Emil of Lonneberga

Emil, who lives on a farm in the Swedish region of Smaland, means no harm and causes constant disaster. He gets his head stuck in a soup bowl, hoists his sister up the flagpole and gives away his father's money. After every episode he is shut in the woodshed, where he keeps carving little wooden men. Olle Hellbom directed, from Astrid Lindgren's books, with the author writing the screenplay herself. Jan Ohlsson plays Emil. The production was financed jointly by Sweden and Germany, and the farm was built in a real village, a location reused in the later films and the series. What still works is its view of the child: Emil is punished but the film never presents him as bad; what is funny is the adults' panic. The carvings in the woodshed act as the story's counter, each figure standing for one catastrophe. The series became a generational fixture in Scandinavia and is still broadcast every year. Who it is for: viewers who like classic children's literature adaptations and family films. Who it is not for: anyone wanting pace; the film keeps to the rhythm of rural life.