The story of Yohan
mandag 18. februar 2008 22:46
We find ourselves in interior West Agder in Norway at the end of the 1800's. It is Sunday.
Yohan (10) sits atop a high moutain knoll looking out over a valley and plays on a homemade willow flute while grazing the family's only famished cow, two sheep, and one goat. Life is hard on the barren mountain farm, but Yohan always makes the best of things.
While he plays, a band of Gypsies with Raya and Freddy and their children wind their way up through the valley. Freddy's son Levi plays the fiddle while they drive the horse upwards. A musical game of tag begins between Levi, his younger niece on the violin, and Yohan on the flute.
Suddenly, the idyllic moment is shattered. Big brothers Knut (13) and Tor (12) appear suddenly. They rip the flute out of Yohan's hands and scold him for wasting time.
Knut and Tor share the same point of view as their mother - that it is important to live according to the customs of the village: traditions for work, dress, etc., shall be followed.
Yohan is not preoccupied by what others do or think. He is like his father and takes life as it comes. He is resourceful and always finds new ways to solve problems.
Knut and Tor are older and believe that they are correct in following traditions. They defend their mother and use every opportunity to demonstrate their superiority by correcting Yohan and belittling him .
One day, Knut and Tor meet four poachers who want to shoot a bear. The pouchers trick the brothers into telling them where their fathers bear den is located. A bear den has a large monetary worth due to both the price of the hide and the bounty placed on the bear.
Their father, Johannes, does not want to shoot the bear as it is not a type of bear that is dangerous to humans, even though shooting it could give the family necessary income. The winter has been long and hard, and there is little food left over. There is an argument about shooting the bear, but Father doesnt want to. Instead, he decides to work on a sailing ship. He doesnt want his children to become child wanderers, but& stay tuned for the movie release the summer of 2010.
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