Good movie! But no, not really... this only partly goes on in Sweden.

Rating: 7/10 (22 October 2019)

First the question on everyoneÂ´s mind; Yes, this is to a large degree Swedish tradition. Of course it always rain on Midsommar, we drink a lot more, and we have a lot more sex, otherwise... well, we only sacrifice people in some areas of the country, otherwise goats, horses and such...
With that lie (or was it?) out of the way, this movie is pretty good. It is absolutely gorgeous to look at, the acting amazing (Florence Pugh should win an Oscar for this!), the directing, light, costumes, pretty much everything cinematographic is great. I also love the subtle nuances like the upside down sign during the car drive (learn Swedish and read...) which is a pro-"racist" sign, or in the context of the movie I assume a subtle hint that immigration is good and those who oppose it are cultist nuts sacrificing people left to right...
I would argue there are 3 main treads in this movie and depending on which one you pull and focus on, I believe it will impact what you think of the movie.
The first thread is the psychological trauma, abandonment and family tragedy, and this is absolute spot on. Fantastic! It is mainly due to the absolute stunning performance of Florence, but the movie portrait it amazingly well and if this is your focus or what matters, then this movie is a 10/10.
The second thread, that partly goes to together with the first, is the focus on break-up and a sort of toxic relationship. This too is made really well, but not as well and I think a few things does not work. If this is your focus and what you take away from the movie its a 8/10.
The third and most important thread of the movie, and my main objection to it, is that the cult, their ideas, why, how, and such is not fully explained.
I guess it does not have to be, but since HÃ¥rga is a well-known little village in Sweden connected to the Devil (check out HÃ¥rgalÃ¥ten on youtube) it get a bit confusing. Is this a Devil-worshipping thing? Viking? Pagan in general?
Despite my little joke above, and despite midsommarblot (sacrifice) and Ã„ttestupa (the old people jumping from the cliff) actually did happen historically (yes, those parts are actually true), I cannot see any "realism" in the context of this movie. Again I guess it does not have to be... but as a Swede kinda confusing, perhaps more so for me than anyone non-Swede.
From my perspective this main thread is more a 5/10 in this movie.
Another negative is that it is very confusing that the outsiders do not immediately leave after the jumping-to-the-death-thing. I do get that they were drugged and such, and the movie sort of tells us this, but still... that did not sit right. Should have been something before or after explaining their motivation to stay.
The movie also get a bit dragged out and boring. Sure I get that the director want to build suspense and create an weird scary atmosphere, but it goes on for a little too long.
Since nothing of the cult was fully explained and we do not get a full explanation of the ending, I also felt a bit cheated. Of course we can fill in the blanks to a large degree and if you check out a lot of the symbolism you can sort of figure it out, but not... really... I dunno, it felt too abrupt and a bit convoluted.
And finally this movie is not really scary, it felt more like a weird attempt to thrash Swedish heritage rather than a horror movie (if focused on the cult and third thread).
The other objections I have I can partly swallow, but overall I did not buy the premise of the cult-part of the movie. Yes, I know it is a scary horror cultist movie and it is not fully meant to make sense from that perspective, but something about the wholeness of the movie do not sell it to me because if this. If the movie had focused on and been only about the trauma and psychological impact and Florence acting, this might have been the best movie of all time - not a joke, she and that part of the movie is beyond amazing.
Still I like this movie, it is beautiful to watch and it has several great traits, and if Florence do no win an Oscars we should all riot.
However for reasons mention I was not sold, I did not love it or take so much away from it.
In the end I give this movie a 7/10. Worth to check out and I sort of recommend it, but not a favourite and it is not for everyone. Or said in Swedish this is a: Hyfsad MedelmÃ¥ttig film.