The attention to detail in Midsommar is astounding. Just look at this rolling pin!
The "Affekt Language" of the Hårga was created, a mysterious combination of emotional signals, spoken words, and runes. Then, the Affekt runes were designed and given meaning. Then, the symbols were combined in a beautiful pattern with an idea of placing them onto the top of a tart. And a craftsperson actually created a real rolling pin with the beautiful Affekt pattern and placed it within the cooking house on set.
Nille Svensson said:
In the beginning I started thinking about how you could develop a runic system for the Hårgas that wasn't ”viking runes”. We had a meeting with the choreographer on the film Anna Vnuk, and she sent me some YouTube clips from her Midsommar workshops, where she developed [the Hårgas’] movement and dances. I thought there were some interesting arm movements that looked a bit like calligraphy, so we used that to develop the alphabet system. It made sense that the characters would allude to both wording and movement, since the affect language sort of exists on both symbolic and performative levels.
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| Nille Svensson |
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| Nille Svensson |
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| Zoe Hegedus |
This rolling pin is barely seen in the final cut of the movie, but it's an example of the depth of meaning that has been created and built, to make the Hårga feel real. A humble rolling pin! It's so beautiful.
I'm going to specifically name some people who were involved in the creation of this, and I'm sure there are many more who were involved whose names I do not know.
Henrik Svensson, production designer
Nille Svensson, art director
Zoe Hegedus, food designer
Ari Aster, writer and director
