Miraklet i Gullspång (2023)
Genre: Documentary / Mystery
Duration: 108 minuten
Alternative title: The Gullspång Miracle
Country:
Norway / Sweden / Denmark
Directed by: Maria Fredriksson
Stars: Olaug Bakkevoll, Kari Klo and May-Elin Storsletten
IMDb score:
6,9 (2.221)
Releasedate: 27 October 2023
Miraklet i Gullspång plot
When Norwegian sisters Kari and May look for a house to buy in Gullspång, Sweden (where Kari already lives), they are shocked to discover that the seller looks exactly like their deceased older sister, if she were still alive. Death by suicide in 1988, so there's no way Lita could be sitting in front of them. And to make it even stranger, the seller, Oloug, shares the same unique nickname as the late sister, “Lita.”
Reviews & comments
McKoenski
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- 116 messages
- 232 votes
After watching it, the logical question immediately arises for me: fiction or real?
According to the first scenario, this would mean that the documentary form is very artistic and has been captured in great detail, but it rules out an all-revealing outcome.
According to the second scenario, it is the characters and the contradictions within the family that make the succession of new revealing situations sometimes cringe-inducing, sometimes hilarious but strong.
In both cases, the story was too thin for me and the pace too inconsistent, which meant that the film could not always keep my attention. The final conclusion is not there, which the film also indicates. These are not the kind of question marks I would want to leave the cinema with 
Translated from Dutch · View original
mrklm
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- 11659 messages
- 10059 votes
Intriguing and mysterious, but also talkative and ultimately frustrating. In the opening scene, we see how Fredriksson carefully directs main characters May-Elin and Kari before they start this documentary about the miracle that happened to them. It is reminiscent of The Blackwell Ghost and The House In Between, two mediocre 'documentaries' that also balance on the line between documentary and drama. In the end, it doesn't matter whether this is a documentary or not, as long as the story is interesting and told in a captivating way. It starts with May-Elin's search for a painting for the wall. Her sister Kari is there when May-Elin (literally) sees the painting from her dreams hanging. When the sisters meet owner Olaug Bakkevoll, they are astonished: she looks exactly like the sister who ended her life in 1988. A DNA test even shows that Olaug was most likely the twin sister. Her disappearance may have something to do with World War II, when the Nazis used twins for experimentation. This was never discussed within the family, so the sisters decide to re-examine their family history, starting with the death of Olaug's twin sister. A typical story of a fascinating story, boringly told and with an outcome that makes you wonder why you were watching it. Just wait for the credits to find out (more or less) what the truth is.
Translated from Dutch · View original
De filosoof
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- 2489 messages
- 1700 votes
The documentary is about a mystery but what I didn't like is that the filmmaker seems to do her best to tell it as confusing and complex as possible in an attempt to make it all the more interesting: a whole series of people pass by but often you don't see the speaker and you don't really know who he or she is talking about - it doesn't help that the twin sisters were both called Lita - and sometimes you are even misled (such as with the photos of the twins as babies or children or the fact that people were not allowed to see the corpse of the deceased sister). Even without creating that fog and unnecessary confusion, the story is confusing enough: gradually new information leads to the point where even the filmmaker herself no longer understands it. But that too is a bit fake, because while the documentary ends unsatisfactorily open in the sense that you as a viewer are encouraged to weigh many possible explanations and make your own choice (including whether the family murdered the twin sister), the most likely explanation is quickly suggested just before the credits: the twin sisters really are twin sisters but are neither related to the other two sisters.
The best aspect of the film is that the family is very religious and therefore sees a sign from God in every special event, which touches on the theme of the film that also tests the viewer's faith (both in terms of the mystery and in the making of this documentary): what is coincidence, what is manipulation (lie) and what is a miracle?
PS. I don't know why because there is no connection with the film, but the film will be preceded in the cinema by the short Dutch film Wander to Wonder (Film, 2023) which I enjoyed more: a delightful piece of stop-motion animation that is very beautifully designed with a very original and fun story.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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