Den allvarsamma leken by Hjalmar Söderberg

Apart from deceived spouses, children are now also involved. Through a chance reunion, a torrid affair begins. Lydia marries an older, well-todo man and Arvid ties matrimonial bonds with a woman of a family of means. Due to meagre financial conditions, however, the couple cannot build a joint future. It takes him a while to get a grip on himself.” Arvid, it hit me repeatedly, is quite passive in his choices. But when you boil it down, it’s a story of choices and, equally important, non-choices.

But Lydia is very much a woman in the forefront she was probably born some one hundred years to soon… So there is that. Granted, some conditions are notably different, such as the position of women in the early 1900’s, not being allowed to vote and such. “There are many applicable contemporary aspects. “It surely has to do with our ability to identify with the emotional drama,” observes August.

Söderberg’s work seems to age quite well, if at all. Dreyer’s 1964 classic and The Serious Game in 1945 by Söderberg’s son-in-law Rune Carlsten, starring Viveca Lindfors, and again in 1977, directed by Anja Breien. Book and play have been adapted for the screen over the years, Gertrud in Denmark through Carl Th. Both the novel and the theatre play Gertrud (1907) draw from the author’s own extramarital affair with one Maria von Platen. Hjalmar Söderberg’s The Serious Game ( Den allvarsamma leken) was published in 1912. Can we relate to what’s happening here? Turning these things into an ‘us’ and into a ‘now’.

‘Turn-of-the-century’ plus ‘love story’ equals ‘yes, this will be good!’, and also a challenge, in trying to turn the period into something relevant for our own time. “I started by re-reading the book for the first time since… probably my teenage years. Fresh from her triumphs with Beyond ( Svinalängorna, 2010), Pernilla August felt like simply the best person in this day and age to give this story a life. The ensuing search for a fitting director was almost non-existent. Scherfig ( Italian for Beginners, An Education) was tied up with other directorial duties, but most willingly wrote a script. The background involves logistics and inspired thinking. Lone is also quite an excellent director in her own right.” He was producing and she wrote the script. “I was approached by Patrik Andersson and Lone Scherfig. I’m not sure if I’m ready to talk about it yet,” she says, again smiling. Soon, the film will have its world premiere in Berlin. August (the director) shot the final scenes in August (the month), after which editing and other aspects of post-production commenced. It’s December, a few days before Christmas 2015, and the finished print of A Serious Game ( Den allvarsamma leken) is all but ready to see the world. “Right now I’m looking forward to some acting,” smiles Pernilla August.

Den allvarsamma leken by Hjalmar Söderberg