Despite a growing sense of fatigue from too many serious and darkly comic gore-fests, I signed up to cover GET AWAY for two reasons – Nick Frost and Aisling Bea. Glad I did. Frost became a celeb primarily from serving as Simon Pegg’s lovable sidekick in SHAUN OF THE DEAD and HOT FUZZ (one of my all-time faves). Both were written by Pegg and Edgar Wright, leading to several other worthy collaborations from the three pals.
This time Frost as writer and star proves he can stick the landing in that genre just fine on his own. Delightful Irish stand-up/actress Bea plays his wife, as they and their two (typically surly) teenagers travel from England to Sweden for the eponymous vacation. They decided on a remote island, timing the visit with an arcane festival and program that’s an homage to its history.
Before even reaching the island, they’re given the usual warnings from the usual sort of creepy locals on the landward side of the ferry that it won’t be safe to go there. A wave of hostility from the island’s denizens greets them as they disembark. It starts to seem as if 2019’s MIDSOMMAR will be a romcom by comparison to what’s in store for these innocents abroad, and another gut punch to the Swedish tourism industry. Maybe that’s why they shot it in Finland.
The title serves double duty as describing the break from routine they’re seeking, and the wisdom of doing a 180 before boarding that fateful boat. No more details can be included without spoiling what I found so enjoyable about the proceedings. It’s every bit as twisted, hilarious and gory as the aforementioned titles, while simultaneously delivering on and spoofing its morbid, grisly genre. See it before you learn more about the plot. And don’t bring the faint of heart with you.
GET AWAY, in English and Swedish with English subtitles, opens Friday, Dec. 6, in theaters.
Sofia Helin as Saga, in “The Bridge” Season 4. Director: Rumle Hammerich. Photo: Jens Juncker. Produced by Filmlance International AB. Courtesy of MHzChoice
“The Bridge: Season 4” is likely the final chapter in this crime drama from Sweden and Denmark. As before, it’s based on a complex crime scenario at their border affecting both countries, providing another round with a new menace for Saga (Sofia Helin) and Henrik (Thure Lindhardt) to confront. That’s hard to get off the ground, since Saga has been in jail for the eight months since Season 3’s events for allegedly killing her allegedly psycho mother. Since her release occurs in the first episode, it’s no spoiler to inform you that she’s cleared and returned to duty, albeit with some difficulties. Even knowing that, the method of getting there is intriguing enough for a good watch.
For the usual eight episodes, the cop combo and their bi-national team deal with what appears to be a serial killer. That’s in doubt because the manner of dispatching each victim differs (most of them have more of a signature style, at least in the realm of fiction), and there’s no discernible pattern of how they’re targeted. As the season progresses, multiple suspects ebb and flow, along with numerous theories about the killer’s or killers’ motivation. The murders are dramatically staged, but mostly occur off-screen, with the gory details shown rather discreetly to keep the faint of heart from turning away.
Along with the main crime plot, the season delves deeper into the natures, backstories and personal lives of several principals than was the case in the first three seasons. That makes the overall tone even more somber than before. Perhaps that’s due to the influence of the few new writers added to the prior staff. I recommend holding off on this season until you’ve seen the others, due to the considerable carryover in all the character-arc subplots. Bingeing is also preferable because of the large number of players and issues swirling around before anyone figures out which of them are relevant to this killing spree. There are also several surprising developments affecting many of the principals. Here’s the link to my review covering seasons 1-3 to refresh your memory, or provide some insight on what to expect:
Since Season 4 aired in 2018, it seems likely to be the finale. Without details, I can advise there are no cliffhangers or loose ends detracting from a sense of closure. It was presumably written to end on that laudable note, expecting it to be the last hurrah for this celebrated, oft-imitated series. The characters and their audience deserve no less.
“The Bridge” Season 4, mostly in Danish and Swedish with English subtitles, is available streaming on MHzChoice starting Tuesday, Jan. 30.
