Ronia - The Robber's Daughter
I am still going through this nostalgic tv-show thing. The last thing that has touched my sentimental heart is the tv series based on Astrid Lindgren's book Ronia-The Robber's daughter.
On the night that Ronia was born a thunderstorm was raging over the mountains, such a storm that all the Goblin folk in Matt’s Forest crept back in terror to their holes and hiding places. Only the fierce harpies preferred stormy weather to any other and flew, shrieking and hooting, around the robber’s stronghold on Matt’s Mountain. Their noise disturbed Lovis, who was lying within, prepared to give birth, and she said to Matt, "Drive the hell-harpies away and let me have some quiet. Other wise I can’t hear what I’m singing!"
The fact was that Lovis liked to sing while she was having her baby. It made things easier, she insisted, and the baby would probably be all the jollier if it arrived on earth to the sound of a song. - from the English translation of the book
The story centres around Ronia, here seen in snow, the only daughter of the Robber baron Mattis, or Matt in the English translation. They live in a castle deep in the forest, along with all of Matt's Robbers.
Although her mother, Lovis, kicks all manner of ass Ronia is essentially a Daddy's girl. And this is her with her father. She has turned twelve and her dad thinks its time she went exploring in the forest. He gives her advice first - and tells her to look out for gnomes and harpies, but most importantly she must not fall into the water fall.
"What will I do if I fall into the water fall?", Ronia asks.
"Then you won't do much at all", her father says. "You'll be dead".
Being a sensible girl Ronia runs straight to the water fall - but does not fall in.
Sometimes she stays at home, where the robbers sing and put on women's clothing. No really - they do. After all it is Lindgren - and so the whole gender thing will be given a nudge, nudge.
But let's get to my favourite part of the story. Because one day Ronia meets Birk - and they become great friends. There's a catch though - Birk is the son of Borka, also known as Mattis' greatest rival. Like Ronia, Birk is expected to follow in his fathers footsteps and become a robber, but he doesn't really want to. He'd rather wander around in the forest and "just bein the spring" as he says. he is also very poetic about flowers. At first Ronia thinks he is somewhat of a wet blanket, but after they've saved each others lives a few times she changes her opinion.
Here she is stuck in the snow, and he saves her. I love his little hat here. As far as fictional crushes go, Birk was probably my first. Yes, embarrassing confession here, moving on.
Here Birk saves Ronia from the trolls. When you're a kid this scene is very, very creepy. There is lots of mist and eerie singing.
And here they have been arguing - or more precisely Ronia has been yelling at him, and he is moping.
So far it seems like Birk has been saving her a lot huh? And not so much the other way around.Well, she has saved him once at the start of their friendship - but her biggest heroic act is the one pictured above.
For one day Birk gets captured by Mattis, and this is where the whole story goes from being cute to something much more dark and upsetting. Because Mattis beats Birk and leaves him bleeding in a corner, and Ronia realizes that her father isn't just the nice guy she is used to. Turns out Mattis is prepared to use Birk to blackmail Borka, and threatens to kill the boy if Borka doesn't do what Mattis asks.
In an act to save her friend, which she at this point has started to call brother, Ronia runs over to Borka - and evens the score. Mattis's attempt at blackmail has failed, and not only that but he renounces his daughter and claims that he doesn't have a child.
After that Ronia and Birk run away and live in the forest. A lot of other things happen, but it all becomes all right in the end.
There are many reasons I love this story:
+ The whole plot with a parent renouncing his child is very powerful. It upset me as a child, and as an adult I find it very fascinating. there is also the aspect that Birk and Ronia start refering to each other as "brother" and "sister" - and so family in Lindgren's world becomes just as much a choice as a biological fact.
+ The whole romance and Romeo & Juliet thing that Ronia and Birk have going. As mentioned they refer to each other as siblings, and as Birk's mother dryly comments: "We know how that will turn out in a few years"
+It looks so Scandinavian. The deep pine wood forests, the wild waterfalls and the forest bottom covered with white anemones. This was the nature I was used to, that I grew up with - and so in a lot of ways Ronia’s forest was my forest.
+ The Music - the televison adaption has some of my most beloved film music ever. I have no idea if it is available on cd or not. (if it is, then PLEASE let me know). But I have a few of the tunes here:
+ main theme +
+ robber's song +
+ mattis-borka +
This little clip is a fan video made with the original music. It gives you a good sense of the mood of the show.
