Name: Midvinterduell
Genre: Drama
Duration: 52 min
Rating: 7.2
Cast: Ingvar Hirdwall, Mona Malm, Andreas Höghede

A film that awakens the mischievous child in us

A middle-aged dairy farmer and his wife are increasingly embittered and challenged in their confrontation with what they consider the Road Administration's tyrannical and capricious actions.  In brief, the local snow plow driver, on each early morning run, takes truculent glee in destroying their one roadside milk stand after the other.  Since time immemorial local dairymen have set their milk tins for pickup on roadside stands, symbols of each family's pride - but now, our heroes reconstruct a new stand each day - to replace the destruction - each stand more diabolically conceived than the last, in their efforts to defy the Administration.  All other farmers threw in the towel at the Administration's first announcement, but not our heroes.

So - we see the man lying tucked in bed beside his wife, in the cold of one winter night after another, his eyes wide open, scheming revenge, scheming the perfectly indestructible milk stand...  And like the main character, I, too, found myself dreaming up one scheme after another, as though somehow I could fight my way through the wind and drifting snow to his barn, find the tools, and work all night to 'get back at' that darned snow plow.

A quick film with wonderfully accessible and slightly wacky humor  - presenting problems that any supervisor of people, any schemer, any person who's ever been outraged at the arrogance of public officials will find sympathy with.  Full of delicate sympathy, wry smiles at human frailty, and leading to final redemption.

This is a film of the ilk Magnus Mills might have devised - you (we)supervisors of the world may know his book entitled "The Restraint of Beasts", about fence builders running amok across Scotland.  Talk about hilarity...

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.

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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.

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A vendetta between Egon Lundin and the Swedish National Road Administration concerning one, in their opinion, illegally built milk pallet.

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Midvinterduell

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