"Monica Z" is a 2013 Swedish biographical drama film directed by Per Fly, starring Edda Magnason in the lead role. The film tells the story of Swedish singer and actress Monica Zetterlund, who rose to fame in the 1960s and became one of the most beloved and influential artists in Swedish history.

The film offers a vivid portrait of Monica Zetterlund's life, from her humble beginnings in rural Sweden to her triumphant career on stage and screen. The movie explores her turbulent personal life, her struggles with addiction, and her enduring legacy as an artist.

Edda Magnason delivers a captivating performance as Monica Zetterlund, capturing both the vulnerability and the strength of this iconic figure. The film is beautifully shot and features a stunning soundtrack that pays tribute to Monica Zetterlund's signature style.

Overall, "Monica Z" is a poignant and inspiring film that celebrates the life and legacy of one of Sweden's greatest cultural icons. It's a must-see for fans of Monica Zetterlund's music and for anyone who appreciates powerful biographical dramas.

very minor spoiler at the very end of this review... It seems like Sweden was under the spell of Monika Z for a few decades. Here in the USA, we do not know her. Yet her story is so familiar: beautiful girl from a modest background. Big hopes and disarming talent. Poised for major discovery and stardom...with hopes foiled and rekindled many times along the way. Yet we never grow tired of the story, do we? Because every ending is different perhaps. This movie tells the tale in a more modest way than an American film would. It does not try to razzle dazzle us with Hollywood-style production numbers. It focuses more on Monika navigating between artistic impulse and fame obsession and the kaleidoscope of repercussions. True narcissists are rarely redeemed by self awareness or minor tragedies.With that in mind, I was kept in suspense wondering whether Monika suffered from a deep incurable personality disorder or a long bout of reversible blind ambition. I was not disappointed with the cinematic build-up to the final reveal. I know Danish, and watched the movie in Swedish with Danish subtitles on Danish public TV. Some of the nudity may have been cut, but I did not find anything offensive or describable as "full frontal" as another reviewer from Norway has mentioned. I only wish this movie had a full soundtrack of Edda Magnusson singing Monika Z classics. Her voice is enchanting. I like her renditions of Swedish jazz classics even better than the Monika Z samples I have heard on youtube. I gave the movie 10 stars, because rarely do I want to watch a movie twice, and now I plan to watch it for a third time in fact! The movie's only minor flaw was the bar scene with Ella Fitzgerald. The exchange was not very convincing to my mind. The actress who played the great EF was perhaps too strident. I would have expected a more reserved, almost indifferent reaction. So maybe the blame is also on the lines written. So to be precise, I would say 9 1/2 stars. Enjoy!

Let's first make clear that Edda Magnason is fantastic as Monica Zetterlund, an icon in Swedish jazz music and entertainment. Not at least when she sings. It's almost scary.

But the script about her life outside stage is a melodrama on at best average level. The chronology is strange, 15 years pass and her daughter doesn't get older and nothing new is put to the common movie myth about the self-burning artist and her soul.

We're quite in love with the early 60s now. Both we who were where and the rest of us. Which doesn't mean we're so interested in this way of romanticizing it in this way, even the destructiveness it kept