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Ronia, the Robber's Daughter (film)

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Ronia, the Robber's Daughter
German film poster
Directed byTage Danielsson
Written byAstrid Lindgren
Based onRonja, the Robber's Daughter
by Astrid Lindgren
Produced byWaldemar Bergendahl
StarringHanna Zetterberg
Dan Håfström
Börje Ahlstedt
Lena Nyman
CinematographyRune Ericson
Mischa Gavrjusjov
Ole Fredrik Haug
Edited byJan Persson
Music byBjörn Isfält
Production
companies
Distributed bySvensk Filmindustri
Release date
  • 14 December 1984 (1984-12-14) (Sweden)
Running time
126 minutes
CountrySweden
LanguageSwedish
BudgetSEK 18 million[1] (US$ 2.18 million) (estimated)
Box officeSEK 49,396,838 (Sweden)[citation needed]

Ronia, the Robber's Daughter (in the UK, Ronja Rövardotter in Sweden, Ronja Robbersdaughter in the USA) is a Swedish fantasy film which was released to cinemas in Sweden on 14 December 1984,[2] directed by Tage Danielsson, based on the 1981 novel of the same title by Astrid Lindgren, and adapted for the screen by Lindgren herself.

When the film was broadcast on television two years after its cinema premiere, the film was twenty minutes longer and uncensored (the cinema release allowed viewing from 7 years and older). This spurred a debate where critics asked if film was more harmful in cinemas than on television.[3] The film was selected as the Swedish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 58th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.[4]

Plot

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Ronia, daughter of robber-chief Mattis, becomes friends with Birk Borkasson. His father, robber-chief Borka, is the main rival and fiercest enemy of Ronia's father.

The film opens at the castle of Mattis (Börje Ahlstedt, Ronia's father) and Lovis (Lena Nyman, Ronia's mother). A thunderstorm rages about the castle as Lovis is giving birth to Ronia (Hanna Zetterberg). Minutes after the baby is born lightning strikes the castle and splits away of part of the castle, creating a deep rift in the rock below. Ten years later Ronia is old enough to explore the wilderness and learn how to deal with the dangers out there. Mattis is the head of a band of good-natured robbers, and he warns his daughter of the dangers that she is likely to meet in the wilderness. Nonetheless, Ronia sets out on the adventure and encounters the various creatures and dangers as already told by her father.

Meanwhile another group of robbers, led by their chief Borka have settled in the now separated part of the castle, much to the dismay of Mattis. He is even more angered by his rival Borka roaming around the forests which Mattis claims as his own territory and even robbing away Mattis' loot in one instance. Consequently, Mattis hatches a plan to drive Borka's people away from the woodland.

Borka has a son, Birk (Dan Håfström) who happens to have been born the very same thundery night that Ronia was born. There is some initial eminent enmity between Birk and Ronia when they meet first, but after saving Ronia, who got her foot stuck in an earth hole, the two eventually become friends and share some adventures together. Their friendship must be kept secret as their parents would never allow a connection to the rivaling clan. Though separated by the constant hatred between their parents, the two reunite a couple of times.

When Mattis kidnaps Birk to force Borka's group away, Ronia turns herself in as ransom to Borka's clan in order to get Birk returned to his family. Mattis is hurt by his daughter's action and denies his daughter. This act forces Birk and Ronia to run away from their families, living in a cave, as their parents refuse to get over their enmity. Eventually Mattis comes to visit the children in the cave and apologises for his foolishness and having cast away his daughter.

The clans organise a fight between Borka and Mattis to settle their dispute once and for all, and Mattis is victorious. After the fight, the enemy clans finally make up and have a feast in Mattis' part of the castle.

Cast

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Reception

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Box office

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The film was a major success, becoming the highest-grossing 1984 film in Sweden;[5] more than 1.5 million people attended its screenings in Sweden.[6]

Critical response

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Ronia, the Robber's Daughter was viewed as a children's film, since various media houses made it appear as such. Walter Goodman, critic for The New York Times, for instance, wrote: "ALL those kids in New York who have been longing to see a movie in the original Swedish can now throng to the 23d Street Triplex, where Ronja Robbersdaughter opens today".[7] In his review, he calls the film "a picturesque movie, filled with advertisements for Sweden's crashing waterfalls, deep woods and stony caverns".[7]

Awards and honours

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The film won Reader's Jury prize of the Berliner Morgenpost. It was in competition for a Golden Bear at the 35th Berlin International Film Festival in 1985, where it was awarded a Silver Berlin Bear for outstanding artistic contribution.[8] Additionally, the film was considered for the 58th Academy Awards as one of the best in the category of Foreign Language Films. Though it was disputed and eliminated from the list of contestants, its proposal shows that it merited to some extent.

Other adaptations

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Besides the film, the story was also adapted into musicals, stage plays, and TV series.[9]

The novel was adapted as a Japanese anime as Ronja, the Robber's Daughter in 2014,[10] developed by Goro Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli.[11] The storyline in the animation is similar to that in the original film.[12][13]

A live-action TV series of the same name was released in 2024. Hans Rosenfeldt writes the script while Lisa James Larsson directs the series. Twelve episodes, divided into two seasons, have been ordered. The series is produced by Filmlance Productions, the company behind Swedish TV productions such as Beck, Bron, and Caliphate.[14]

A stage play based on the novel was written by Allison Gregory.[15]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Ronja Rövardotter - en storsatsning" [Ronja Rövardotter - a big investment]. Sveriges Radio (in Swedish). 9 November 2007. Archived from the original on 29 November 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  2. ^ "Ronja Rövardotter". Swedish Film Database. 14 December 1984. Archived from the original on 24 September 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  3. ^ "Ronja Rövardotter (1984)" (in Swedish). Swedish Film Institute. Archived from the original on 12 June 2011. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
  4. ^ Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences[vague]
  5. ^ Holmlund, Christine (Winter 2003). "Pippi and Her Pals". Cinema Journal. 42 (2): 4. doi:10.1353/cj.2003.0005. S2CID 143348931.
  6. ^ "Box office / business for Ronja Rövardotter (1984)". IMDb. Archived from the original on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 8 July 2008.
  7. ^ a b Goodman, Walter (23 May 1986). "The Screen: 'Ronja'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 14 January 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  8. ^ Berlinale. Archive. Prizes and Honours. 1985 Archived 26 June 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 26 January 2019
  9. ^ "Exquisite 'The Band's Visit' is about things that matter". MinnPost. 12 December 2019. Archived from the original on 2 March 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  10. ^ Nguyen, Hanh (2 February 2017). "Studio Ghibli's Miyakazi — No, the Other One — On Inheriting His Father's Legacy with 'Ronja, the Robber's Daughter'". IndieWire. Archived from the original on 14 August 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  11. ^ "Studio Ghibli's Ronja, The Robber's Daughter Snags Blu-ray In August | Inside Pulse". 14 May 2019. Archived from the original on 16 April 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  12. ^ "Ronja, the Robber's Daughter". Plugged In. Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  13. ^ MacInnes, Paul (26 January 2017). "Studio Ghibli's first TV show is a wondrous world of peril and magic". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 13 June 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  14. ^ ""Ronja Rövardotter" blir tv-serie – här är allt vi vet just nu". 6 September 2021. Archived from the original on 26 January 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  15. ^ "Ronia, the Robber's Daughter". Allison Gregory. Archived from the original on 3 December 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
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