I thought the movie was beautiful, but I am not sure why Erik lied to Olof at the end.
I thought he lied so that Olof would not be too hurt (since his impression of her would turn negative when he knows she is a thief)
Or did he just want to make Olof stupid and get out of his debt?
I find his character a bit tough to understand.
I think that's pretty obvious. Erik tried to get rid of his debt and the fact Olof is illiterate was an easy way to make up the story of her as a thief. I also have in mind Olof's reply in the end of conversation: "I cannot read but I'm not stupid", he said to Erik, who seemed very disturbed and uncomfortable hearing this.
shareEric was jealous from the first moment he saw Ellen.
And he has been shown as a lyer before (towards his girlfriend).
I agree with you that his character is hard to understand.
I might add that for me, the "friendship" between him an the ingenious farmer is inunderstandable, too.
English is not my first language. Any corrections are welcome.
Erik loved the fact that Olof bought his b.s. stories and gave him lots of cash. Erik met his match in Ellen who saw right through his supposed friendship for Olaf and posed a threat to his cozy set-up. Erik's feeble attempt to discredit Ellen and write off his debt failed because Olof learned to recognize true friendship in Ellen and sensed Erik's duplicity.
I had to beat them to death with their own shoes. Nasty business, really.
That you for your input on this film.
Since you did ask for corrections, there are two words which are misspelled.
"lyer" is spelled "liar"
"inunderstandable" could be said "not understandable"
That said, I am not able to speak or write any other language, so kudos to you!
Because Erik didn't like being displaced in Olof's affections and didn't like that he couldn't manipulate him anymore as he used to. When he sees that even though Ellen's gone Olof still won't be as he was before Ellen it's a last ditch effort to both free Olof from the hold Ellen has over him and to wipe out the debt (which he'll need since he's leaving since on some level he can't live with what he's done and can't face up to how he's hurt Olof).
shareEric was what i call a scumbag friend. I've had a few like this in my time.
Good movie, it grew on me. Grade: B+.
I too thought it was interesting/did not quite understand when Olaf said he couldn't read but he wasn't stupid. Then when he saw Ellen again and it looked like he had been carrying the letter around ever since she left, I guess that was meant to say that he knew Erik had lied and was wishing for someone else to tell him what it really said.
shareFor what it's worth, Erik tells Olof that he's leaving for America on the liner Andrea Doria. The Andrea Doria collided with a Swedish ship and sank in the Atlantic in 1956. A little Karmic payback?
shareThat was a strange inclusion, I thought. I mean, if we're supposed to believe that Erik was going to be on the Andrea Doria's final voyage, then he would have had to travel first to Genoa, which is where the ship left from.
(ETA Nevermind, just watched again, he said he was embarking at Gibraltar)
But we really don't know if poetic justice was served. The Andrea Doria was not the Titanic. Of the 1,700 or so persons on board, 46 died and the remaining 1,660 were rescued (though there were hundreds of injuries among the living).
But Erik was such an unlikeable character that I'm sure many viewers like to imagine that he was among the unfortunate 46.
I'm not sure. I can hazard guesses similar to those on this thread but none of them feel satisfying. I think there was a disconnect in the character of Erik on screen. On the one hand he seemed earnest, charming and likable. Then he changed into an aggressive and unpleasant character and it didn't quite work.
Movement ends, intent continues;share
Intent ends, spirit continues