Hampus Linder - Confessions of a Swedish Man

The Director in Focus

Hampus Linder’s latest film Confessions of a Swedish Man, a deep-dive into the so-called manosphere, stands alone as a piece of professional and personal observation. That being said I can’t help but compare it to his previous work, Gudrun (The Feminist), where he was embedded for five years following the Swedish politician Gudrun Schyman from her fall as leader of the Leftist party through to her reemergence and the creation of the Feminist Initiative.  While similar in their original intent the films couldn’t be more different.

In Gudrun, Hampus takes the fly on the wall approach to documentary filmmaking hoping that she will forget his presence and allow for intimate revelations. The result is a powerful profile of an accomplished woman who you must come away respecting regardless of your politics. In Confessions of a Swedish Man Hampus is forced to pivot from his preferred approach. In order to gain access to the European Men's Gathering, the core of the movement he is trying to document, he must agree to put down the camera and join in their ceremonies. 

As Linder describes it; “Normally, I'm the one holding the camera. That's how I approach a subject and a story. Then the terms to get access to European Men's Gathering was that I couldn't hold the camera myself. I thought, like, oh shit, how do I go about this?

Still from Confessions of a Swedish Man

So I started to reach out to colleagues,  photographers, and I found a guy and he was willing to come along. I actually told him, let's go and do this, but film it in a way so we can cut me out, because I didn't want to be the main character at the time.” 

Despite his best wishes he transforms from observer to subject. The twist introduces a surprisingly personal layer as Hampus eventually becomes one of the very same men he had originally planned to document. A new storyline emerges exploring Linder’s relationships with his own father and son. The result also provides viewers a glimpse into the challenges of navigating the making of a documentary as Hampus and his subject Paul negotiate a sometimes tenuous relationship where Hampus is always at risk of being shut out.

Hampus doesn’t go in clean, he has expectations. “I felt I couldn’t be completely honest in the beginning because I didn’t know exactly where I was going,” he admits. That admission gives the film its core tension.  His expectations get nicely challenged as he is forced to immerse himself in the rituals of the group. It all leads to a unique sort of documentary storytelling that makes for a nice companion and counter point to Gudrun. 

In addition to the personal revelations, Confessions of a Swedish Man takes viewers on a journey through parts of the manosphere that you normally only see when you are doom scrolling. There’s fire, bondage and weapons training on offer mixed with an exploration of father son relationships.

Confessions of a Swedish Man will be available in selected Swedish theaters from October 24th. On social media the film’s name and trailer are already generating sometimes heated reactions.  My advice, see the film, then chat about it.

Trailer: Confessions of a Swedish ManTrailer

Listen to the full conversation with Hampus here

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