November Film: Archipelago

Alex Schulman’s “Archipelago” is Sweden’s entry for the Academy Awards. Caroline Hainer watches a film pulsing with an anxiety-filled atmosphere, but one the first-time director doesn’t quite manage to bring safely to shore. The number of newborns in Sweden is now at its lowest in more than 20 years. “Archipelago” is hardly likely to improve the birth rate.

It’s about a class trip over a weekend in the archipelago, which opens in a Ruben Östlund-esque manner with an upbeat pep talk from a well-meaning class teacher about “a class with challenges” that “deep down” consists of “good individuals.” Cut to a gang of kids in full-blown chaos, showing no respect for one another or for the three accompanying parents: the helicopter dad Bill (Gustaf Skarsgård), alpha male Bobo (Fares Fares), and conflict-averse Pontus (Linus Wahlgren).

Price: 90/130, cash and Swish only.
Coffee and refreshments are provided during the interval.
A warm welcome — Östergarns Kulturförening