RATING: 2.5 out of 4 stars
Sofia Helin as Saga, in “The Bridge” Season 4. Director: Rumle Hammerich. Photo: Jens Juncker. Produced by Filmlance International AB. Courtesy of MHzChoice
This weekend sees the release of a new documentary concerning a subject that’s been covered extensively in the news over the last several years: the refugee crisis in the Middle East. Yes, it’s been part of the political debate, and countless reports have flooded the news outlets, not to mention feature-length and short-subjects “docs”. And yet this one feels fresh and immediate. Perhaps that’s due of the medium as this is an animated feature (well, about 95% of it), proving that that said medium (it’s not a genre) can be used to tell all sorts of stories (remember Spidey grabbing an Oscar, and the stop-motion drama ANOMALISA). Plus it’s a most intimate tale as it’s a coming of age saga related by a man whose later lifestyle would leave him no choice but to FLEE.
This true story of the now-adult Amin (voice of Riz Ahmed) commences in present-day Copenhagen as he is interviewed by a former classmate and friend Jonas (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau). Amin isn’t eager to share painful childhood memories, as he finishes his education in the US while starting a home with his partner Kaspar. But he indulges his pal with early recollections of growing up in Kabul, during the turbulent 1980s. He romps through the dusty streets while clad in one of his sisters’ dresses, dashing into the kitchen just as his grey-haired mother prepares Dinner. Many of those silver strands came from losing her military pilot husband who was arrested when the new communist regime took power. As the battles crept closer to the city, Amin’s family had no choice but to escape. Luckily his oldest brother, who’s a “cleaner’ in Sweden, meets them in Moscow, the “holding place” until they can join him (he’s trying to get the funds together). Over the next months, the family must hide in the tiny Russian apartment, avoiding the police, as they attempt to leave the country via arduous hiking and a rusted cargo ship all arranged by brutal human traffickers. Through it all, Amin trudges forward while realizing that his sexuality would prevent him from ever returning to his homeland.
Much as with the aforementioned SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE, the art of animation is elevated beyond family fables and musicals, to delve deeply into one man’s journey, both geographic and emotional. And though much of the current animated fare is done digitally, this film harkens back to the golden era of hand-drawn, or 2-D, films with the look of a graphic novel brought to vivid life. The main characters are given a simple outline, the thickness resembling a pen point or perhaps a well-worn marker. Basic curved lines and slashes represent the main features like eyes and noses. The colors are natural and subdued, often bathing the characters in a hue to emphasize their moods or the urgency of the sequence (the blues make us feel the cold during a winter trek through the snowy woods to the “escape vessel”). Yet there’s still room for moments of whimsy that might not have worked with live-action (a wink from an 80s action movie star). Early on, we even get a homage to a sketched MTV staple from A-Ha. Best of all, the choices help us focus on Amin and his family, as the bystanders are often rendered with blank faces, while the most harrowing memories are down with a jittery urgency with silhouettes blurring across pale color swatches. And kudos to the sound mixers who place us right in the middle of brutality, then suddenly escort us to the bliss of the countryside. It’s a triumph for the director Jonas Peter Rasmussen who co-wrote the film with its subject Amin Nawabi (their screen voices, Ahmed and Coster-Waldau, are also part of the producing team). My biggest compliment is that it feels like a feature version of the great shorts from the National Film Board of Canada (the highlight of many traveling animation fests). With its distant approach, FLEE. puts us right in the well-worn shoes of this weary world-explorer.
It’s reboot time once more, but this one’s not another entry in the horror genre, as the recent HALLOWEEN and SUSPIRIA, but it does have a connection, though slight. The source flick doesn’t go back 40 years, merely seven. That’s when Hollywood decided there needed to be an English-language film adaptation of a book series that was an international sensation. Steig Larsson’s THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO was a huge hit inspiring a film version of that and its two sequels in his native Sweden. Ah, but America could certainly make it into a monster hit, and even though that foreign language trilogy played here at the “art house” cinemas, Sony Studios brought in director David Fincher (FIGHT CLUB) and screenwriter Steve Zaillian (SEARCHING FOR BOBBY FISHER), and cast Bond himself Daniel Craig along with relative movie newcomer Rooney Mara. The results were…tepid. This was not to be the start of a franchise, so the plans for a US trilogy were scrapped. But much has happened since 2011, mainly the MeToo and Time’sUp movement making headlines with horrific stories of sexual intimidation, harassment, and abuse of women. Perhaps the time is exactly right for the story of a lone female swooping in to exact justice on the powerful men that pummel and degrade. Maybe audiences are ready for the return of Lisbeth Salander, in a different tale, now known as THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER’S WEB: A NEW DRAGON TATTOO STORY.
