Figure 1.--"The Slingshot" or "Kadisbellan"is another European coming of age film. Little Roland Schutt (Jesper Salen) comes of age in Stockholm with humor and pathos. Jesper at 14 years old is quite effective as Roland.

"The Slingshot" or "Kadisbellan"is another European coming of age film. Little Roland Schutt (Jesper Salen) comes of age in Stockholm with humor and pathos. Jesper at 14 years old is quite effective as Roland. His older brother, Bertil, was played by Niklas Olund. The film is based on the memoirs of Roland Schutt, a Swedish inventor. As a boy in the 1920s, he endured prejudice, injustice, and abuse. His mother was a Russian Jew and his father a radical socialist. His father lambastes him for lack of revolutionary fervor. His brother uses him as a punching bag. He gets beaten by other boys who call him a dirty Jew. A teacher bates him with anti-semitic remarks and beats him with a wooden bat. He faces a term in reform school when he unwittingly gets caught up with a bicycle theft ring. The title of the film comes from a slingshot he makes out of condoms, illegal at the time in Sweden. Slingshots were popular with boys in many countries. An Ameican reader remembers his slingshot as a boy.

Created: 4:59 AM 8/28/2005
Last updated: 9:02 PM 8/28/2005