Here Is Your Life (1966) review

Instead of receiving a traditional education, thirteen-year-old Olof Persson (Eddie Axberg) - whose father is terminally ill - leaves his foster home and goes to earn a "blue collar" living, working a variety of jobs (at a saw mill, in a movie theatre, etc.), meeting (and occasionally having romantic relations with) different ladies and becoming fascinated with the writings of Russian anarchist Pyotr Kropotkin.  As far as debut films go, not many possess the same level of self-assuredness this does - 35-year-old Troell adapted it from Nobel Prize winner Eyvind Johnson's well-regarded autobiographical books - and it keeps itself fresh and alive for its three-hour running time, as Olaf learns vital lessons from his elders, earns his scars and hopes to keep gaining experience (reading is wonderful but it's sometimes not enough).  That said, it doesn't handle its transitions all that smoothly, Olaf is more of a "passive recipient" of information and doesn't speak much and it seems to divide women into two groups - the innocent ones, like Maja (Catti Edfeldt) and the "whores" such as Queen Olivia (Ulla Sjöblom) - although those are admittedly minor complaints for a somewhat melancholy but earnest feature.