The Best Intentions (1992) on Netflix
NR19923h 2mBiographyDramaRomance
Henrik Bergman, a poor theology student preparing for the priesthood, meets Anna Åkerblom, the wealthy sister of his friend Ernst. Her family doubts the match, but the two grow close.
- Netflix4.0/5
- IMDb7.7/103,802 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes81%
Trailer
Plot summary
Henrik Bergman prepares for the ministry in the Church of Sweden and has little money. His friend Ernst introduces him to Ernst's sister Anna Åkerblom, who comes from a wealthy family and is vain and stubborn; Henrik considers her elitist, though he also finds her attractive. Henrik is living with Frida, a waitress, when Anna seduces him and suggests they become engaged. As the two see more of each other, Henrik keeps his relationship with Frida going in secret. Anna's mother Karin tells him plainly that he does not belong among the Åkerbloms, and that her daughter needs a man mature enough to care for her, which she says he is not.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Best Intentions (1992)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Ingmar Bergman insisted on casting Pernilla Östergren, later Pernilla August, as Anna after she played Maj in Fanny and Alexander. Director Bille August had never met her before The Best Intentions and later married her; she accepted the part without knowing it had been written for her, which she said would have frightened her.
- Professor Rochelle Wright documented where the film departs from history: the real Erik and Karin, unlike Henrik and Anna, met as second cousins, and their separation was due not to treatment for an illness in Switzerland but to her nursing studies in Stockholm and Gothenburg.
- Producer Ingrid Dahlberg secured the kr 67 million budget by approaching various broadcasters across Europe, and the film was estimated to be the most expensive Scandinavian film in history.
- Sweden entered The Best Intentions as its submission for the 1992 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but the Academy deemed it ineligible because the same material had previously aired as a television miniseries.
