Anita: Swedish Nymphet Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Anita: Swedish Nymphet Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 22, 2025

Torgny Wickman's "Anita: Swedish Nymphet" (1973) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Klubb Super 8. The supplemental features on the release include recent program with actress Christina Lindberg; new audio commentary by critics Rickard Gramfors Jason Carter; archival promotional and production materials; vintage international trailer; and more. In Swedish, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

It is easy to understand why Torgny Wickman’s film has been distributed under wildly misleading titles, such as Anita: Swedish Nymphet and Anita: Diary of a Nymphomaniac. These titles attract viewers of a certain kind who used to spend a significant amount of money on a specific type of explicit film. However, Wickman’s film, whose proper title is only Anita, does not have any explicit material. It tells a variation of the same story that is told in Uli Edel’s Christiane F. and Vasili Pichul’s Little Vera.

In Stockholm, Sweden, seventeen-year-old Anita (Christina Lindberg) yearns for someone special who can make her existence meaningful. But she is single, undesired, and unloved, a moving object with a human appearance whose biggest accomplishment thus far has been to blend successfully into her environment.

To get a taste of what it feels like to be desired and loved, Anita has offered herself to a stranger and experienced an emotional rush that has instantly transformed her into an addict. Sex is her fix, but she has not experienced the pleasure of intimacy. She does not even know what an orgasm is. When she meets strangers and takes her clothes off, she cheats like an inmate who has figured out how to secretly get out of his cell and temporarily reconnect with the real world.

Anita’s unusual behavior has pushed her further away from her parents, perplexed her sister, and everyone in her sister’s circle of friends. The only person who has realized that her sexual activities are substituting for other activities is Erik (Stellan Skarsgard), an older psychology student, who is willing to help her but is already too busy managing what matters the most in his life. Nevertheless, the two repeatedly meet and, without immediately realizing it, begin falling in love.

Wickman chronicles Anita’s misery with a frankness that could be easy to misinterpret, but only by a non-Swedish (or perhaps non-Scandinavian) audience unfamiliar with the manner in which local filmmakers had tackled subjects like adolescent love and alienation for decades after the end of WWII. Indeed, Wickman’s film actually shows far less than Vilgot Sjoman’s I Am Curious: Yellow/Blue and Roy Anderson’s A Swedish Love Story, both of which are viewed and discussed in a drastically different context by non-Swedish audiences.

However, thematically, Wickman’s film is an extremely close relative of Christiane F. and Little Vera. In Christiane F., another teenage girl emerges from a dysfunctional German family, and, while looking to connect with people who genuinely care about her existence, like Anita, she becomes an addict. Her fix is the real thing -- one hundred percent pure, deadly heroin. In Little Vera, a teenage girl emerges from a dysfunctional Russian family, and, while the state crumbles, forcing many to drink themselves to death, including her parents, she becomes addicted to misery. Her fix is a cocktail of communist era vices.

Wickman’s film is available to see in two versions, the original Swedish version and a slightly more explicit French version. It is hardly surprising, because the latter was clearly created to market and sell the film to non-Swedish audiences, who expected it to be a proper X-rated film. The original Swedish version is the better film.

Both versions are presented on this release. In 2021, the original Swedish version was restored by the Swedish Film Institute. The French version is not restored and is presented as a bonus feature.

Anita: Swedish Nymphet Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Anita: Swedish Nymphet arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Klubb Super 8.

The release presents two versions of the film, the original Swedish version and a slightly more explicit French version. In 2021, the original Swedish version was restored by the Swedish Film Institute. The French version is not restored and is presented as a bonus feature.

The Swedish version, which is the one to see, looks mostly good. However, it produces some rather obvious fluctuations, some inherited, some not inherited, and when viewed on a large screen, the quality of its visuals can shift quite a bit. To tone down the effects of these fluctuations, someone has done minor grain adjustments, which I thought were unnecessary. Also, the grading job introduces light teal, which makes several sequences with outdoor footage look a bit unnatural. In the French version, the same sequences look significantly rougher yet better because the teal is missing. Image stability is good. I noticed various small blemishes, vertical lines and even a few tiny marks, but there are no large cuts, debris, warped or torn frames to report. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Anita: Swedish Nymphet Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are three standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: Swedish LPCM 2.0 and German Dolby Digital (for the original Swedish version of the film), and French LPCM 2.0 (for the French version). Optional English subtitles are provided for both versions.

I viewed the original Swedish version of the film and only sampled the French version. The lossless Swedish track is good. It is healthy and stable. However, its dynamic potency is extremely modest, making it impossible to ignore the fact that the film was shot with a tiny budget. There is very little music, and there are no good dynamic contrasts. A lot of the material has a semi-documentary quality. The English translation is excellent.

Anita: Swedish Nymphet Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• French Version - presented here is an unrestored, slightly more revealing French version of the film, titled Les Impures. In French, with optional English subtitles. French LPCM 2.0. (78 min).

• Stellan, Sex and Psychotherapy - in this archival program, Christina Lindberg reveals when and how she was offered to do Anita and discusses its production, as well as her early work in Japan with local directors and producers, where her career started. Lindberg also comments on some of the main differences between working in Japan and Sweden, and addresses Stellan Skarsgard's ambition to become a major star in Sweden. Also included are comments from set decorator Klinga Wickman. In Swedish, with English subtitles. (12 min).

• Christina and Torgny - in this recent program, Christina Lindberg answers a series of questions about the evolution of her career and collaboration with Torgny Wickman on Anita: Swedish Nymphet. In Swedish, with English subtitles. (18 min).

• Commentary - this audio commentary was recorded by the founder of Klubb Super 8, Rickard Gramfors, and critic Jason Carter, who has spent several years researching Anita: Swedish Nymphet.

• Poster and Image Gallery - a large collection of archival promotional and production materials for Anita: Swedish Nymphet. Presented with music. (9 min).

• Centerfolds and Articles Gallery - additional archival materials for Anita: Swedish Nymphet and featuring its star, Christina Lindberg. Presented with music. (11 min).

• British Trailer - presented here is a vintage British trailer for Anita: Swedish Nymphet. (2 min).

Anita: Swedish Nymphet Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

In their audio commentary, Rickard Gramfors, founder of Klubb Super 8, and critic Jason Carter clarify that Torgny Wickman shot two versions of Anita: Swedish Nymphet, at the same time, one of them intentionally offering more skin. Of course, he did. During the 1960s and 1970s, the only way for Swedish films not directed by Ingmar Bergman to reach various international markets was to show more skin. These films had an established reputation, and they were among Sweden's best exports. The original Swedish version of Wickman's film, which is not explicit, is better. It is not a masterpiece, but the familiar story it tells instantly makes it relatable to much bigger films like Christiane F. and Little Vera. Both versions are presented on this release. In 2021, the original Swedish version was restored by the Swedish Film Institute. RECOMMENDED.