Let Go review, Swedish family relationship story

Let Go (Släpp taget) brings a melancholy family relationship story to Netflix. This Swedish drama stars Josephine Bornebusch as Stella. Josephine Bornebusch also wrote and directed the film. It’s a finely wrought tale of a family in crisis.

When the story begins we hear a long monologue from Gustav (Pål Sverre Hagen), a relationship therapist. He’s delivering a lecture about communication in relationships to a couple in his office. The pair he’s “helping” never say a word.

Then he goes home to his wife Stella (Josephine Bornebusch) and we see that he is completely disconnected from her and their two children. He doesn’t participate at all the family life. His angry teenage daughter Anna (Sigrid Johnson) is swearing at her mother about a pole dancing competition she wants to attend. His young son Manne (Olle Tikkakoski) needs attention but isn’t getting it.

Gustav tells Stella he wants a divorce. She says first they have to go on a trip together for Anna’s pole dancing competition. She won’t take no for an answer.

Gustav presents his side of their issues as the trip begins. He says Stella is a control freak and never lets him do anything. She says she’d love to turn over the responsibilities to him. And she does.

The remainder of the trip is him figuring out how to be a father and a husband again. He messes up in some spectacular ways, but eventually he starts getting the idea. His successes don’t seem to cheer Stella much. She keeps popping morphine tablets and looking sad.

Along the way the family reunites with Gustav’s parents. His mother (Tone Danielsen) thinks pole dancing is for strippers. (In the U.S. it mostly is, but wait till you see it!) Gustav’s father, apparently a stroke victim, is in a wheelchair and never speaks. Gustav is estranged from them too.

Anna’s dancing ability turns out to be a surprise, especially after she teams up with another dancer she meets at the competition (Leon Mentori).

The forced togetherness is healing in a lovely unfolding. The family unites in long forgotten ways. There is more for them to face together at the end of the film, but they are ready to cope now.

There are humorous moments in the film, but overall it is rather a sad story. It’s beautifully told and powerful, but not light fare. If you’re in the mood for something real, human, and touching, I think you’ll enjoy this Swedish film.

There’s a trailer dubbed in English. I don’t care for dubbing myself, but Netflix lets you set the choice of whether you want to hear the original actors or someone else when you watch.