MovieZine had the chance to watch Sommartider long before its premiere. Alexander Kardelo wrote an article in the beginning of July. Even if he wanted to leave the real review to another colleague of his, he still wanted to take the opportunity to give a little love to a happy and invigorating feelgood film, because good Swedish films always deserve to be highlighted a little extra, he says.
Sweden’s answer to “Bohemian Rhapsody” is a very kind music film about a very kind band. No sex, drugs & rock’n’roll, just five happy guys whose energy rubs off on the audience, and whose songs we can all immediately hum along to.
The film is described as “the almost true story of Gyllene Tider”, so director Per Simonsson has been given a lot of creative freedom. With the band’s approval, humor, drama and a touch of magical realism have been added in well-chosen places.
Per Simonsson says:
The producers asked me: “Would you like to make a feelgood story about Gyllene Tider?” I come from the countryside, from a similarly small place as Harplinge. I played in a rock band myself and dreamed the same dreams. So, it would have been difficult for me to say no.
Many biopics lean more towards drama, but what I wanted to capture was the feeling in Gyllene Tider’s music and lyrics. There is subtlety and humor in everything that Per Gessle writes.
21-year-old film debutante Valdemar Wahlbeck takes on music icon Per Gessle, and sings all the songs himself. He tells MovieZine it was a long, but fun journey trying to find the right voice:
It’s a kind of ’70s rock… a slightly sexy voice with a rasp, close to the mic and a lot of emotion… A young and almost naive voice. At least in the late ’70s. Since then, his voice has developed, but then it was a voice with a hell of a drive and a will that is absolutely crazy.”
Alexander left the cinema with a smile, and a newfound respect for Gyllene Tider and their music. The songs that long ago burned themselves into the brain and Swedish people’s souls. Earworm hits about love and summer, about sailors and about going fishing. About being young, silly, naive, enchanted and in love. Funny rhymes and catchy melodies make you immediately open Spotify for another dose.
MovieZine met Valdemar Wahlbeck who plays Per Gessle and Ville Löfgren who plays Mats MP Persson. They asked the guys about their relation to Gyllene Tider, since they weren’t even born when GT was at their peak.
Ville says:
One had heard the biggest hits like “Sommartider” and “Flickorna på TV2”. But I had no idea of the huge song catalogue they actually represent. There are a lot of great songs. Especially now that you’ve become a bit of a nerd, you appreciate it in a completely different way.
Valdemar says:
Yes, I really agree with you. I think you make a mistake if you only listen to the hits of a band on Spotify. When you do that, you miss out on a hell of a lot of good music. As I’ve started listening more to Gyllene Tider and the songs I’ve never heard, I’ve gained a different understanding of both bands and records – the importance of a good album.
Ville majored in music in high school where he acted in a couple of musicals, but this is his first role in a movie. Valdemar was twelve when he started at the Cultural School in Halmstad. He has been doing various plays at amateur level, then he sang in a choir. In high school they wrote and recorded their own films. Then he got a car, and he could go to different locations with his team and camera equipment. It was great fun. Now he goes to the Ballet Academy in Gothenburg to become a musical artist. So it started as a hobby for him, and then he got a job like this.
MovieZine is curious how the guys got their roles.
Ville says:
It was through the school I went to. The casting company had heard that people speak quite similar to the Halmstad dialect in Karlshamn, where I come from. Then one day there was an advertisement in the school that they were looking for actors for a film about Gyllene Tider. I never thought it would go well. But it did, and I am incredibly grateful and proud of this opportunity.
Valdemar says:
I went to an open casting in Halmstad. Then there was a year of various casting processes, and you had to go up to Stockholm and meet the others… It was completely crazy. And after a year – “you get the role!” It was actually fun.
Alexander Kardelo from MovieZine asks Valdemar how it was for him to play Per Gessle and to meet him for the first time.
Valdemar says:
It was a little nerve-racking. I met him for the first time at Hotel Tylösand together with Per, the director, and our photographer. Meeting the king in Halmstad, it was quite special. He’s a rock star. But when you meet him a few times, you notice that he is a regular Halmstad guy, he has a Halmstad sense of humor and likes Halmstad. I’m from Halmstad myself, so it’s fun.
