The first trailer for Lasse Hallström’s next film Hilma has been released on Viaplay. The film, which stars Hallström’s wife Lena Olin and his daughter Tora Hallström as the pioneering abstract artist Hilma af Klint, tells a female story “about the restorative power of art, friendship, love, and self-liberation.” For most of her life, Klint’s art was ignored as she fought for recognition in a male-dominated field. Klint is seen as a young woman in the trailer receiving a rejection from her male peers. A possible look into her possible romantic involvement with another lady is also included.
Some viewers may be reminded of Céline Sciamma’s lauded Portrait of a Lady on Fire because of this and the era setting. Klint was not just an early proponent of abstract painting, but she was also a mystic whose interest in the supernatural was sparked by the loss of her sister. The trailer shows Klint engaging in a variety of occult practices, leading one to infer that she was instructed by the dead “to document the unseen.” Klint was a member of a group called The Five, whose members bonded over a common desire to communicate with “spirits of the higher world” through séances. Vivian Maier, a photographer, too had her work found long after her death.
While Vincent van Gogh is more well-known for this, he was not given his due during his life. Similarities may be seen between her and Klint’s life stories. Finding Vivian Maier, a film on the photographer’s work, was nominated for an Academy Award and well praised. Hallström is a director who has worked on a wide variety of projects. He got his start making ABBA music videos in his home Sweden. For his work on the films My Life as a Dog and The Cider House Rules, he received 2 Academy Award nominations for Best Director.
In addition to Dear John and Safe Haven, two Nicholas Sparks adaptations, he is well-known for What’s Eating Gilbert Grape and Chocolat. The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, a Disney fantasy film he co-directed with Joe Johnston, was his last feature. Tom Wlaschiha, Jazzy de Lisser, Anna Björk, Adam Lundgren, Martin Wallström, Emmi Tjernström, and Jens Hultén are all featured in Hilma. The United Kingdom is the next stop for the film’s distribution. movies on October 28. As of early 2023, Hilma will also be viewable on the soon-to-be-launched Viaplay U.K. streaming service.
Synopsis
This is a tale of one man’s dogged pursuit of knowledge in an age when men ruled the cosmos. The documentary Hilma delves into the life of the mysterious Swedish artist Hilma af Klint (1862-1944), whose unorthodox and deeply spiritual work went mostly unnoticed for decades. Because of female success in male-dominated art industry, af Klint is now often regarded as one of the earliest abstract painters in the Western world.