"A Merry & Mystical Film about the Fates and Adventures of Änglamark"
The Apple War (Äppelkriget) is a 1971 Swedish satirical, surreal, magical realism comedy, written by Hans "Hasse" Alfredson and Tage Danielsson and directed by the latter. It tells the story of Änglamarknote , a place of unspoiled natural beauty in southern Sweden (with a curious resemblance to the real life Österlen) which has become threatened by the ambitions of Swiss executive Jean Volkswagner (Per Grundén), who plans to turn the whole area into "Deutschneyland", a giant recreational center. This soon catches the attention of the Lindberg family, a local group of eccentrics — led by inventor Severin Lindberg (Hans Alfredson) and his quirky sister Anna Lindberg (Monica Zetterlund) — who will do everything in their power, and then some, to stop the development of Deutschneyland.
The film was quite well-received, winning two Guldbagge Awards
(A Best Director for Tage Danielsson and a Best Actress for Monica Zetterlund) as well as a joint Chaplin-award by the Swedish Film Institute for both Hans Alfredson and Tage Danielsson.
It is also notable for its Folk Music Thematic Theme Tune: Änglamark, by the legendary father-and-son-duo Evert and Sven-Bertil Taube. It was the former's last published work before his death in 1976.
Tropes:
- A Child Shall Lead Them: The castle’s count, the one person Sten Wall successfully manages to buy property off, is a 6-year old boy (played by a young Tomas Alfredson, the son of writer-actor Hans Alfredson.) Presumably he inherited the title.
- All-Natural Fire Extinguisher: The giant Gustav Lindberg extinguished the castle arson fire (saving Sten Wall’s life in the process) by peeing on it. He does still need to use his jacket as a wet blanket to put it out completely, however.
- Bewitched Amphibians: Severin Lindberg regularly kisses frogs, hoping to no avail that one will eventually transform into a princess.
- Community-Threatening Construction: The villains are planning to turn Änglamark and its surroundings into “Deutschneyland”, a giant recreation center, with no regard for the preservation of either nature or local historic sites.
- Green Aesop: With a decent amount of Gaia's Vengeance thrown in for good measure.
- Halfway Plot Switch: Starts out as a story about a small group of plucky, misfit heroes trying to stop a Community-Threatening Construction, then Anna is revealed to have magical powers. The basic premise remains the same but it's now clear that the film takes place in a setting where All Myths Are True and just about anything can happen.
- I Own This Town: Tore Gustafson personally oens most of the local businesses. This notably includes a store called ”Gustafson’s Livs” and a funeral service by the name of ”Gustafson’s Death.”
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: The film ends with a huge crowd of people all wawing goodbye to the audience. In-Universe, the farewell is ostensibly intended for the newlyweds as they ride off into the distance together.
- Mugged for Disguise:
- Anna steals the hat off the real delivery man to trick Sten into giving her his letter to the King. When she passes the (now forged) letter on to the real guy, she gives him a "Just Joking" Justification. (“I was freezing.”)
- Severin also impersonates several townspeople after locking them up or otherwise incapacitating them harmlessly. Though it’s strictly speaking never shown whether or not they also provide his outfits.
- Non-Answer: Sten Wall and his associates don’t actually answer any question forwarded to them during the town meeting. They either give non-relevant statements on how the project will be a good investment, or thank the locals for their input with no further response.
- Recognition Failure: Sten Wall fails to realize that the townspeople he encounters — and the salesman he encountered at the hotel — are all the same guy in various guises. He does recognize Severin out of costume, but even then he isn’t quite sure from where.
- Slurpasaur: The drake Hans Nilsson slays to claim its Dragon Hoard is played by a lizard (named Edla, according to the credits.) She also plays a non-giant, newly hatched baby dragon.
- Sudden Musical Ending: The film ends with the main cast (and songwriter Evert Taube) singing Calle Schewen's waltz at Hans and Anna's wedding. It is the only usage of diagetic singing in the story.
- Summoning Ritual: Roy and Åke successfully summon their fey-like ancestral ghosts Luft-Hanna and Agnes Lindberg. Becomes an Imperfect Ritual with Agnes, as she’s apparently “too fat” to be summoned properly, and has to make do with being stuck as a sentient cloud of smoke.
- Surreal Humor: What else do you call a film in which a car is sabotaged by having its engine transformed into a giant cinnamon bun!
- Toxic, Inc.: The Swedish Enviromental Protection Agency is portrayed as such, gladly approving of the Deutschneyland project despite the horrific effects it will have on the landscape. Agnes tries to stop them by enchanting the board of directors, but her plan is foiled when the chairman arrives wearing a gas mask.
- Troll: During his disguise cavalcade, Severin seems to go out of his way to not only turn down Sten’s business propositions, but to be as obtuse and frustrating as possible. Probably also a tactic to make him give up.
- Til Murder Do Us Part: Kerstin ultimately has Jean shoot her husband Tore to lay claim to his fortune.
- Unluckily Lucky: Bernhard Lindberg was this, as opposed to his straight-up Born Unlucky brothers Roy and Åke. First, he managed to get a good job as a rationalization expert, only to be so competent and unbiased that he rationalizes himself into unemployment. Later, when all three brothers attempted suicide, he was the only one who succeeded...
- Urban Fantasy: The film flirts with this trope by having a pair of summoned spirits interrupt a board meeting, and by having the Elderly Immortal Uncle Bert listening to jazz in his Stockholm apartment, keeping a legendary sword in his bathroom-turned-storage.
- We Need a Distraction: Severin shows up at Sten’s hotel room, ostensibly to try and sell him a “portable balcony box”, jungle vines or some seeds, just to buy enough time for Anna to carry out her mailman impersonation act.
