Flushed with the success of his
Elvira Madigan, Swedish director
Bo Widerberg concocted another story of teenaged love juxtaposed with social upheaval in
Adalen 31. The title refers to the 1931 worker's strike against the Adalen paper mill in Northern Sweden. As the strikers debate whether or not to use violence in pressing their complaint, the daughter of the factory owner (Marie De Geer) is impregnated by the son of a worker (Peter Schildt). The strike is "resolved" in a bloody confrontation between the laborers and government troops, resulting in the death of the boy--and, on a greater scale, the collapse of Sweden's Conservative Government. The girl ultimately opts for an abortion, which partially explains why
Adalen 31 was originally given an "X" rating by the then-conservative Motion Picture Association of America. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide