"Mio, min Mio" av Astrid Lindgren

December 25, 2012 3:53 PM

This 1987 live-action film version of an allegorical fantasy by Swedish children's author Astrid Lindgren was co-produced by Swedish, Norwegian, and Soviet filmmakers; shot in Sweden, Scotland, and the USSR; and starred a mixed British/Russian/Swedish cast. Among others, it featured confirmed wizard Christopher Lee and an adolescent Christian "This Isn't a Car" Bale, and was scored by Abba's Benny Andersson.

The film appeared as Mio in the Land of Faraway in English (1 | 2 | 3 | 4). In Russian it appeared under the same title as the original novel: Мио мой Мио. While the film was shot in English, it was also dubbed into Swedish, Russian, and several other languages for distribution.

Here are some listenable bits from the soundtrack: Overture | Journey to the Land of Faraway | The Shepherd's Flute | The Hunt for Mio and Jum-Jum | The Sword | The Final Battle

Enjoy!

posted by Nomyte (11 comments total)

Awww. I thought this was going to be the Brothers Lionheart.
posted by MartinWisse at 3:56 PM on December 25, 2012 [2 favorites]

I'm not sure the world is ready for a live-action Brothers Lionheart film.
posted by Nomyte at 3:57 PM on December 25, 2012 [1 favorite]

Ah, but a live-action Brothers Lionheart film had indeed been made in 1977. Merry Christmas!
posted by Smart Dalek at 4:09 PM on December 25, 2012 [3 favorites]

I saw this a long time ago at a film festival. I don't remember it being very good -- kind of sub Neverending Story. The first problem was, they gave the lead to the wrong kid. Not young Batman/Patrick Bateman who played the best friend but some other kid, who was cuter, I guess.
posted by philip-random at 4:22 PM on December 25, 2012

The first problem was, they gave the lead to the wrong kid. Not young Batman/Patrick Bateman who played the best friend but some other kid, who was cuter, I guess.

Don't worry, that "some other kid" got what was coming to him. He's currently 17 years into a life sentence in a prison called Hollyoaks.
posted by Sys Rq at 4:43 PM on December 25, 2012 [4 favorites]

I've seen this! Weird as mess but...never mind, weird as mess.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 5:14 PM on December 25, 2012

MartinWisse: "Awww. I thought this was going to be the Brothers Lionheart."

That book was such a downer for me to read when I was about ten. The ending really disturbed me.
posted by dunkadunc at 6:20 PM on December 25, 2012

That book was such a downer for me to read when I was about ten. The ending really disturbed me.

Oh yes. Don't worry if things are awful! Just kill yourself and they'll be much, much better! And if that doesn't work, you can kill yourself again!
posted by Joe in Australia at 6:45 PM on December 25, 2012

Christopher Lee and Christian Bale were also in a version of Treasure Island starring Charlton Heston and directed by his son Fraser Clarke Heston. Also featured: Oliver Reed and Pete Postlethwaite. It's much better than you might expect, literally recreating many of the famous Treasure Island illustrations by N.C. Wyeth, and Heston is fantastically threatening and duplicitous as Long John Silver.

I don't know what to say about this, except that if Christopher Lee and Christian Bale are in a film together, it may be worth checking out.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 7:17 PM on December 25, 2012 [1 favorite]

Did you say Christopher Lee? Christopher Lee is 90 years old and just released a heavy metal Christmas double-A side
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:40 PM on December 25, 2012 [1 favorite]

Hey, I remember this film! I must have been eight or nine when I saw it on TV and back then, I remember that I really liked the bit with panpipes. In retrospect, I guess I must have been pretty messed up as a child.
posted by daniel_charms at 11:57 PM on December 25, 2012