30-year-old Rickard (Christian Andrén) suffers from autism and genetic dysfunctions; he lives for his games of boules and is driven by a desire to be reunited with his mother. Johannes Nyholm’s warm feature film debut is an original portrait of a little guy struggling to overcome bullying and other challenges in life. Takes the shape of a documentary shot with a handheld camera, but the story also introduces fantastical ingredients from Rickard’s imagination, especially the sight of a giant man striding across forested landscapes. The director based the idea for the film on a fever dream he had as a child; boosted by convincing makeup for the lead character, and Johan Kylén’s performance as the best friend one could have.
2016-Sweden-Denmark. 86 min. Color. Produced by Maria Dahlin, Morten Kjems Hytten Juhl. Written and directed by Johannes Nyholm. Music: Björn Olsson. Cast: Christian Andrén (Rickard), Johan Kylén (Roland), Anna Bjelkerud (Elisabeth), Linda Faith, Ola Bjurman, Niclas Fransson.
Trivia: Original title: Jätten.
Last word: “Make-up took immense resources, both in terms of time and money. But the production demanded many different things of us – I mean, we have a 50-metre high giant wandering around Copenhagen and Gothenburg. Still, the most demanding scenes were during the Nordic boules Championship, when I had to direct 300 extras. ” (Nyholm, Cineuropa)
