (Emy Storm) who tries her best to keep the family afloat by working at a local laundry. Things don't exactly become more promising for him when he discovers that he is to be a father and with creative rejection lying heavy upon him, you do have to wonder if this apple hasn't fallen very far from the boozing tree. On the face of it, this isn't a very uplifting drama and to be honest, I thought "Anders" to be rather a selfish young man inclined to use people as it suited him, despite watching the effect such behaviour has had on a mother with whom he shares a close bond. His father, frequently, makes it clear that he couldn't care less about his son - but that doesn't look like any great loss, either - it all seems to be going around in it's own vicious circle. It's probably his treatment of "Elsie" that finally convinced me that "Anders" wasn't worthy of my pity or sympathy and that's when I began to appreciate more the skills of Berggren in creating something rudderless and self-obsessed. As the story reaches it's final stages, we learn a little of what caused his father to take to the gin, and that allows both Hjelm and a really quite affecting Storm to take their spot centre-screen with two entirely different - but connected - cries for help of their own. It's interesting that psychologists the world over never predicted that shoving human beings into grey concrete housing estates and expecting them to thrive was a shocker of an idea, but had they seen the gray and drab surroundings rather brutally photographed here, they might have thought twice. That is possibly best exemplified by what amounts to a trip to a science fair - only instead it's a trip to the mall to see the new electric escalator! All of this said, though, there is still an abiding sense of community here. Perhaps that's what wrong and what perpetuates their subliminal (or abject) misery and their acceptance of it? In any case, there are four contrasting yet remarkably similar characterisations here presenting us with something akin to an uncomfortable fly-on-the-wall story that is well worth a look.

Production companies