MovieChat Forums > River (2015) Discussion > A Swede named River?

A Swede named River?

posted 8 years ago by miffo
13 replies | jump to latest

It seems strange to me, as a Swede, that he would have such a Anglo clinging name instead of a more traditionally Swedisg sounding name. Even if it's to play to an English audience, there's lots of names that would be good for both. I mean, a name like River would literally mean "tearing" as in tearinug up a piece of paper.

Now, I do realise of course that there's fully plaudibe explanations for the name. It just seems odd to me to choose that name as a title.

Some might find me morally challenged or morally ambiguous. I prefer morally creative.

[–] nimrond 8 years ago

He moved to his grandmother when he was six - to Britain. That grandmother was most likely British and where the name came from. Maybe she was from his father's side, not his mother's (a Swede)?
Also, did his mother move to France after she left him behind or why was Stevie quoting her in French?

[–] miffo 8 years ago

Ah, ok.
I haven't seen all episodes yet, so I might have been a bit premature in my questioning the name.
I think it's odd though that he has a distinct accent, as if he's been speaking Swedish most of his life in that case.
Stellan can speak English with much of a lesser accent than that, so I can only assume it's intentional.

Some might find me morally challenged or morally ambiguous. I prefer morally creative.

[–] nimrond 8 years ago

Ah, I thought you would have watched all of it before discussing such topics here. I hope I haven't spoiled anything!

When he mostly spoke to figments of his imagination during his childhood, I would assume he talked a lot in Swedish and - lonely as he was - seldom in English until he became a (not very social) police officer. That might explain why he never managed to get rid of the accent.

[–] miffo 8 years ago

No worries at all. Being a good show and all, I'm not that concerned about spoilers to be honest. Usually, just browsing the topics on IMDB boards tend to give away quite a lot, so I knew what I was in for anyway.

It does make sense to a bit, but if he was age 6 when he moved to Britain, even being a lonely kid, in his 50's (or even 60's as Stellan is currently) the accent should be gone. I noticed myself that since moving to Ireland, my own accent has decreased a lot, and I moved here when I was in my late 20's, and only lived here for about a decade now. At 6, your language is still forming, so it just feels a bit stretched to me, but I can accept it.

Some might find me morally challenged or morally ambiguous. I prefer morally creative.

[–] nimrond 8 years ago

Oh, so you are Swedish?
Anyway, you can of course lose your accent in very few years, especially when young and when it's a not too distant language. So you're probably right about it being very, very unlikely to still have that much of an accent 50 years later...
But for me at least, it wasn't standing out in a negative way.
Enjoy the rest of the series!

[–] voyeuse 8 years ago

He was 14 when he moved to England, to live with his mother after his grandmother, whom he lived with in Sweden from age 6, died.

[–] lemner 8 years ago

It sounded like he never lived with his mother after she abandoned him at age 6. He said he bought her dinner, or something, but they had nothing to say to each other.

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[–] Rolltide (964) 3 years ago

They never said his grandmother was British.

[–] mr_bad666 8 years ago

I thought perhaps he was named "Ström" when coming to England.
And then changed it to the more English sounding namne "River".
Which is a translation of his own family name.

I've only seen the first episode, so I'm just guessing :D

[–] Catdubh 8 years ago

Ström actually means current. Flod is river. My last name is Nystrom, which literally means new current. I realize that current and river have the exact same meaning, in terms of bodies of water and perhaps River sounded more appealing than Current, if his surname was in fact Ström, when he arrived in England.
I'm going on the premise that his surname was actually River, and that his paternal grandparents were English.

Jack's not dead! Jack would never die without telling me, first!

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[–] Stirchley 7 years ago

To me, River was chosen metaphorically as his name by Abi Morgan. We saw many shots of the River Thames. You could make the case that he was the river connecting all the different people in the series. Also water is symbolic of emotions.

[–] nimmy1 8 years ago

I realize that current and river have the exact same meaning

They don't. River is the body of the water, current is how fast the river is flowing.

Bit like River is the man, current is how fast he is running!

Only those with no valid argument pick holes in people's spelling and grammar. 

[–] Mackie-Messer 8 years ago

'Rivers' would be a far more typical British name.