MovieZine wants to know if PG gave any hints on how to play him. Valdemar asked Per if he had any idea how he wanted Valdemar to portray him, but Per only said “it will be fine, do your thing and it will work out”. Valdemar has followed that advice.
Ville also met MP and says he is an incredibly nice man. Ville didn’t really dare to ask for tips. They mostly talked about music stuff, that’s what MP is most passionate about. He is a music nerd. A gadget nerd. Ville can recognize himself in that.
To MovieZine’s question regarding what the biggest challenge has been for the guys, Ville replies:
I haven’t had any major problems with the music, rather with the practical things. When you come to a film shoot for the first time and don’t really know where to go or who to ask. That was mostly what I found complicated. Keeping track of everything.
Valdemar says:
The challenge? Probably that it was such a big role. I knew it was Per Gessle and that it was the main role, but there was a lot of preparation. Everything from wearing a pair of shoes to singing like Gessle, learning lines from a thick booklet… It was a lot of work, although it has been incredibly fun. I walked around in cowboy boots for six months.
Alexander thinks that all five of the guys have a wonderful energy in the film. They really feel like a band, the interplay is clear and believable. He is curious about how the guys found this personal chemistry.
Ville says:
It came almost immediately. We got on very well with each other. We practiced quite a bit during pre-production, to get this band feel and the jargon between the members. Now I feel that we are good friends also in retrospect.
Valdemar says:
That was a good casting! It was lucky that they have cast everyone in Gyllene Tider as they are. There are slightly different basic features, but the basis is the same, I think.
“Sommartider” follows Gyllene Tider during the work on the first three records. MovieZine thinks there might be more to tell and Alexander asks the guys if they would come back for a sequel.
Ville:
It’s clear that a lot of things happened after, they split up and everything. But it’s hard for me to say, I’m just acting.
Valdemar:
It would be fun to play Per again! You have now settled into the role, the hard work is done. Now you can go back and take out your notes if a sequel comes up, so absolutely.
To the question what they think they will be doing in five years, Ville replies:
I’m really interested in music, guitar and hard rock. I would loved to start a band, play music and sing.
Valdemar says:
I educate myself to be an actor. So I hope I can work with that and earn a living. But you never know, there is strong competition. There are a lot of good Swedish actors, so let’s see how it goes. But it has always been one of my dreams to become an actor.
Valdemar describes Gyllene Tider and what made their songs so big:
First of all, it’s very good music. Then I think it’s a very good band. If you see them on YouTube, it’s a hell of a lot of fun. They are the band from Halmstad, they are a bit country folk and I think people appreciate something so different. They stood out with their clothes, style and music. And as I understand it, it was precisely that Per Gessle and Gyllene Tider liked the music they played. It was different from others at the time. Back then it was a lot of prog, but they played a bit more commercially. And they are nice guys. I think people like it. They are nice and genuine and have good songs. It’s been great fun to play such a role, which isn’t so tough all the time. They want to be tough, but they can’t, haha. I like that about them.
Ville’s favourite GT songs:
I like their slightly rockier songs, like “Marie i växeln” and “(Dansar inte lika bra som) Sjömän”… “Ska vi älska, så ska vi älska till Buddy Holly”. They are a bit more uptempo, with long guitar solos.
To the question what they carry with them as the funniest memory from the shooting, Valdemar replies:
The concert scenes.
Ville says:
We recorded several live shows, with 200 extras screaming their heads off.
Valdemar confirms they had amazing extras at all the gigs they had. Especially at Liseberg and at Annexet in Stockholm. They gave it their all, so the guys felt like rock stars.
When the guys are asked about what they prefer to see when they go to the cinema, Ville says:
It’s a bit mixed. The movies I watched when I was a kid I can rewatch as many times as I want, like “Star Wars” and Disney cartoons. But also “Inglourious Basterds” and stuff like that. There are very good movies.
Valdemar says:
It’s just like with songs. What am I craving for today? It is very entertaining to watch “Iron Man” or “Avatar” with cool effects and worlds. But with the film school I have seen many classics. “The Seventh Seal” is a movie I really like. I don’t know why, but I’ve seen it 4-5 times. One of my absolute favourite films is “The Big Blue”. I don’t know why. It’s kind of spiritual in a way. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it.
Photo: Nordisk Film Sverige