WRITTEN BY: Lina Nystrand
Fredrik Wikingsson, one of the directors, says the story has inspired people to call their parents more often. The film has recently premiered in Finnish, Norwegian and Danish cinemas.
The Last Journey (Den sista resan) is directed by the Swedish Filip Hammar and Fredrik Wikingsson. The duo has over 20 years of experience in TV entertainment, podcast, books and film production. Hammar and Wikingsson are also co-founders of the production company Nexiko, known for films like The Cake General (Tårtgeneralen) and drama series like Young Royals.
The Last Journey is Hammar and Wikingsson’s second documentary, following Nice People (Filip & Fredrik presenterear Trevligt folk) from 2015.
The Last Journey tells the story of Filip’s 80 year old father Lars Hammar, a retired French teacher, who has lost his willpower and become increasingly passive and depressed at home. In a bid to rekindle Lars' zest for life, Filip and his best friend Fredrik decide to take Lars on a road trip to France, where they revisit the places he has loved most in his life.
The documentary has sold over 400,000 cinema tickets in Sweden since its premiere on March 1st. This makes it the most-watched documentary in Swedish cinema history.
Besides the record-breaking box-office numbers, the direct response from the Swedish audience has been outstanding, Fredrik Wikingsson tells NFTVF. He and Filip Hammar have received numerous emails from people saying the documentary inspired them to call their parents more often. Some have even gone on similar journeys.
"Someone took his 98-year-old dad to an Italian village so he could have a beer at his favourite lunch restaurant, and then we received a picture of him sitting there with his beer. I almost get teary-eyed just thinking about it," Wikingsson says.
The Last Journey has also been selected as Sweden’s entry for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards. Lars Beckung, producer along with Petra Måhl, had just gotten back from the US when NFTVF talked to him.
"I was there for a week to prepare for the campaign you have to do when your film has been selected Sweden’s Oscar submission. I met publicists, agents, and distributors to continue this journey. It’s really exciting, and we’re very happy and humbly grateful"
The Last Journey premiered in cinemas in Norway and Denmark on October 4th, and has been running in Finnish cinemas since mid-September. Beckung says it’s hard to know if a project will succeed outside its home country, but that certain themes transcend borders.
“It’s hard to know which projects have the potential to travel internationally. Still, certain themes resonate universally. Sometimes when you create something deeply personal, it also becomes highly relatable because at our core, all people are quite similar.”
The Last Journey centres around the relationship between father and son as they try to relive old family memories. Wikingsson thinks a documentary about family is what people need in times when there are many threats on the horizon.
“There’s a lot of misery going on in the world, and to watch a film about something smaller and yet the most important thing in life - family, might be what resonates. I also think it helps that Filip’s dad is so unique, so lovable, but not plain. He’s original, and we tried to make the film in his spirit.”
The Last Journey is set in Beaulieu-sur-Mer on the French Riviera, a place that the Hammar family frequently visited when Filip was a child. Every street corner carries memories of a time when Lars was lively and happy, always ready to share an anecdote or two with friends and family. To revive this side of Lars, Filip and Fredrik orchestrate several situations from the past, resulting in both successes and failures. The journey evokes a wide range of emotions, which Lars Beckung believes is key to delivering impactful messages.
“Emotional moments become more emotional because laughter has been shared, and funny moments become funnier because strong feelings have been present. It’s very difficult to make people both laugh and cry, but when you succeed, it creates a strong dynamic.”
The beauty of documentary filmmaking lies in its unpredictability, which was certainly true during the process of The Last Journey, both Beckung and Wikingsson say. Before they even started their journey, Lars ended up in the hospital after a fall, making everyone question how to proceed. Another moment occurs in France when Lars attempts to make his famous ratatouille, which doesn’t go well, as he’s not able to chop the vegetables. Wikingsson says the moment in the kitchen was crucial for the film’s message.
“I stood behind the camera thinking: ‘This is a disaster, this was supposed to be a lovely dinner.’ Initially, I thought it was bad for the film, but pretty soon after, I realised that it was a powerful representation of ageing and of how hard it is to accept it. At that moment, the film also became about Filip just as much as it was about Lars."
Fredrik Wikingsson cannot confirm whether they plan to keep making documentaries after the success of The Last Journey. He says the genre and medium of their future projects depend on the idea.
“It all depends on finding something, and then you have to ask: ‘Is this a film, a podcast or a book?’ The Last Journey became a film because it has road-movie elements. But it could be the last film we make. I have no idea.
The Last Journey is a co-production between Nexiko, Nordisk Film Distribution and RMV Film, in collaboration with SVT.
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