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The Guardian
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The Last Journey review – Sweden's Ant and Dec hit the road with octogenarian dad
'Do you want to rot away in an old armchair?' asks Filip Hammar, a Swedish TV presenter, talking to his dad. In this charming, often hilarious documentary, Hammar takes 80-year-old Lars on a road trip to the south of France; the idea is to rekindle Lars's spark, shake a bit of life back into him. Since retiring as a French teacher, Lars has been sitting around at home, steadily more depressed and frail. Hammar wants to show his dad that life is worth living. But as you'd expect from a documentary this heart-warming, Hammar has a lesson or two to learn himself. For the trip, Hammar has bought a knackered old Renault 4, the same car the family had when he was a kid. Their destination is the apartment they rented every summer holiday (judging from the old photos, this was pre-factor 50 sunscreen; everyone was a livid shade of lobster). Father and son are joined by Hammar's best mate Fredrik Wikingsson, another TV presenter. The two are a fixture on Swedish telly; like Ant and Dec they come as a pair, Filip och Fredrik. Their easy, lived-in banter jollies everything along. The trip is nearly over before it begins, when Lars falls going for a pee at night in a hotel. But Lars is a life-long Francophile, and slowly, slowly, a little of the old charisma creeps back in as the holiday gets into swing. It's not quite enough for Hammar, who is desperate to get his old dad back. (So desperate he hires actors to create the perfect French experience for Lars.) There is a heartbreaking scene when Hammar persuades his dad to cook his old speciality, ratatouille. But poor Lars can barely slice an aubergine. Hammar's love for his dad, how much he treasures his childhood, is incredibly touching. There's a simple, profound message here for parents – you get out what you put in. And the scene at the end, showing just what an influence Lars had on his students, would squeeze a tear out of granite. The Last Journey is in UK and Irish cinemas from 20 June.
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
‘Sometimes when we screen it there is spontaneous applause... it's almost like a therapy'
Filip Hammar and Fredrik Wikingsson are in the house. And they are not going to be quiet about it. 'What an honour! What an honour!' Wikingsson, the sleeker of the two Swedes, practically bellows. 'We've been to Dublin! We've had great times in Dublin ! This feels like coming home!' Even if you were not already aware, their demeanour would immediately clarify that they are not conventional film directors. 'Filip och Fredrik' first achieved home fame as pranksters on Swedish television. Broadcast in 2002, Ursäkta Röran (Vi Bygger Om) – in English, 'Pardon the Mess (We're Redecorating)' – was a hidden-camera show that placed both celebrities and the public in compromising situations. Later, with the series High Chaparall, they took their shtick to the United States, interviewing the likes of Pamela Anderson , Tonya Harding and Uri Geller for domestic consumption. Further zany projects followed. READ MORE 'We were very influenced by Ali G , which was huge at the time,' Wikingsson says. 'Pretend you were journalists from one outlet, but it's really from another outlet. There is a little false pretence. Some people love that. Some people thought that was in bad taste.' All of this goes some way to preparing viewers for one of the strangest films released this year. What the heck are we looking at here? Classed as a documentary, The Last Journey finds Hammar and Wikingsson accompanying Lars, Hammar's elderly father, formerly a teacher, on one 'last' trip to his beloved France. Lars seems to have lost his taste for life, and Hammar believes the adventure may help him re-engage. Also, he and his colleague will get a film out of it. They encounter trouble at the beginning when Lars has a fall and ends up in hospital. That is not going to stop Filip och Fredrik. The boys get him back on the project and into their photogenic orange Renault. 'I wanted to make this trip with my dad because, since his retirement, he's been going deeper and deeper into this depression,' Hammar says. 'It's been really tough for my mom. Of course, she's there with him every day. So I felt, okay, I need to do something. Maybe if I take him to France – which is the love of his life – and let him re-experience some of the best moments of his life he can become that man he used to be.' All admirable enough. As the film progresses, however, the boys' instinct for a lark transforms the work into something more peculiar. At one point they stage a fight among apparent strangers to remind Lars of earlier amusement at French road rage. It's a tricky moment. The older man, unaware the event is fake, could be seen as the butt of a joke. 