Who Saw Him Die?

Sören Mårtensson teaches at a middle school. His classroom is full of half-grown children and nobody listens to him. The work grinds him down a little more each day. He is not at ease at home either; at night he has nightmares. His ordinary life slowly becomes unbearable and he starts to lose hold of himself. Jan Troell's Swedish film puts Per Oscarsson at its centre. Troell photographed and edited it himself. The telling builds no event; it shows the repetition of the school and of the days. The film won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 1968. Black and white images and a handheld camera are its most distinctive feature.