As it Is in Heaven

Thank you, Netflix!

Så som i himmelen was a box office hit in Sweden in 2004 and nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Hollywood Academy Awards.

In this 2 hour-plus film, Daniel Dareus is a small-town boy who escaped his tiny village to become a famous, if highly stressed conductor. A heart attack sends him back home in search of a fresh start. Because he returns only with his stage name, He is not recognized by the locals. He returns pretty much the way he left, as a loner. Sooner rather than later he is asked for suggestions for the local church's choir and inevitably ends up leading as cantor.

I'll leave it at that except to say I found it deeply moving as a presentation of the importance of community and power of music as a healing power.

A warning: even if not mentioned, this film has a distinctly Unitarian-Universalist theological subtext.

I recommend it unreservedly.