This “new story” actually starts with a flashback. In a dark mansion, far from the cities of Sweden, ten-year-old Lisbeth Salander plays chess with her slightly older sister Camilla in their gloomy nursery. A servant breaks the silence, summoning them to their father’s master bedroom (mother is out of the picture). When Lisbeth realizes his demented intentions, she backs away toward the balcony, several stories above the snow covered grounds. She gives her sister a pleading stare, but Camilla will not join her escape. Lisbeth tumbles into the nearby woods and disappears. In the present day, she is wanted by the Stockholm police for a series of attacks on prominent men, who were usually beating and raping their wives, co-workers, and daughters. After her latest job, she speeds her motorcycle back to an empty old warehouse and awaits her next “assignment”. Meanwhile, her crime-fighting aide, reporter Mikal Blomkvist (Sverrir Gudnason) complains to his married/editor lover Erika (Vicky Krieps) about their news magazine’s arrogant current owner. Lisbeth (Claire Foy) is not waiting very long. She must use her considerable computer hacking skills to retrieve a dangerous piece of software from the US and return it to its creator Fran Balder (Stephen Merchant). Balder’s work, dubbed Firefall, can give a single user complete access and control of all nuclear missiles and rockets hidden in silos around the world. She is so skilled that only Edwin Needham (Lakeith Stanfield) is alerted of the program’s removal from the US security systems. Somehow word leaks out and Lisbeth’s home is set afire by masked gunmen who grab her laptop with Firefall installed. The same gunmen go after Balder and his pre-teen son August (Christopher Convery) when they are given protection by the local police. With intel from Mikael, Lisbeth learns that she was the target of the Spider Gang, a brutal band of Russian assassins. Can she keep two steps ahead of them, the police, and Needham and take back Firefall before it gets into the wrong hands. And just who is the mysterious leader of the Spiders?
The title pretty much sums up this thriller, mainly that Lisbeth played by the very talented Ms. Foy is “front and center”. Just weeks after her stunning supporting turn as Mrs. Armstrong in FIRST MAN, she proves her ability to carry a film as a dynamic action star. Her character is an avenging angel in black, in her first adult sequence literally wrapping up a bully in her web, submitting him to physical (and financial) punishment. But Foy makes this super-heroine very human. We see the fear in her eyes as she realizes that the odds against her may be overwhelming. And she pays a price for her actions in pure pain, whether stapling shut an oozing wound or careening off her cycle. Foy shows her as a haunted, lonely soul who can barely exist between “jobs”. It’s a complex, compelling performance. Unfortunately, her supporting cast are saddled with very simple, sometimes cliched characters. There’s not a strong connection between Lisbeth and Mikael, who’s played by Gudnason like a sullen co-worker, reminding me of Beck Bennett playing a befuddled Nordic tourist in an SNL sketch. Sylvia Hoeks, so good in BLADE RUNNER 2049, is pure deadpan banal evil as an enigmatic woman in red. Comic mastermind Merchant is quite compelling as the guilt-ridden scientist and divorced dad, sort of a modern internet Victor Frankenstein, trying to recapture his monster before it devours the planet. Stanfield is cool and confident, a man on a mission, who slowly begins to admire Lisbeth and her crew. And there’s some good comic relief from Cameron Britton as Lisbeth’s computer consultant/tech wiz only known as “Plague”.
So, you recall my mention of a “horror connection”? Well, that’s because the film’s director, Fede Alvarez, made a name for himself for the one-two box office punch of the 2013 EVIL DEAD reboot and the very entertaining “sleeper hit” of 2016 DON’T BREATHE. Now he’s made his debut as an expert action director, though there are several chilling scenes. Most notably, it’s the reveal of the Spider Gang’s stomach-churning retaliation against a former member who got too “chatty”. Whew, that’s the stuff of nightmares, along with a skin-tight back leather cocoon (hooked up to a device sucks in any air). Fede also co-wrote the script with Jay Basu and Steven Knight (basing it on the book by David Lagercrantz using Larsson’s characters), which has a definite Bond/Bourne feel with its software “MacGuffin” that turns deadly weapons against their makers. But unlike those “super spies” Salander, in the opening scenes, is a champion for individuals rather than countries. With her black hood and jumpsuit, accented by a white makeup mask about her eyes, she’s a near unstoppable “bat-woman” or even a “lady Punisher”, who’ll give these very very bad men “just what they got comin’ to ’em”. We do see a few of the plot twists “coming across the fjords” (another faked suicide, eh), but Foy is so terrific and the action set pieces are so nail-biting, that we can forgive and almost forget as we wonder whether she can survive. It’s not much of a spoiler to say that this will hopefully spark another (not saying franchise or even trilogy) thriller involving THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER’S WEB.
