Loving Couples(Älskande par)

At the outbreak of World War I, three pregnant women are admitted into the same maternity hospital, all under different circumstances, yet all associated with the same wealthy estate. Through a series of elliptical flashbacks, the film details how each of these women – whether born into nobility, married into it, or forced to work under it – came to be with child, while battling to retain their agency within a fiercely demeaning patriarchy. Adapted from Agnes von Krusenstjerna’s semi-autobiographical and wildly controversial novels, Zetterling’s unflinching directorial debut proves every bit as outrageous and groundbreaking in its depictions of female sexuality and gender-dictated servitude. As women around the world continue to have their bodily autonomy stripped away for spurious quasi-religious reasons, Loving Couples remains a powerfully chilling experience.

Cannes Film Festival: In Competition

24/5 (Sat): Film talk with Mimi Wong