- Release year: 1950
- Director: Hasse Ekman.
- Producer: Hasse Ekman.
- Screenplay by: Hasse Ekman.
- Cinematography by: Göran Strindberg.
- Music by: Erland von Koch.
Synopsis: after a young woman kills herself, her neighbour decides to investigate who she was in order to understand her passing.
Shotgun Commentary: gorgeously tragic masterpiece.
Review
Girl with Hyacinths is a one-of-a-kind film. An investigation into the reasons why a young woman would hang herself, carried out by her neighbours, who barely knew her. This is a bit of a noir meets OMITB (2021–) situation where the investigators uncover the truth out of pure curiosity, but the moral ambiguity and the cynicism remain front and centre of the narrative. Radiance has released a 2K physical copy of this film along with Not Guilty (1947) and The Lost One (1950) in their box set World Noir Vol. 3. More on this after the review.
An enthralling mystery
The film follows Anders Wikner (Ulf Palme), a writer whose neighbour has killed herself and left him and his wife as the sole heirs of everything she owns. Out of morbid curiosity, Anders begins to investigate what kind of person his neighbour, Dagmar (Eva Henning), was and why she would want to take her own life. He is assisted by his wife, Britt (Birgit Tengroth), who turns out to be a lot more insightful than him.
The investigation is built much like a theatre play, each new player in the life of Dagmar introduces themselves, talks about their relationship with her, and leaves “the stage”. With each new statement, you slowly fill in the gaps of the person that was Dagmar. However, a very curious phenomenon occurs too. It is almost impossible to determine for sure who she was because she was mostly quiet and static, becoming a canvas for others to project their own ideas of her rather than getting to know her.
Bottomless depth
Dagmar is a deeply sorrowful character cursed into wanting a life she can never have, thus becoming a blank page for others to write their own fantasies. She’s a wounded bird for her actress flatmate, fulfilling the thespian’s complex of saviour despite her needing saving herself. The blessing and curse of a drunk artist, the love and enemy of her military husband, and the broken-hearted fan of an egotistical singer. She is all of those to all of them, and yet none of that at all. She is a woman with a secret and an itch she can never scratch, a tragedy about to happen, a salmon swimming against the current.
Because of Dagmar’s hypnotically cursed nature, she is a total mystery to all the men in her life, father, husband, and lovers. Men at the time, and often nowadays too, tend to see only what they want to see. Not because they are evil, but because that is how they are brought up. This reality is perfectly portrayed in the account of Dagmar’s passing. They cry, yell, drink… They are in constant need for reassurance, love, and admiration, and lash out when things don’t go their way, either physically by drinking and causing a ruckus, or emotionally by convincing themselves that they are superior to Dagmar morally, intellectually and emotionally.
Gender and perspective
Despite all, men are praised for their “strength” when they lash out, while women are branded “too emotional” or “hysterical” when they dare speak their minds, no matter how calmly. As such, it comes as no surprise that, despite his initial curiosity in the mystery of Dagmar, Anders never actually finds out the truth of why she kills herself. He finds the weak and nonsensical reasoning of the egotistical singer a completely logical explanation, while his wife, more used to listening and being patient, keeps pulling from the thread and actually figures out the truth.
This also brings up an interesting topic, the fluidity of logic. It is easy to judge the singer’s theory as ridiculous when you are the spectator and know as much as the writer does. However, if you consider merely the singer’s point of view, his explanation to Dagmar’s death is, regrettably, quite logical. It is only when you are willing to dig deeper into her life and to actually listen to her actions instead of people’s impressions and theories, that you can reach the real truth. That is, a brand-new logic that renders the previous one obsolete.
All in all, Girl with Hyacinths is a mystery worth unravelling. The type of story that could prompt an hours-long conversation, and one you’ll definitely want to revisit down the road. It is a beautifully crafted film with wonderful performances and a superb narrative that you won’t regret watching more than once.
Radiance’s Blu-ray box set World Noir Vol. 3 is out now. Link and details below!
BLU-RAY LIMITED EDITION BOX SET SPECIAL FEATURES
- 4K restoration of Not Guilty by Tf1 presented on Blu-ray for the first time with English subtitles
- High-Definition digital transfer of The Lost One, presented on Blu-ray for the first time with English subtitles
- 2K restoration of Girl with Hyacinths, presented on Blu-ray for the first time outside of Sweden
- Original uncompressed mono PCM audio for all films
- Newly improved optional English subtitles for all films
- Newly designed artwork based on original posters
- Limited edition 80-page perfect bound book featuring archival pieces and new writing by critics and experts including Farran Nehme, Martyn Waites, Elena Lazic, Jourdain Searles, and more
- Limited Edition of 3,000 copies presented in a rigid box with full-height Scanavo cases for each film and removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings
GIRL WITH HYACINTHS BLU-RAY FEATURES
- 2K restoration of Girl with Hyacinths, presented on Blu-ray for the first time outside of Sweden
- Original uncompressed mono PCM audio
- Audio commentary by Peter Jilmstad (2025)
- Meeting with Hasse – in this TV documentary, filmmaker and actor Hasse Ekman discusses his career (1993, 63 mins)
- Golden Streaks in My Blood: Seeing and Not Seeing in Girl with Hyacinths – a new visual essay by Julia Armfield (2025, 11 mins)
- Newly improved optional English subtitles
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork
Find the Radiance release right here!
Advice to take from this movie:
- You never really know a person completely.
- You can’t help a person who doesn’t want help.
- Assuming is the enemy of learning.
What’s your take? Have you watched Girl with Hyacinths? Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