Name: Ole dole doff
Genre: Drama
Released: 1968-03-18
Duration: 1 h 50 min
Rating: 6.8
Cast: Per Oscarsson, Ann-Marie Gyllenspetz, Kerstin Tidelius

Oscarsson Adds His Entry To Screen's Gallery of Troubled School Teachers

One of Sweden's finest actors,Per Oscarsson, best known for his performance in the 1966 film Hunger (see my review there) contributes another disturbing creation in this worthy entry from then up and coming director Jan Troell.

His elementary school instructor is a mixture of meanness and incompetence who simply cannot control his class of wild sixth graders even when he tries to clamp down hard. One might think of the harassed Dr Rath played by Emil Jannings in the classic The Blue Angel or for a closer Scandinavian comparison, the authoritarian sadist in Alf Sjoberg's Torment (as written by Ingmar Bergman) though there is more of a late 60s feel to this portrait of young ebellion and frustrated adult driven discipline.

Troell, a former schoolteacher himself, made the film with 16mm equipment, more manageable in the actual Malmo area classrooms it was shot in, and adding a grainy documentary style look to the finished work. He was his own cinematographer on this among others of his oeuvre and has a clever photographer's eye for the vivid stray detail .Adding to the sense of realism, actual elementary students were used in some of the smaller roles.

Swedish cinema is renowned for psychological depth, austere beauty, and philosophical inquiry. It often focuses on existential questions and societal critique, marked by a stark visual approach. In contemporary times, it has also developed a sharp satirical edge in examining social issues.

Max von Sydow and Bengt Ekerot in The Seventh Seal (1957)

The drama genre is a broad category that features stories portraying human experiences, emotions, conflicts, and relationships in a realistic and emotionally impactful way. Dramas delve into the complexities of human life, often exploring themes of love, loss, morality, societal issues, personal growth, with the aim to evoke an emotional response from the audience by presenting relatable and thought-provoking stories.

Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)

A weak and tormented teacher is pushed to the limit by his obnoxious students.

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Jesper Christensen in The Last Sentence (2012)

Rip Torn and Conchata Ferrell in Heartland (1979)

Lena Nyman in I Am Curious (Yellow) (1967)

Gérard Depardieu and Sandrine Bonnaire in Under the Sun of Satan (1987)

Per Oscarsson and Kerstin Tidelius in Who Saw Him Die? (1968)

Per Sjöstrand in Who Saw Him Die? (1968)

Kerstin Tidelius in Who Saw Him Die? (1968)

Ann-Marie Gyllenspetz and Per Oscarsson in Who Saw Him Die? (1968)

Who Saw Him Die?

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