The Slingshot (film)

{{About|the 1993 Swedish film|other films|Slingshot (disambiguation)}}

{{Infobox film

| name = The Slingshot

| image =

| caption =

| director = Åke Sandgren

| producer = Waldemar Bergendahl
Miro Vostiar

| writer = Åke Sandgren
Roland Schütt (novel)

| starring = {{Plain list |

| music =

| cinematography = Göran Nilsson

| editing =

| distributor = {{Plain list |

Svenska Filminstitutet (Scandinavia)
Sony Pictures Classics (International)}}

| released = {{film date|1993|9|24|df=yes|Sweden}}

| runtime = 102 minutes

| country = Sweden

| language = Swedish

| budget =

| gross = $309,117 (USA){{Mojo title|slingshot}}

}}

The Slingshot ({{langx|sv|Kådisbellan}}) is a Swedish drama film which was released to cinemas in Sweden on 24 September 1993,{{cite web|url=http://www.sfi.se/sv/svensk-filmdatabas/Item/?itemid=17889&type=MOVIE&iv=Basic|title=Kådisbellan|publisher=Swedish Film Database|language=Swedish|date=24 September 1993|access-date=7 October 2016}} starring Jesper Salén, Stellan Skarsgård and Basia Frydman. Directed by Åke Sandgren, the film was based on Roland Schütt's 1989 autobiographical novel of the same name (translates to "The Condom Slingshot").

Plot

Roland (Salén) is the 12-year-old son of a Russian Jewish mother (Frydman) and a socialist father (Skarsgård), coming of age in 1920s Stockholm. Due to his family's background he has become an outcast, a constant target of bullying by his peers, and often humiliated and physically punished by a sadistic schoolteacher (Ernst-Hugo Järegård) in front of classmates. In retaliation against his tormentors, Roland steals condoms from his mother's tobacco shop inventory and turns them into crude slingshot weapons. He also falls in love with a neighbourhood girl (Frida Hallgren) but as Roland attempts to toughen up and improve his troubled life, he also allies with the wrong group of friends and inadvertently makes himself a juvenile offender.

Shooting

Most outdoor scenes were shot in Prague{{cite web|url=http://www.sfi.se/sv/svensk-filmdatabas/Item/?itemid=17889&type=MOVIE&iv=RecordingPlace|title=Kådisbellan|publisher=Svensk filmdatabas|language=Swedish|access-date=7 October 2016}} as the Stockholm townscape at the time was considered to have undergone too many changes to depict the 1920s.

Cast

Jesper Salén as Roland Schütt
Stellan Skarsgård as Fritiof Schütt
Basia Frydman as Zipa Schütt
Niklas Olund as Bertil Schütt
Ernst-Hugo Järegård as Teacher Lundin
Ernst Günther as Principal
Axel Düberg as Inspector Gissle
Reine Brynolfsson as Hinke Berggren
Heinz Hopf as Shoe salesman
Frida Hallgren as Margit
Tomas Norström as Boxing Trainer
Ing-Marie Carlsson as Karin Adamsson
Rolf Lassgård as Prisoner

Reception

=Critical response=

The Slingshot has an approval rating of 89% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 9 reviews, and an average rating of 6.9/10.{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/kadisbellan-slingshot|title=The Slingshot|website=Rotten Tomatoes}}

AllMovie critic Clarke Fountain called the film an "affectionate, richly detailed portrait",{{cite web|url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/v131186|title = The Slingshot (1993) - Åke Sandgren | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie}} while film critic James Berardinelli gave the film three and a half out of four stars and called it "a wonderful mix of tragedy, humor, and triumph."{{cite web|url=http://preview.reelviews.net/movies/s/slingshot.html|title = Review: The Slingshot}} Conversely, the Washington Post had an unfavorable view of the movie and called the story "a catalogue of catastrophes that surely left the real protagonist with many emotional scars."{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/theslingshotrkempley_a0a476.htm |title='The Slingshot' (R) |work=Washingtonpost.com |date=1994-07-15 |accessdate=2022-06-30}}

=Awards and nominations=

At the 29th Guldbagge Awards the film won the award for Best Film.{{cite web |url=http://www.sfi.se/en-GB/Swedish-film-database/Item/?type=MOVIE&itemid=17889&iv=Awards |title=Kådisbellan (1993) |publisher=Swedish Film Institute |date=23 March 2014}} Åke Sandgren was nominated for both Best Director and Best Screenplay, while Basia Frydman was nominated for Best Actress.

The film was the Swedish submission to the 66th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film, but did not make nomination.http://movies.tvguide.com/the-slingshot/129966 {{Dead link|date=March 2022}}Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences{{cite journal | last = Frook | first = John Evan | title = Acad inks Cates, unveils foreign-language entries | journal = Variety | date=30 November 1993| url = https://www.variety.com/article/VR116185.html?categoryid=13&cs=1 | access-date =25 August 2008}}

=Year-end lists=

Best "sleepers" (not ranked) – Dennis King, Tulsa World{{cite news|last=King|first=Dennis|date=December 25, 1994|title=SCREEN SAVERS In a Year of Faulty Epics, The Oddest Little Movies Made The Biggest Impact|newspaper=Tulsa World|page=E1|edition=Final Home}}