Julian (Dominic West) endures the actions of a performer named Oleg (Terry Notary), in Ruben Ostlund’s satire THE SQUARE. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures (c).
Ruben Ostlund’s satire THE SQUARE was Cannes’ Palme D’Or winner this year but this ambitious film is a decidedly unusual winner. Ostlund’s previous film, FORCE MAJEURE, explored a single morally-bad choice in a caustically comic way. THE SQUARE turns a satiric eye on modern art, contemporary society, political correctness, homelessness, sex, income inequality and more, although it often focuses on the subject of trust. THE SQUARE, partly in English and partly in Swedish with subtitles, is sly, darkly satiric and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny film, when it is not just downright disturbing. This is not a film for everyone, but it has rewards for those up for its wild ride.
The story revolves around Christian (Claes Bang), the curator at a modern art museum in Sweden. The film’s title refer to a new art installation, a simple square cut into the pavement and edged with an LED light strip, and marked with a plaque reading, “The Square is a sanctuary of trust and caring. Within it we all share equal rights and obligations.” It is a peaceful sentiment, and pretty far from what really goes on in THE SQUARE, once director Ruben Ostlund’s biting social satire gets underway.
Christian’s modern art museum is housed in a historic building adjoining the former royal palace, now also a museum. Redirecting lost tourists to the palace is a daily task for the art museum’s staff. At the film’s beginning, an old bronze equestrian statue is unceremoniously ripped from its pedestal in front of the museum, as the hundreds-year-old brick pavement next to it is sliced into for the new art installation, “The Square.”
Tradition and history don’t get much respect at this museum but money sure does. Like all museums, pleasing donors and the board are a major part of Christian’s job as curator, and drumming up media, and public, interest in the gentle message of the new art installation, by Argentinian artist and sociologist Lola Arias, may be a challenge.
A robbery in which Christian is conned and loses his smart phone and wallet kicks off the series of events that comprise the plot. One of Ostlund’s targets is the media, and its tendency to bring out the worst in people. The gentle message of the art installation has no appeal to the media, which demands “controversy.” While Christian is preoccupied with his own drama over the stolen cell phone and wallet, the PR company cooks up a plan to go viral. The others at the table are clearly uneasy but no one wants to take responsibility for saying no. When the distracted Christian does not object, the plan is launched, with bizarre results. It goes viral and gets media attention all right but not in a good way.
Ostlund underlines modern society’s growing distrust of government by the fact that no one even mentions calling the police after the robbery. Christian and his co-worker’s track his stolen cell phone themselves, and determine where the thief lives.
Christian is the stereotype of the sincere, serious modern man, capable of saying all the right things but clueless about his bubble of privilege. He knows all the right words but just can’t grasp how they relate to him. We first meet the handsome, sincere, well-spoken curator as he is being interviewed by an American journalist named Anne (Elizabeth Moss). As Anne reverently asks him about a self-contradictory statement on the museum’s website, Christian’s answer tips us off as to just how far into the realm of verbal BS this film is willing to wade – which is way into the deep end. The scene is hilarious and telling. Later, they have an equally telling and funny confrontation, in front of an art installation made up of a creaking pile of chairs.
The art world is an easy target but far from the only one in this satire. “If we took your bag and placed it here (on the museum floor), would that make it art?” Christian says, posing a question art experts have been asking since Marcel Duchamp bought a urinal at a hardware store, re-named it “Fountain,” and displayed it in an art gallery. The modern answer seems to be, it does – if you have an art degree. But Ostlund then goes after a host of aspects of modern life, in hilariously pointed fashion.
Christian is a sincere guy who tries to think globally and thinks of himself as a good person. He says all the right things, drives a Tesla, is a caring divorced father of two daughters, but his expressions of ethical/moral concern do not match his actions. He walks past the homeless people who seem to be everywhere is this Swedish city without even noticing. Occasionally, he gives them money or buys them a sandwich but that is as far has it goes.
