Brenda Brave (1997/Christmas/First Run Features DVD)
Picture:
C Sound: C+ Extras: D Film: C
From
Swedish TV is this half-hour adaptation of Astrid Lindgren’s Brenda Brave (1997) who was also the
author of the much more famous (and not necessarily exciting) Pippi
Longstocking, but this is actually a Christmas story as the title character
helps her suddenly injured grandmother and makes a wish. I just wish this had been more interesting.
The young
actress Mathilda Lindgren is cute as the child, which makes this almost
charming, but it is also trite and fleeting at best. Still, you might like it more and now you can
try it on DVD.
The 1.33
X 1 image is soft and sometimes color-challenged, suggesting an analog transfer,
while the English-dubbed Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is better, but only by so
much. The dubbing is awkward and does
not always work. There are no extras,
but more would have been nice.
- Nicholas Sheffo
