Mälarpirater (1923)

Mälarpirater: Directed by Gustaf Molander. With Einar Hanson, Albert Christiernsson, Tom Walter, Nils Aréhn. Three boys steal a sailboat and sail away for a summer adventure on Lake Mälaren. Based on Sigfrid Siwertz’s novel.

“u0026quot;Mälarpirater,u0026quot; as in pirates of Lake Malar (or Mälaren, the third largest lake in Sweden, near Stockholm), is an adaptation of Sigfrid Siwertzu0026#39;s novel, and I suppose it may be compared to juvenile-oriented fiction in the English language, such as the likewise aquatic boyish adventure Mark Twainu0026#39;s u0026quot;Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.u0026quot; It almost, or partly, works as a youthful, less dramatic variation on my favorite sort of Swedish silent films, of a battle between man and nature. Indeed, Gustaf Molander started in filmmaking writing screenplays for the two great practitioners of this Swedish genre, Victor Sjöström and Mauritz Stiller. These include great works such as u0026quot;Terje Vigenu0026quot; (1917) and u0026quot;Sir Arneu0026#39;s Treasureu0026quot; (1919). The cinematography here of the lake by Axel Lindblom is lovely, and thereu0026#39;s a bit of stormy weather early on as well as more drama later over the boysu0026#39; steering of their ship.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOn land, some horseback riding aside, the film is less compelling, and the entire plot of the runaway orphans is episodic. A bit of horror parody, the depiction of the romantic life of children and the caricaturized portrayal of adults all falls flat. But, when the boys are having an adventure and battling the elements, itu0026#39;s fun and a nice picture to look at.”