Movie · 2004 · Romance, Drama, Comedy, Music · 2h 12m · SV
Curator score: 6.7/10 (24.6K ratings)
Overview
A musical romantic tragedy about a famous composer who moves back to his small hometown after having had heart troubles. His search for a simple everyday life leads him into teaching the local church choir, which is not easily accepted by the town yet the choir builds a great love for their teacher.
Ratings
Curator score: 6.7/10
IMDb: 7.5/10
Letterboxd: 3.70/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 83%
TMDB: 7.1/10
Director
Kay Pollak
Production
GF Studios, Sonet Film, Filmpool Nord, SVT, K. Pollak Film, ASA Film Production
Cast
Michael Nyqvist, Frida Hallgren, Helen Sjöholm, Lennart Jähkel, Ingela Olsson, Verena Buratti, Ulla-Britt Norrman-Olsson, Per Morberg, Barbro Kollberg, Niklas Falk, Axelle Axell, Ylva Lööf, Mikael Rahm, André Sjöberg, Mircea Krishan, Kristina Törnqvist, Alexandra Hummingson, Lasse Pettersson
Curator Review
Verdict
A warmly sentimental, music-driven drama with a strong emotional payoff. It can be melodramatic and a little blunt, but the choir setting, small-town friction, and healing-through-art arc give it real crowd-pleasing power.
Best for
viewers who like uplifting ensemble dramas
fans of choir, performance, and community stories
people who don’t mind earnest melodrama
audiences drawn to Scandinavian dramas with heart
Skip if
you need subtle, restrained storytelling
you dislike sentimental or inspirational endings
you’re allergic to soap-opera-level emotional turns
you want a plot that stays grounded and realistic
Overview
As It Is in Heaven is the kind of film that knows exactly how hard it wants to hit your feelings, and mostly succeeds by committing fully to that goal. A celebrated musician returns to a small town after a health scare, and the local choir becomes the unlikely engine for both personal healing and communal upheaval. The premise is familiar, but the film gives it enough sincerity, humor, and musical lift to feel genuinely affecting.
Worth noting
What makes it work is the contrast between the tenderness of the choir scenes and the prickly, often absurd resistance of the town around them. It’s broad, sometimes even shamelessly so, but the emotional directness is part of the appeal. The performances help sell the movie’s belief that music can expose wounds, soften defenses, and give people permission to become themselves.
Bottom line
It won’t be for everyone: the melodrama is heavy, the character behavior can feel exaggerated, and the final stretch leans hard into catharsis. But if you’re open to a big-hearted drama that treats communal singing like a form of salvation, this is a moving and memorable watch.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Rafael "Mister Movie" Jovine (3.5★) · 153 likes
ON THE ROAD: SWEDEN - LAND OF THE TALL, THE SOUNDS, IKEA, ABBA & THE ICE HOTEL
A really moving film with perhaps a pretty familiar premise about a famed person returning to his small hometown, stirring some controversy yet managing to leave a mark on the people. It's so much, so you can say it's almost a subgenre of its own, but nonetheless, you get some great gems. I'm not sure if I would rank it at the top, but… more
DungeonSkramz (3★) · 23 likes
One of those films where nearly every main character needed a hammed up "Oscar-worthy" performance to go along with the cartoonish levels of melodrama. It was that lack of subtlety that ultimately held back a lot of my enjoyment, but there was enough uplifting energy with its theme of music bringing people together to keep me engaged.
Basically my mom's favorite film, and while it didn't have nearly the same impact on me, I could definitely see the appeal. Swedes love their sentimentalism.
Jonathan White (2.5★) · 17 likes
The 2004 Swedish film As It is In Heaven reminded me of the previous year’s British film, Calendar Girls. Both have a promising start, an interesting story arc, and some interesting characters. Both deal with a theme of self worth, and how an event can transform and elevate the characters self esteem. Worthy stuff if you can avoid a cloying approach, which both films mostly succeed at. Then comes the third act. In both films the director didn’t know where… more The 2004 Swedish film As It is In Heaven reminded me of the previous year’s British film, Calendar Girls. Both have a promising start, an interesting story arc, and some interesting characters. Both deal with a theme of self worth, and how an event can transform and elevate the characters self esteem. Worthy stuff if you can avoid a cloying approach, which both films mostly succeed at. Then comes the third act. In both films the director didn’t know where… more
2015 · Comedy, Drama · 1h 56m · PG-13 · Curator 7.6/10 (128.9K ratings) · Where to watch: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, OVID, Netflix Standard with Ads, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Another Scandinavian crowd-pleaser about a guarded person and the community that slowly reaches him.