By using a group of Sweden's best actors, Björn Runge is leading us through a film while he wants us to understand his message. As a Swede I recognize the desperation and the modern dilemmas the characters represent: upper-middle-class alienation, the exhausting pursuit of cash and middle-class trappings, paranoia and pill popping.
Björn Runge deserves credit just for keeping the multiple stories straight. He jumps around from one household furnished in Scandinavian modern to the next almost identical one. But his segues are seamless, and there's never any confusion about where you are.
This film may have been an inspiration for Ruben Östlund and his film "De ofrivilliga/Involuntary" (2008). Both are studies of human behaviour once the individual has reached a certain point in life or in a social situation. It is about social awkwardness & spinelessness, and male pride Some criticism of the welfare state Sweden can sometimes be present but above all, the movie is about resolution and to take responsibility for their life choices and actions. "If I turn around" is a reminder to listen and see each other before it's too late.
Ingela
