Ett anständigt liv (A Respectable Life)

This documentary examines the lives of a number of unemployed “dropouts”. The film’s subjects are uninhibited and unabashed in front of the camera. “A Respectable Life” is a sequel to “They Call Us Misfits” (1968), the documentary about the boys Kenta and Stoffe: the way they lived, grew up, and viewed the society around them. During the shooting of this sequel, Stoffe died of an overdose of heroin. It is a harsh and brutal tale, an indictment of Sweden’s entire welfare society, an unveiling of something both the public and the authorities prefer to ignore. Critics have hailed this film as the best and most important film of the 70s.