Midsommar
Movie, 2019, The 2010s, Set in A Swedish festival
Midsommar is #17 of 37 in release order and #17 of 37 in chronological order in the A24.
The story
Several friends travel to Sweden to study as anthropologists a summer festival that is held every ninety years in the remote hometown of one of them. What begins as a dream vacation in a place where the sun never sets, gradually turns into a dark nightmare as the mysterious inhabitants invite them to participate in their disturbing festive activities.
Midsommar recap
Midsommar (2019) follows Dani, a grieving American student who joins her distant boyfriend and his friends at a midsummer festival in a remote Swedish commune. Ari Aster writes and directs. Dani Ardor (Florence Pugh) loses her parents when her sister kills them and herself. Her boyfriend Christian Hughes (Jack Reynor), who had meant to break up with her, invites her along to Sweden with fellow students Josh (William Jackson Harper) and Mark (Will Poulter) at the invitation of their friend Pelle (Vilhelm Blomgren), who grew up in the Hårga commune. The festival comes only every 90 years. In bright daylight, two elders leap from a cliff in a ritual suicide, and the guests start disappearing: a British couple, then Mark after he urinates on a sacred tree, then Josh after he photographs a forbidden text. Christian and Josh quarrel over who gets to write a thesis on the Hårga. A director's cut runs longer. The film stands alone.
Midsommar ending explained
Midsommar ends with Dani smiling as Christian burns. Drugged, Dani wins a maypole dance and is crowned May Queen, while Christian is drugged and led into a mating ritual with a young woman of the commune. Dani sees it and collapses into sobs that the women around her echo. The Hårga need nine sacrifices: the four outsiders, four of their own, and a ninth that the May Queen chooses. Dani picks Christian, who is sewn inside a gutted bear and set in a yellow temple with the other bodies. As it burns, Dani's horror slowly gives way to a smile.
Post-credits scenes
No. Midsommar has no mid- or post-credits scene.
Where to watch Midsommar
Midsommar is streaming on Prime Video, Hulu, Kanopy, Hoopla, Fandango at Home Free, and HBO Max in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 7.1/10, Rotten Tomatoes 83%
Where it fits
- Release order: after Mid90s, before The Farewell.
- Chronological order: after Mid90s, before The Farewell.
Cast
- Florence Pugh as Dani
- Jack Reynor as Christian
- William Jackson Harper as Josh
- Will Poulter as Mark
- Vilhelm Blomgren as Pelle
- Isabelle Grill as Maja
- Gunnel Fred as Siv
- Ellora Torchia as Connie
- Archie Madekwe as Simon
- Henrik Norlén as Ulf
- Agnes Westerlund Rase as Dagny
- Julia Ragnarsson as Inga
Directed by Ari Aster.