The Queen of Sheba's pearls
A Swedish film set in Britain in the 50’s and directed by Brit Colin Nutley who has adopted Sweden as his home, this is better than many reviews had led me to expect and while there are some very shaky plot developments, the overall story lures you in and provides a pleasant two hours. The excellent photography by Jens Fischer, accompanied by some thoughtful set ups by the director and a graceful revelation of the mystery surrounding this strange family of undertakers 
in rural England. The music by Per Andreasson is very good as well and the recreation of the period both in decor and attitudes seem faithful for the main. Helena Bergstrom
, the director’s wife is such a good actress that she holds together the main role, despite a rather far fetched plot and there are some very nice support in the minor parts from Elizabeth Spriggs, the mother
, Peter Vaughan, the uncle, and the maiden aunt who is played by Lindsay Duncan. 
Nutley shows in this and what I have seen of his previous work that he is an accomplished and versatile director who has it in him to make a great film and meanwhile produces perfectly satisfactory ones. However, if you want avant-garde go elsewhere. He plays it relatively safe even with what critics dubbed magic realism here (dead people appearing in dreams!!!) Oh well, there’s no hope for some rationalists!
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