Christian is all talk and no action, idealist in how he speaks but cynical in how he acts, reflecting many people in modern society. A caring divorced father to his two daughters, he is cool to the pleas of the boy whose trouble with his family were caused by Christian’s unthinking actions. The boy demands, then begs Christian to apologize to his family for the mistake, but while he tells the boy he’s sorry, he’s unwilling to do more. When he finally does, he blames the whole world in his rambling apology.
The film’s events are often funny if bizarre, but sometimes just disturbing. Ostlund clearly wants to disturb, to encourage people to think. Often, the film focuses on trust – who to trust, how far to trust, trust in others, trust in the system. Although there is a plot that ties everything together, individual scenes frequently play out like skits, some silly, some weird, some alarming.
The film is peppered with biting routines. The artist who created “The Square” never appears in the film but another artist, Julian (Dominic West) does. Julian is the epitome of the smug, superior stereotype of an artist. One of the film’s absurdly comic scenes has the artist speaking in a gallery Q and A with a museum staff, only to be interrupted by shouted sexual comments from a man with Tourette’s Syndrome. The audience nods tolerantly, but as the interruptions become more frequent, continuing becomes impossible. When an audience member timidly ventures to speak up, she is pounced on by others set on lecturing her on tolerance.
“We, as a museum, mustn’t be afraid to push boundaries,” Christian tells us, but pushing donors’ boundaries is another matter. Lavish parties and events with guest artists are major part of Christian’s job.
One of the film’s most unsettling scenes takes place at a black-tie gala dinner for wealthy donors, at which the entertainment is a performance called “The Animal.” After a menacing voice booms out over jungle sounds, warning the audience not to confront or challenge “the animal,” an actor named Oleg (American stuntman/motion capture actor Terry Notary, who specializes in portraying animals) emerges, bare-chested and wearing gruesome prosthetic teeth, wanders among the tables, imitating chimp-like vocalizations and “knuckle-walking” with the help of metal extensions on his hands. At first the formally-dressed attendees are amused but when one of them gets too flippant with “the animal,” violence ensues and the line between pretense and reality blurs. The scene is striking, due in part to Notary’s performance, in which the muscular but middle-aged shirtless man displays a mix of humanity and wild animal, melancholy and menace.
THE SQUARE is not really saying something new but it is making its points in a strikingly fresh, satiric way. As Charlie Chaplin noted, sometimes you can say something serious more effectively with comedy.
Think that only American families go on disastrous vacations? Well this new film from Sweden certainly disputes that notion. In writer/director Ruben Ostlund’s heart-wrenching drama, we’re introduced to a picture perfect family unit on “holiday” at a swanky ski resort up in the French Alps (they must be fairly well off to afford this little getaway). There’s handsome thirty-something dad Tomas (Johannes Kuhnke), lovely mom, Ebba (Lisa Loven Kongsil), big sister Vera (Clara Wettergren), and kid brother Harry (Vincent Wittergren). Speaking of pictures, when we first meet them, the resort’s photog is snapping some shots of them on the slopes. But it seems that mom and dad needs extra prodding from the cameraman to get closer. Later, when Ebba looks at the proofs, her smile fades as she comes to the pic of her and her hubby. They continue to ski away their days until “the incident” occurs during a lunch stop at an outdoor bistro. I won’t reveal anymore, so as to not spoil the film, but it may make you question your own eyes after viewing it. That night during an adult dinner with a couple they met in the resort lobby, Ebba relates the story. Tomas brushes it off when the guests feel the tension. On the way back to the room, Tomas and Ebba discuss it with Tomas believing that this misunderstanding is resolved. And just in time, since his old buddy Mats (Kristofer Hivju) has just arrived with his much younger girlfriend in tow. All is well, as the wine flows after Dinner. And then Ebba brings up “the incident” once more. And in painstaking detail, much to Tomas’s embarrassment, stunning the other couple. Although they try not to argue in front of the kids, Vera and Harry feel the tension and fear the worst: divorce. Is there any hope for this broken marriage to be repaired?
