Everlasting Moments (2008) - Jan Troell

Based on a true story, Jan Troell's Everlasting Moments is an impressive drama about one woman's perseverance through life, managing to be a film that balances its high-octane drama with its more quiet meditative moments.  The film is based on Maria Larsson, a Finnish mother and housewife, who devotes all of her well-being to her family, throwing her own personal sense of fulfillment by the way side in an attempt to care for her family.  Her husband, Sigge, a drunkard, sometimes abusive, womanizing man in no way, shape, or form, deserves Maria's affection but she pushes through this destructive relationship due mainly to the sanctity of marriage instilled in her by her devout father.  When changing times lead to the family's economic circumstances growing more and more dire, a glimmer of hope is offered to Maria in the form of a a camera won in a local lottery.  While Maria initially tries to pawn off the camera, the store owner Sebastian convinces her to keep it, teaching her to use it, which in turn leads Maria down a path of personal fulfillment as she begins to grow a bit of reputation around town for her gorgeous, instinctive artistic ability as a photographer.  Jan Troell's Everlasting Moments is very personal story told on a grand stage, a film that documents nearly 20 years in the life of Maria and her family, using their story to deliver subtextual examinations on class, religion, gender roles, artistic fulfillment and expression.  Through Maria's story, Everlasting Moments is a subtle, and at times, not-so-subtle celebration of art and photography, capturing artistic expression's ability to instill emotion and purpose in a person, as well the importance of photography as simply a means to objectively document history.  Photography instills Maria with a sense of purpose outside of maternal dedication, with the photos she creates giving her a sense of accomplishment and empowerment, a sense of individuality that keeps her from feeling simply like a second-class citizen, or worse parent, to the brutish Sigge.  Everlasting Moments does a great job at capturing the wonder and unpredictability of life throughout its story, with Maria and her family being faced with major changes such as harsh economic downturns, and the first World War.  The film captures how little control these characters have over their surroundings, in essence being a film that praises the sacrifice of Maria as a character, a woman who cares very much for her family but also struggles with defining herself as a person.  Maria is a character who essentially feels imprisoned in her own home, due to the crudeness of woman's rights at the time, as well as her own god-fearing beliefs centered around the sanctity of marriage.  She simply can't leave Sigge, as much as she may want too, and perhaps one of the Everlasting Moments most important aspects is how it captures the lack of control Maria had in her home simply due to being a woman and not a man.  Everlasting Moments is a beautiful film to look at as well, featuring a warm, sepia-toned type of aesthetic which evokes a sense of hope throughout its running time.  Sunlight is a major presence throughout the film as well, often overexposed and overpowering in the frame, as if Troell is commenting on Maria's unwavering devotion to her family and her sense of hope regardless of the dark circumstances that surround her.  Ultimately an uplifting story of one woman's sacrifices made for her family, Jan Troell's Everlasting Moments never falls too harshly into sentimentality, being a powerful film about the importance of personal fulfillment and empowerment, while touching on interesting subtext centered around gender, class, and religion. 

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