As It Is in Heaven

In this Oscar-nominated Swedish film, renowned orchestra conductor Daniel Daréus (Michael Nyqvist) returns to his tiny hometown in northern Sweden after suffering an almost fatal heart attack, taking up residence in the abandoned schoolhouse, where he longs for solitude to soothe his frazzled nerves. But he's rejuvenated after being persuaded to assume leadership of the nearly defunct church choir. As It Is in Heaven doesn't avoid all of the mawkish pitfalls suggested in this brief synopsis, but the film's combination of quirky comedy and near-tragedy ultimately wins viewers over, so that what might have wound up a Scandinavian version of the maudlin Mr. Holland's Opus instead boasts a toughness that transcends the clichéd premise, while also featuring a cast that invests the characters with a welcome sense of reality beneath the inevitable local color. In fact, much of the interest here comes from the supporting figures: the minister, who becomes increasingly estranged from his chorister wife; a supermarket clerk who's attracted to the conductor; and a battered spouse whose liberation rouses the anger of her brutal husband. While director Kay Pollak's denouement doesn't fully come off, the film as a whole is that rare tearjerker which possesses some genuine dramatic spine. Recommended. (F. Swietek)