Ostlund has crafted a compelling tale of a relationship fraying at the seams and now about to unravel. The quiet, desolate beauty of the slopes at night should be a calming influence to the couple in crisis, but it only adds to their disconnect especially when the controlled avalanche cannons, whose barrels jut out from the mountain sides, blast and echo through the white canyons. The scenery’s impressive but the performances are the film’s heart, particularly Kongsil as the deeply conflicted matriarch, Ebba. In a conversation with another resort guest, Ebba grills her relentlessly and somewhat angrily about the woman’s open marriage. Is it envy or frustration? Perhaps it’s both a long with intense curiosity. The scene is only a warm up for the big showdown after Dinner with old friend Mats and his new lady. Her anger and anxiety erupt from her in unending flow, like lava from a raging volcano that refuses to abate. The guests can only stare in dumbfounded silence, unable to look away or divert the vocal soul cleanse. Kuhnke, as the recipient of her ire, can only look on in shame and confusion, as he realizes that “the incident” opened up a rift he was blithely unaware. He had dismissed her concerns earlier, but now he truly gets it, as if one wall of his life crumbles and buries him. But it doesn’t leave the witnesses unscathed. Hivju as Mat passionately attempts to defend his old pal, but soon finds himself under attack from his companion (some holiday!). But all vacations must end, and Ostlund concludes the journey on a note that is open to many interpretations. FORCE MAJEURE shows us that no matter how far you travel for a get away, your problems find you.
4 Out of 5
FORCE MAJEURE opens everywhere and screens exclusively in the St. Louis area at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinemas
THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE is the second installment in a trilogy of films adapted from the books by Stieg Larsson, proving to be one of the most entertaining and epic mysteries to hit theaters in some time. This second film is directed by Daniel Alfredson and continues the story of Lisbeth Salander, the enigmatic and smart young woman caught within a string a tragically appalling circumstances. However, unlike in the first film, THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, this film is told more from the controversial reporter Mikael Blomkvist’s point-of-view, but the plot remains primarily focused on Lisbeth’s story.
If you haven’t already seen THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO… then shame on you! As one of the most highly-acclaimed and widely-appealing foreign films in recent memory, seeing the first film is also crucial to fully appreciating the second, as the films create an ongoing story with plenty of back story of plot twists and turns. THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO is currently available on DVD and Blu-Ray… so, no excuses.
Noomi Rapace reprises her role as Lisbeth, the rebellious lesbian hacker with a brilliant mind for researching. This time around, a few years after the first film ended, Lisbeth sports longer hair and lives a more comfortable life travelling and holding up in fancy, expensive apartments. She has managed to stay clear of trouble, courtesy of the spotless positive reports files by her corrupt government-assigned guardian Nils Bjurman (Peter Andersson) who now ensures Lisbeth’s freedom since learning the hard way not to cross her.
All is well for Lisbeth, until she notices that Bjurman isn’t holding up his end of their little bargain, drawing her out of the woodwork and back to Sweden to reinforce her ultimatum to the man who raped her. Lisbeth’s return to Sweden sparks a new set of events and a whole new plot of conspiracy and murder to which she is unknowingly central. With the help of Mikael (Michael Nyqvist) her friends and Mikael’s fellow reporters, Lisbeth slowly uncovers the truth about her father and her connection to a secretive underground criminal sex trade.
Mikael becomes a larger role in this film than the first, with the story being told largely from his point-of-view. Mikael feels a sort of responsibility and duty to do whatever is necessary to clear Lisbeth’s name. Putting himself and his career at great risk, he embarks on a sort of Columbo-like investigative adventure to uncover the truth and save Lisbeth from being taken down by the police for something she didn’t do. In the process, his relationship with Lisbeth develops from that of a former lover into something more mature and meaningful; evolving into a father-daughter sort of intimacy, despite the two character separation until the end of the film. This element proves to be crucial in setting up potential story progression for the third film.
THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE goes to great lengths to take the viewer deeper into Lisbeth’s world, giving us a better understanding of who she is and what makes her tick, allowing us deeper into her past and her troubled psyche. One thing I found truly fascinating in the first film that is maintained in this second film, is the attention to detail. Throughout the films, great care is given to handling plot intricacies as well as small details within the set design and locations. There is always so much going on in the frame, but never in an excessive fashion. Two of the tiniest, least important details that caught my attention were a bartender in one scene wearing a Green lantern t-shirt and a Pippi Longstocking reference involving Lisbeth’s apartment. These are examples of the many blended elements of “cool” that appear throughout these films, adding to the experience without distracting from the story.
While THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO was intended partially as an introduction to the characters, more time is spent in THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE on developing a new mystery and intrigue, while ramping up the action and suspense. In many ways, this second film feels like a James Bond movie. We have a clear, yet reclusive villain that is the subject of investigation from not just the authorities, but the Millenium reporters and Lisbeth herself. Ronald (played by Mikael Spreitz) is an enforcer that is essentially a “Jaws” type character, resembling the tall, blonde and muscle-bound European thugs commonly found in middle-era Jackie Chan films, a la MR. NICE GUY and FIRST STRIKE. Ronald even has a cool medical condition that makes him quite the frightening nemesis to Lisbeth and her friends. However, this “enforcer” plays a slightly more integral role in the story and has greater depth.
Returning to the action and suspense of THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE, this is possibly the most engaging part of the film. The audience will be delighted to find a car chase, Swedish biker thugs and even some great hand-to-hand fighting. Two of Lisbeth’s friends are trained fighters; Miriam Wu (Yasmine Garbi) is not just one of Lisbeth’s lovers, but she’s also a kickboxer, and Paolo (Paolo Roberto) is a boxer. Both of these characters find themselves encountering Ronald in a fight for survival as they attempt to help Lisbeth in her mission of revenge. Likewise, we also find out Lisbeth is more than just a scrappy young firecracker, but also a trained kickboxer and are treated to seeing her in action as well.
THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE once again delivers with outstanding cinematography with rich colors and crisp detail by Peter Mokrosinki and a great score by Jacob Groth. By the end of the film, Lisbeth has been through the ringer yet again, creating a strong sense of empathy for the character that is only restrained by the fact that we’ve come to know Lisbeth as a strong, resilient survivor that simply won’t give up.
‘Sauna’ is an eerie tale of two Swedish brothers in the 16th century who are part of a small Swedish and Russian team of former soldiers attempting to outline a border between the two countries after a long and bloody war.
While this film is classified as horror, this is accomplished mostly through the psychological turmoil that the two brother endure as they cope with the mistreatment of a young farmer’s daughter they encountered on the journey into a mostly uncharted swamp.
‘Sauna’ is creepy and mysterious, much in the same way most Asian horror films approach the concept of a “scary” movie. It’s all about the unknown and the unseen, not revealing much of anything until the end and even then keeping the pay-off low-key, allowing for the viewer’s mind to do most of the work for the film.
Erik (Ville Virtanen) is an experienced soldier with a long tally of bodies on his conscious from the war. Erik is well aware of the blood on his hands and the sins he will undoubtedly pay for in whatever afterlife lies in wait for him. His brother Knut (Tommi Eronen) is a much more timid and peaceful man, but the two of them are equally responsible for the young girl that may or may not have survived their encounter.
Director Antti-Jussi Annila’s vision for ‘Sauna’ comes through vividly, despite the occasionally slow pace. The landscape is bleak and gray, but beautifully mystic at the same time. Erik is a man who toils, internally and externally with his past actions and now wishes finds himself thrown into a metaphysical allegory by which he believes he can make some amends by saving another little girl from a mysterious force in a strange little village located dead in the center of this swamp.
The outcome is disturbing, metaphorical and to some extent open-ended to interpretation. ‘Sauna’ achieves it’s success by not succumbing to the typical formula of period horror. I recommend this movie for those who enjoyed ‘Crimson Rivers’ and films of a similar type.
I looked forward to this film for the better part of a year, and now – having seen it – I highly recommend it. The title “Là ¥t den rà ¤tte komma in” translated, is “Let The Right One in,” and the film is based on a book of the same name. It has the benefit of being written by the author of the source material, John Ajvide Lindqvist. The director, Tomas Alfredson, is more than capable, having been at the helm of several features. His work, as well as cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema’s, raises the film above and beyond its genre trappings, turning it into a formidable drama concerning vulnerability and manipulation, innocence and experience.
It stars two young children, Kà ¥re Hedebrant and Lina Leandersson, and they carry the film remarkably. This is their show, and the material succeeds because of their collective performances.
“Let the Right One In” won Best Narrative Feature at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival and the Gà ¶teborg Film Festival awarded the feature with Best Film & Best Cinematography awards.
The story takes place in Sweden, circa 1982, in a suburb of Stockholm. Everything is snow and ice and frozen breath. Oskar (Hedebrant) is twelve years old, bullied relentlessly, and has violent revenge fantasies. New neighbors move in, an older gentleman and a girl, Eli (Leandersson), that appears to be Oskar’s age, and the filmmakers waste no time revealing their bloody business.
