A Respectable Life (1979) User Reviews

No thanks, I don't use the horse.

[jim_skreech · 8/10 · 14 March 2013]

Wow, a very heavy, deeply affecting documentary film. We first met Kenneth 'Kenta' Gustafsson and Gustav 'Stoffe' Svensson in 1968's Dom kallar oss mods (They Call Us Mods). Escaping from their abusive, chaotic family lives and into the streets of Stockholm, Kenta and Stoffe were homeless young party animals, high on life (as well as alcohol and weed), rampaging around like an unstoppable two man party. Anyone could image it being a blast hanging round with the two, who were evidently not short of drinking friends or female admirers. The film ended on a darker note, Stoffe breaking into a building and sleeping drunk on the steps, whilst Kente marches off after a row with Stoffe and gets duly picked up by the police. Cut to 10 years later, and the party of the 60s has become the long drawn-out hangover of the 70s. All the free-spirited optimism of the previous decade has gone, and we see the street people of Stockholm ravaged by heroin and alcohol. This portrayal of Stockholm was quite surprise to me, the Sweden of the popular imagination being comfortable, crime and trouble free, and just a little boring, where drug use is heavily penalised and alcohol is far too expensive. We see footage of the drugs scene around Sergels Torg (including some real grim footage of one of the interviewees junking up), and new interviews with some characters from 'Mods', such as Jajje and Kenta Bergquist. Also two prostitutes and the horrendous stories of violence committed again them by their clients. But the main focus is, again, on Kenta and Stoffe, and we are informed already quite early on the film that Stoffe had died during filming. Kenta and Stoffe (as well as some of the re-occurring characters) may only be in their late 20s, but appear far older, weathered by alcohol and substance abuse. We see their family life, Kenta and his parter Eva have a son Patric, drink far too much, but appear to be holding it together; whilst heroin user Stoffe has a small son and a turbulent relationship with his parter, Lena, who later in the film throws him out of the house for being too frequently wasted and abusive (which he doesn't remember anyway). Kenta, a musician and professional rebel, and the one with the more buoyant personality, meets Stoffe later in the film, they hang out together and Kenta tries to convince him to stop using heroin, before the two fall out again. By Stoffe's death being reported earlier in the film instead of at the end, we are being given the sad spectacle of him digging his own grave, trying to delude others that he's doing just fine, when he know he's about to crash. The viewer is not offered the hope of him beating his addiction and being a good father and partner, we are instead watching a man slowly destroying and killing himself. Heroin chic this ain't. Despite the films age (I was born in it's year of release), the impact of the film has not lessened, and we are shown that this country (like many others) of Abba, Volvos, saunas and Ikea, has a grim and frequently untold darker side that we need to be a little more aware of.

Great!

[grisell · 10/10 · 12 August 2002]

This movie was rated 8th in a ballot of the best Swedish films ever made, and I can understand it. Although nowadays a little aged, the intensity and nearness to the ones involved is universal and panchronical. The film bears a witness of how the society is unable to cope with the less well-off. The humanity is overwhelming. As assassinated Olof Palme said: "An incredibly human document". 10/10.

Could possibly be the most frightening film of all times!!!

[anton-6 · 10/10 · 19 November 2001]

This anti-drug film is the second in the "Mods trilogy" the first is "They call us Mods".It´s the same persons as in the first film: The very young people has now grown up but now they take drugs and many of them dies.Kenta and Stoffe(they meet one time in the film and plays bowling) is no longer best friends.Stoffe dies in this film because of drugs.The last film in the trilogy is about Kenta´s and Stoffe´s children.

It´s really a unique Documentary and I think that you should show this films in schools.The music is also fantastic.Could possibly be the most frightening film of all times,it left me speechless.

*****/*****