Becoming Astrid
February's Top 30 Films
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2h 3m
Directed by Pernille Fischer Christensen • Drama • With Alba August • 2018 • 123 minutes
Teenaged Astrid Lindgren (Alba August), who later went on to write the Pippi Longstocking series, leads a carefree life with her family in the forests and fields of rural Sweden. Restless and eager to break free from the confines of her conservative upbringing, she accepts an internship at a local newspaper where she attracts the attention of its married editor, Blomberg (Henrik Rafaelsen). After Astrid becomes pregnant, she leaves her childhood home and goes to Copenhagen to secretly give birth to a son, Lasse, whom she reluctantly leaves in the care of a foster mother, Marie (Trine Dyrholm). Astrid goes into self-imposed exile in Stockholm, refusing Blomberg’s offer of marriage and saving up her paltry salary for visits to see Lasse. When Marie falls ill, Astrid uses her imagination and flair for storytelling to reconnect with her son. In spite of her struggles, Astrid emerges with a newfound courage that will later form the foundation of a vast and beloved body of work.
Up Next in February's Top 30 Films
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Family Business
Directed by Tom Cohen • Documentary • 1982 • 90 minutes
Part of the acclaimed Middletown series.
Howie Snyder is an archetype: a retired Marine colonel in his mid 40s, he is an American entrepreneur struggling to make his business succeed.
Howie's Shakey's Pizza franchise in Muncie, Indiana em...
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The Pearl Button
Directed by Patricio Guzmán • Documentary • 2014 • 82 minutes
The ocean contains the history of all humanity. The sea holds the voices of the Earth and those that come from outer space. Water receives impetus from the stars and transmits it to living creatures. Water, the longest border in Chile...
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My Brooklyn
Directed by Kelly Anderson • Documentary • With Jamel Shabazz, Craig Steven Wilder, Kelly Anderson • 2012 • 76 minutes
My Brooklyn follows director Kelly Anderson's journey, as a Brooklyn gentrifier, to understand the forces reshaping her neighborhood. The film documents the redevelopment of Ful...