When the songs of ABBA reached the USSR I was a teenager, who was looking for my own place in the absolutely dull and didactic world of the Soviet province.
The attitude of censorship towards Swedish Quartet wasn’t so strict as it was towards British and American rock-revolutionaries. Sometimes, they could give a concert at the New Year or release a small record with three songs, one of which was “Mamma Mia!”. Then, due to my parents’ persistent recommendations, I gave this EP as a present for my classmate’s birthday – the present should be peculiarly loved. ABBA cinema concert was released almost in 1981, after 4 years when it was shot, only for a week but at least it was released.
Cinematographic value of that film aspired to zero – low-brow plot linked the songs. A fully-fledged contact of the music of Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid with cinema happened after a quarter of the century when the group dissolved. It happened in 2008 when there was the screening of the British jukebox musical “Mamma Mia!”, libretto based on ABBA’s songs.
The film was overly successful – $609 million of box office – not only because of the songs but thanks to the presence of the screen superstar – Meryl Strip, who is able to pull up any script on her own. She played Donna Sheridan, the owner of the hotel on the Greek peninsula Kalokairi. The plot was kept on the genetic collision – who is the father of Donna’s daughter, Sophie. Сontenders were played by prominent men – Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, and former “agent 007” – Pierce Brosnan.
The decision to film the sequel was doubtful in the very the beginning. Firstly, due to the total happy end of the first film. The plot of the next adventure on the island might become even simpler – if not to say primitive. Then, what worked out once – is unlikely to happen for the second time: the same songs, same faces – enough is enough. Thirdly, the director of the film Ol Parker didn’t have high-level saviour such as Meryl Strip. But he had songs which Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson wrote in reserves in 1973-1982.
This time the plot is like this: after five years Sophie made the complete renovation of the hotel and prepares for the reopening party. Donna passed a year earlier, so along the celebration, Donna’s life will be memorializing. Brosnan’s character lives on the island and still works as an architect. Parallel to the main plot, the story of young Donna’s unfolding as a flashback – she was a hippie after the college, she had passionate affairs with handsome boys, she appeared on the island and gave birth to Sophie.
As far as I remember the times of my youth, I wasn’t educated in English, as most of the children, and I craved to know what were the songs of Swedish angels about. After a while, it turned out that there’s no deep sense: I love you, it’s so wonderful, let’s dance or, as an option, we’re distant, it’s so sad, but it’ll be OK to dance. It’s clear that the beautiful story is difficult to build out of this.
But Ol Parker didn’t even try. Of course, for solidity sake, several social features are inserted: for instance, in the Parisian scene, a woman in the wheelchair is one of the central characters in the corps de ballet. And at the party, because of the lack of titled guests, simple people, local fishermen, who stay without work due to the crisis, are invited. But these are decorative efforts, of course. To sing-dance? That’s great! Let’s do it! The director dwelt his efforts at the music. Each performance easily “shoots out” of the plot and the dissolves in it, if needed. Each song has its own embodiment and performance, its choreography, entourage and costumes and sometimes unexpected performers: what Sher, who sings “Fernando” with her peerless contralto, worth. And final fireworks along Super Trouper – bright logical ending.
The film isn’t big. The authors managed to do the main: to bring to the fore ABBA’s music per se, to convey the feeling of the eternal feast and thus to make 35-40-year-old songs interesting to the audience, born after the farewell concert of Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid. So, using the phrase from ABBA’s song, I’d like to say to these four another: Thank you for the music.
By the way, Brosnan’s better not to sing.
Dmytro Desyateryk, “Day”, specially for DUMKA.
