Ronia: The Robber's Daughter
Short description
Ronia lives with her parents and their band of robbers in a castle in the middle of a great forest. A lightning strike during the night of her birth splits the stronghold in two, and the other half becomes home to a rival band led by Borka, whose son Birk is born the same night. The two children meet in the woods, help each other through dangerous encounters with strange creatures, and become close friends. Their fathers, bitter enemies, forbid them to see each other, and the conflict between the two bands grows worse when Mattis takes Birk prisoner. Ronia leaves home rather than accept her father's treatment of her friend, and she and Birk settle together in a cave in the forest.
The film is based on Astrid Lindgren's novel, which she adapted for the screen herself. Tage Danielsson directed; it was his second feature, following Gröna Hund in 1962. Hanna Zetterberg and Dan Håfström play the two children, with Börje Ahlstedt and Lena Nyman as Ronia's parents and Per Oscarsson and Med Reventberg as Birk's. Made on a substantial budget of about 18 million dollars by Swedish and Norwegian production companies, it runs just over two hours.
On IMDb it holds a 7.3 rating from roughly 13,000 votes, and on TMDB it has a 7 from about 200 votes, indicating a solid, widely seen family adventure.
What's left behind the scenes
- The version of the film released on Swedish television two years later was twenty minutes longer than the theatrical release. Unlike it, it also did not receive any age restrictions. The original was not recommended for viewers under 7 years of age.
- Preliminary work on the film began even before the completion and publication of Astrid Lindgren's book in 1981. Olle Hellborn was supposed to direct it, but he unexpectedly died in June 1982 at the stage of searching for funding sources and pre-production. There was talk that the production of the film would have to be completely shut down, however, too much money had already been invested in it and the work was decided to continue.
- Director Tage Danielsson read excerpts from Astrid Lindgren's book to the actors and crew every morning. This was done to better prepare them for the scenes scheduled for that day.
- "Ronja, the Robber's Daughter" became the highest-grossing film of 1984 in Sweden. The film's total box office revenue in Sweden alone exceeded its production and release preparation costs by more than twice.
- It was the first Swedish film to use computer special effects. They were used to create terrifying flying creatures resembling vultures that hunt Ronja and Birk.
- The final scene of the film was shot last.
- For the scene where the robbers run out into the snow to bathe naked, two large portable saunas were installed and camouflaged in the cave. The actors sat inside, and on command, the doors were thrown open and they ran out into the snow.
- Well-known Swedish composer Björn Isfält appears in a cameo as the minstrel of a wealthy baroness who is robbed by bandits at the beginning of the film.
- Almost all outdoor scenes were filmed in various mountainous and forested regions in southwestern Sweden. The duel between Mattis and Bork was filmed in the Stockholm suburb of Solna. Several scenes were also shot in the abandoned limestone mine of Ticarpsgrottan near the town of Hässleholm in central Sweden. Studio filming took place in Stockholm and Oslo.
- To play the role of the oldest robber, Per Lysuh, the renowned Swedish actor Alan Edwall was forced to adhere to a very strict diet. It took around four hours each day to apply his makeup.
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