Inga Lindström: Svens Vermächtnis (2011)

When they were at school in the countryside, Elin, Jonas, and Sven were inseparable. They called themselves “the Three Musketeers.” Today, Elin is married to Frank and works at his pharmacy. Jonas is a rally driver who travels all over the world, and he is dating his manager, Mia. Sven has taken over his parents’ farm. Elin would like to get pregnant, but it just isn’t working out. When Jonas returns from a race, he is suffering from insomnia, so he wants to get something from the pharmacy to help him. There, he happens to run into Elin again. A short time later, Elin and Jonas receive an invitation from Sven: he has received organic certification for his farm and wants to celebrate with them. He gets a lot of help on the farm from Annika, who normally lives with a foster family but is allowed to do an internship with him over the summer. The four of them spend a wonderful weekend together, though Jonas is a little uneasy because he doesn’t want to run into his father, who runs a large dairy with his own brother. No one knows why the two of them no longer speak. A short time later, Elin and Jonas receive the sad news that Sven has died of a brain tumor. At the funeral, Jonas encounters his father but turns down his suggestion that they talk things out. Elin and Jonas learn that Sven left them the farm in equal shares. Neither of them can imagine staying there, and they plan to sell the farm. But Annika urges them to pitch in, since the work on the farm has to be done. Somehow, Elin finds that she enjoys the work and can imagine staying a little longer—also because otherwise Annika would have to go back to her foster parents. So Elin arranges everything with Ms. Lund from the youth welfare office. When she finally has time, she calls Frank to tell him that she has inherited part of the farm. He is completely taken aback and demands that she arrange the sale immediately and return to Stockholm. When Jonas finds two milk churns from his family’s dairy on the farm, he thinks Sven had been working with them. But Annika explains that they always supplied their milk to an organic dairy. Jonas takes the tractor and sets out to return the two churns, with Elin accompanying him. Outside the dairy, they meet Jonas’s brother Mikael for the first time in a long while. He runs the business. On the way back, they discover that their cows have escaped and are grazing in someone else’s pasture. They herd the cows back, and when they collapse onto the grass, exhausted, they grow close and kiss. Ms. Lund arrives at the farm at the same time because she has important news, but Annika hides from her. When Elin and Jonas return to the farm, Frank suddenly shows up for a visit, too. He wants to convince Elin once again to come back with him, but soon realizes that he has no chance. Elin is no longer sure that the life she has been living with him is the right one. Jonas runs into his father again in the pasture, but continues to shut down any attempt at conversation. The next morning, Ms. Lund is back at the door, but only Frank is there to meet her. Elin and Jonas have locked themselves in the cold room and use the time until someone lets them out to kiss passionately. Afterwards, Ms. Lund tells Elin that Annika must go back to her foster parents immediately because they are moving to Trelleborg. Annika overhears and runs away. But while she is on the road, she contacts Elin to tell her that she has set off for home on her own. After Frank has left, Elin goes looking for Jonas. She finds him in the barn, and a short time later the two end up in bed together. Jonas gets a call from Mia, who has been trying to reach him for some time because he missed their scheduled appointment. He makes it clear to her that he no longer wants to race. She points out the consequences, so he agrees to finish the season. Elin visits Sven’s grave, where she encounters Jonas’s father, Per, who has been at his wife’s grave. They get talking, and Elin finally learns why Jonas and Per no longer speak. Per is not Jonas’s father, and after Jonas’s mother died, they argued about it. Per told him that he never wanted to see him again. When Elin returns to the farm, Annika suddenly turns up; she does not want to go back to her foster parents. Elin talks to Ms. Lund and the foster parents. Mikael tells his father that he has received a great job offer and wants to leave the company. After Per heads home, Jonas is waiting for him so they can talk things out. At last, they are able to forgive each other. Elin goes back to Stockholm to pack her things and tell Frank that she is leaving him. Jonas has decided to stay, too, and waits at the farm for Elin to return. They have to admit that Sven had a reason for leaving them the farm together.