Oscar-nominated director Jan Troell, one of Sweden’s most acclaimed filmmakers, directs the biopic The Last Sentence. Set against the backdrop of WWII, The Last Sentence is based on the life of crusading journalist Torgny Segerstedt, editor-in-chief of one of Sweden’s leading newspapers, highlighting his one-man battle against Nazism and his country’s policy of appeasement to Hitler. With Sweden caught between Nazi Germany and Stalin’s Russia, the country’s elites chose a policy of neutrality and compliance, with few daring to speak up against the evil around them. Among those who did, nobody was as loud and as uncompromising as Segerstedt (Danish star Jesper Christensen, Nymphomaniac: Volume 1, Melancholia), one of the most prominent Swedish journalists of the 20th century. In the eyes of many of his countrymen, his pen was far more dangerous than the Nazi sword. Amidst the political turmoil of the era, Segerstedt’s own personal life took a dramatic and scandalous turn as he entered into a very public affair with Maja Forssman, the Jewish wife of his close friend, the newspaper’s publisher. Maja Forssman is played by Pernilla August, winner of the Cannes Best Actress Award for Bille August’s Best Intentions. Jan Troell is best known to US audiences for his critically acclaimed film Everlasting Moments (also starring Jesper Christensen), as well as The New Land and The Emigrants (1972), starring Max Von Sydow and Liv Ullman, which received 5 Oscars nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Screenplay and Best Foreign Language Film. Beautifully filmed in black-and-white, The Last Sentence is a gripping tale of a man who risked his life for his beliefs and refused to be silenced.
“A richly detailed portrait of a great man riddled with flaws and undone by adulation.”
Ella Taylor
NPR
A magnificent film…Troell is a great and restrained director, seldom extravagant or showy, but trusting of actors, décor and a relentless attention to mixed motives."
David Thomson
The New Republic
“Fascinating. Unexpected, a true tale of WWII resistance from a new perspective”
Stephen Schaefer
The Boston Herald
“Riveting”
Marshall Fine
Huffington Post
“Eloquent, original and engrossing”
Michael Sragow
Orange County Register
Winner! World Film Festival Montreal 2012 - Best Director
Winner! Chicago Film Festival - Silver Hugo Award, Best Actress
“A Close Scrutiny: Behind the Scenes of The Last Sentence” by Yohanna Troell
