Elvira Madigan

Elvira Madigan

Year: 1967

Runtime: 91 mins

Language: Swedish

Director: Bo Widerberg

RomanceDramaHistory

The story follows a young circus tightrope walker and a military lieutenant whose intense passion drives them to abandon their former lives and flee the circus for a rural refuge. Their romantic idyll soon erodes as escalating poverty and desperation threaten their love.

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Timeline & Setting – Elvira Madigan (1967)

Explore the full timeline and setting of Elvira Madigan (1967). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

Summer 1889

Set in the late 19th century, the film situates a romance against rigid military discipline and social conventions. The summer of 1889 provides a backdrop of fleeting, carefree days that stand in stark contrast to the looming consequences of their actions. The era’s norms intensify the couple’s sense of isolation and the inevitability of tragedy.

Location

Danish countryside, Denmark

The story unfolds across the Danish countryside during a hot summer in 1889. Hedvig and Sixten hide in hotels and small inns, moving between fields and roads as they evade the deserter’s pursuers. The setting emphasizes expansive, sun-drenched spaces where romance and danger collide.

🏞️ Rural landscape 🏨 Hotels & inns 🌼 Open countryside

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 15:37

Main Characters – Elvira Madigan (1967)

Meet the key characters of Elvira Madigan (1967), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Hedvig Jensen (Pia Degermark)

A talented tightrope walker who seeks to reclaim her identity and live freely with Sparre. She oscillates between vulnerability and bold self-possession, using her art to sustain their precarious life on the run.

💃 Performer 💖 Independent 🌟 Rebellious

Sixten Sparre (Thommy Berggren)

A Swedish lieutenant fleeing his military duties and family, whose love for Hedvig reshapes his values. He wrestles with pride and idealism, choosing love even as danger closes in.

⚔️ Soldier 💔 Deserter 🕯️ Idealist

Kristoffer (Lennart Malmer)

A friend from Sparre's regiment who urges him to return to duty, exposing the tension between loyalty and personal happiness. His intervention highlights the costs of choosing love over obligation.

🤝 Friend 🧭 Moral conflict 🧩 Loyalty

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 15:37

Major Themes – Elvira Madigan (1967)

Explore the central themes of Elvira Madigan (1967), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

💘 Forbidden Love

A romance that defies social expectations and duty. Hedvig and Sixten’s relationship challenges class, reputation, and obligations, driving them to flee together and risk everything for a private happiness.

🕊️ Identity

Hedvig’s demand to be called by her real name, not Elvira Madigan, signals a struggle to claim personal identity. The couple’s used disguises and secret life highlight the conflict between public image and private truth.

⚔️ Desertion & Fate

Sparre’s desertion and the lovers’ final pact cast a shadow over their idyll. The narrative frames love within the inevitability of death and the costs of escaping societal rules.

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 15:37

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Explore Movie Threads

Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.

Movies with a doomed romance like Elvira Madigan

Passionate lovers defy society only to find their idyll inevitably shattered.If you were moved by the tragic love story in Elvira Madigan, explore other movies about passionate, forbidden relationships that are doomed from the start. These films often feature couples who abandon everything for love, only to be consumed by poverty, scandal, or an inescapable fate, resulting in profoundly sad and heavy emotional journeys.

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Narrative Summary

Stories in this thread typically follow a linear decline: a passionate, often forbidden, connection leads to an idyllic retreat from the world. This fragile happiness is gradually eroded by external pressures like poverty or societal judgment, culminating in a bleak and inevitable tragic ending.

Why These Movies?

These films are grouped by their shared emotional trajectory—a heavy, melancholic tone built on the foundation of a beautiful but doomed romance. They explore the painful contrast between idealized love and harsh reality, resulting in a consistently high emotional intensity and a somber, devastating conclusion.

Slow burn tragedies with a bleak feel like Elvira Madigan

A quiet, gradual unraveling of hope as characters are crushed by circumstances.For viewers who appreciated the slow, deliberate pacing and heavy emotional atmosphere of Elvira Madigan, this collection features films that masterfully build a sense of impending doom. These stories focus on a character's gradual psychological and circumstantial decline, often set against a beautiful but indifferent world, resulting in a deeply melancholic and somber experience.

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Narrative Summary

The narrative pattern is one of inexorable decline. The story starts with a semblance of peace or happiness, which is slowly chipped away by external forces or internal flaws. There are no last-minute rescues; the focus is on the painful, detailed process of losing everything, making the final outcome feel both tragic and unavoidable.

Why These Movies?

These films share a specific mix of slow pacing, a melancholic or bleak tone, and high emotional intensity. The similarity lies in the viewing experience itself—a patient, often beautiful, but ultimately heartbreaking observation of a fate that cannot be escaped.

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Elvira Madigan Summary

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Elvira Madigan Summary

Elvira Madigan Timeline

Track the full timeline of Elvira Madigan with every major event arranged chronologically. Perfect for decoding non-linear storytelling, flashbacks, or parallel narratives with a clear scene-by-scene breakdown.

Elvira Madigan Timeline

Elvira Madigan Spoiler-Free Summary

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Elvira Madigan Spoiler-Free Summary

More About Elvira Madigan

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