'It is all about execution,' Hammar says. 'You have to earn that scene. The audience at that point, I hope, see that I love my dad and that Frederick loves my dad and that our intentions are good. He loves this. I do think so, because sometimes when we screen it there is spontaneous applause after that. Because they see it's almost like a therapy. We invent a new therapy. Maybe I am being pompous here. But this is a method I use to make him come alive again.' 'This is an Eat, Pray, Love for smart people,' Wikingsson ventures. You couldn't call the film a conventional documentary. I didn't know what to make of the scene in which a French priest takes Lars's confession while the camera records every word. 'We love Werner Herzog . That's one of our main inspirations,' Wikingsson says. 'And there is a movie called The Act of Killing , by Joshua Oppenheimer , that's about genocide, which is very staged and very constructed for a purpose. That was the feeling we had.' To clarify, The Act of Killing is a deeply serious film that invites former state torturers and killers from Indonesia to re-enact their atrocities on camera. 'We wanted to make a cinematic film to get people into theatres,' Wikingsson says. 'We wanted the way they view France – the romanticised version of France that they have in their memories, in which everything is beautiful and like a fairy tale – reflected in the film as well. With big music, a big score, beautiful songs and beautiful cinematography.' He is on a roll. Filip och Fredrik cannot be faulted for energy or for determination to talk away any impending silence. 'We wanted it to be like about storytelling as well,' he says. 'When Filip said, 'Maybe we can create a traffic argument, because my dad loves that,' I immediately said, 'Well, if the audience is in on these things, it becomes an immersive experience.' Whatever. Because it is for the benefit of his father. Let's do whatever it takes to make this an unforgettable journey for his dad.' At any rate, the film seemed to have worked for the Swedish audience. It was the fifth highest-grossing film in that country for 2024 – sitting between Deadpool & Wolverine and Moana 2 – and registered as the highest-grossing Swedish documentary of all time. It won the Ray of Sunshine (!) award at the Norwegian International Film Festival and, perhaps more significantly, best documentary at the Swedish equivalent of the Oscars. We meet way back before Christmas when The Last Journey, following in the tradition of Ingmar Bergman's The Virgin Spring and Fanny and Alexander, was still the Swedish submission for best international film at the actual Oscars. 'It feels like we're the Swedish submission to the Eurovision Song Contest and we don't want to let anybody down,' Wikingsson says, 'It's like a scam,' Hammar joins in. 'Maybe it's like that traffic incident. Maybe it's a prank.' Anything was then still possible. It was just a few weeks before the shortlists were announced. 'I know Ireland has a great film as well,' Hammar says. 'Yes, I think you're talking about Kneecap.' 'F**k those guys!' Wikingsson says, with a hearty chuckle to confirm he's still in prank mode. Would Filip och Fredrik, as younger cheeky chappies, have been surprised to find themselves in this position? 'We were even invited to the Swedish castle,' Wikingsson says. 'The royal family wanted us to show the film. And we were, like, 'That's great publicity-wise, but don't we kind of detest the monarchy a little bit?' Maybe we should check our Twitter feeds and stuff – to see what we posted about that. Of course, it's hard to pretend like you're the underdog when you're the Swedish Oscar entry.' The Last Journey did not make it on to the Oscar shortlist. Kneecap made that list, but it was not among the final five nominees. The Swedish film then went into a sort of hibernation and now emerges blinking into the superhero summer. I hope Lars profited from the experience. 'I know he's happy at times, and this is a good memory for him – this film and everything that has happened afterwards,' Hammar says. 'The film is a big success in Sweden. That's been incredible to him.' And the lads don't worry that they've become respectable? 'Johnny Rotten went on I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here!' Wikingsson says. 'We'll never do that,' Hammar counters. 'No, so we're more punk rockers than he ever was.' The Last Journey is in cinemas from Friday, June 20th
