The Smuggler

Lisbeth, a recently retired elderly woman, sets out to find the gun her father used in an unsuccessful suicide attempt in 1940 – a weapon that turned into a family legend. She boards a “therapy bus,” full of war-veterans’ children, travels through Finland where she meets an arms dealer, learns to shoot, seeks a witch’s guidance, all while moving toward the pistol - and her past. A beautifully bittersweet documentary, it is a personal journey in search of existential identity, roots, answers, genealogical symbols, as well as a commentary on the weight of History on the daily lives of ordinary people. Exquisitely shot, The Smuggler talks about a woman's need to understand her father, retroactively heal his trauma and, through this paradoxical “therapy,” find her own role and place in the world.