On the night that Ronia was born a thunderstorm was raging over the mountains, such a storm that all the Goblin folk in Matt’s Forest crept back in terror to their holes and hiding places. Only the fierce harpies preferred stormy weather to any other and flew, shrieking and hooting, around the robber’s stronghold on Matt’s Mountain. Their noise disturbed Lovis, who was lying within, prepared to give birth, and she said to Matt, "Drive the hell-harpies away and let me have some quiet. Other wise I can’t hear what I’m singing!"
The fact was that Lovis liked to sing while she was having her baby. It made things easier, she insisted, and the baby would probably be all the jollier if it arrived on earth to the sound of a song. - from the English translation of the book
The story centres around Ronia, here seen in snow, the only daughter of the Robber baron Mattis, or Matt in the English translation. They live in a castle deep in the forest, along with all of Matt's Robbers.
Although her mother, Lovis, kicks all manner of ass Ronia is essentially a Daddy's girl. And this is her with her father. She has turned twelve and her dad thinks its time she went exploring in the forest. He gives her advice first - and tells her to look out for gnomes and harpies, but most importantly she must not fall into the water fall.
"What will I do if I fall into the water fall?", Ronia asks.
"Then you won't do much at all", her father says. "You'll be dead".
Being a sensible girl Ronia runs straight to the water fall - but does not fall in.
Sometimes she stays at home, where the robbers sing and put on women's clothing. No really - they do. After all it is Lindgren - and so the whole gender thing will be given a nudge, nudge.
But let's get to my favourite part of the story. Because one day Ronia meets Birk - and they become great friends. There's a catch though - Birk is the son of Borka, also known as Mattis' greatest rival. Like Ronia, Birk is expected to follow in his fathers footsteps and become a robber, but he doesn't really want to. He'd rather wander around in the forest and "just bein the spring" as he says. he is also very poetic about flowers. At first Ronia thinks he is somewhat of a wet blanket, but after they've saved each others lives a few times she changes her opinion.
Here she is stuck in the snow, and he saves her. I love his little hat here. As far as fictional crushes go, Birk was probably my first. Yes, embarrassing confession here, moving on.
Here Birk saves Ronia from the trolls. When you're a kid this scene is very, very creepy. There is lots of mist and eerie singing.
And here they have been arguing - or more precisely Ronia has been yelling at him, and he is moping.
So far it seems like Birk has been saving her a lot huh? And not so much the other way around.Well, she has saved him once at the start of their friendship - but her biggest heroic act is the one pictured above.
For one day Birk gets captured by Mattis, and this is where the whole story goes from being cute to something much more dark and upsetting. Because Mattis beats Birk and leaves him bleeding in a corner, and Ronia realizes that her father isn't just the nice guy she is used to. Turns out Mattis is prepared to use Birk to blackmail Borka, and threatens to kill the boy if Borka doesn't do what Mattis asks.
In an act to save her friend, which she at this point has started to call brother, Ronia runs over to Borka - and evens the score. Mattis's attempt at blackmail has failed, and not only that but he renounces his daughter and claims that he doesn't have a child.
After that Ronia and Birk run away and live in the forest. A lot of other things happen, but it all becomes all right in the end.
There are many reasons I love this story:
+ The whole plot with a parent renouncing his child is very powerful. It upset me as a child, and as an adult I find it very fascinating. there is also the aspect that Birk and Ronia start refering to each other as "brother" and "sister" - and so family in Lindgren's world becomes just as much a choice as a biological fact.
+ The whole romance and Romeo & Juliet thing that Ronia and Birk have going. As mentioned they refer to each other as siblings, and as Birk's mother dryly comments: "We know how that will turn out in a few years"
+It looks so Scandinavian. The deep pine wood forests, the wild waterfalls and the forest bottom covered with white anemones. This was the nature I was used to, that I grew up with - and so in a lot of ways Ronia’s forest was my forest.
+ The Music - the televison adaption has some of my most beloved film music ever. I have no idea if it is available on cd or not. (if it is, then PLEASE let me know). But I have a few of the tunes here:
+ main theme +
+ robber's song +
+ mattis-borka +
Click to viewThis little clip is a fan video made with the original music. It gives you a good sense of the mood of the show.