Production Designer Henrik Svensson
How I would like to live if I [were] a person that appreciated collectivism and absolute truths.
Color and light
our signs of death — our bad signs; The main reason being it is the colors of the Swedish flag, and I wanted to make the point of how wrong nationalism is. Additionally, of course what the colors 'normally' represent, symbolically and physically .
It's exactly that tension between the sun on the surface and darkness just beneath that makes Midsommar so deeply disturbing.
Symbolistic f loral patterns
Dani always felt a strong connection to nature. Obviously the Hårgans have that too. The flora is extremely important, both from an aesthetic perspective, a historical perspective and a spiritual.
- reproductive worship
Foreshadowing paintings
The frescoes in the film are mainly influenced by the frescoes in the houses built to celebrate the Hälsingland farmhouse since the 15th century.
We maximized the wall space to paint as many murals as possible, and ordinary windows also created problems with backlighting.
Religious and cultural beliefs
I dislike all modern use of religion. It's like soccer and the World Cup, or whatever else sport to me. Misguided energy and resources, that we instead could save ourselves, our neighbors and the planet with. I hope that this shines through a bit in Hårga.
The collective subconscious is very important here.
Rune - Everything in the commune is more or less part of the rune, itself built according to the rune of the "cultivation of art, soul and craftsmanship".
The Hårgan runic alphabet consists of 16 runes. Eight positive ones, four unbalanced ones and four really bad ones.
Dani's name, that is on her dress, consists of the Hårgan runes for ''crisis/death'' and ''helplessness/innocence.
bee society
The infrastructure with the drones, in our case pilgrims, the youth, the workers, the elders and the queen. How we divided the ages and purposes of the inhabitants. The gatekeepers at the door, the welcome committee, the 'eye' that IS the very door.
Symmetry and incorporated framing
Sacred geometry was important. The great influence of the anthroposophical art and architecture and the backbone of the honeycomb pattern are two examples.
Florence Pugh
I remember the first take being so long, much longer than is displayed in the film that you all watched. When Ari said cut, we all clung on to each other's arms and dug our nails into each other's palms and wept. Sobbed. Heaved. I remember it being really hard to stop.
Reference
'Midsommar' Production Designer Henrik Svensson Discusses the Influence, Symbolism and Lore Behind One Particularly Ominous Festival [Interview]
This 'Midsommar' Detail Foreshadows Every Awful Thing That Happens In Hårga
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