By now, I guess nearly everyone has seen the Stieg Larsson trilogy and Let the Right One In. Need a few other Swedish film recommendations? Here are the five most urgent Swedish films on my to-watch list, in no particular order, based on recommendations:
1) Svinalängorna (Beyond) is actress Pernilla August’s feature debut as a director. Based on writer Susanna Alakoski’s award-winning novel, the film has Noomi Rapace (yes, the one portrayed Lisbeth Salander) in the lead role. It’s official release in Sweden is in December, but our film blogger Chris Gardner is set for a sneak preview later this week. I’m looking forward to comparing our views of the film.
2) The Girl — a beautiful film or a pretentious film? I’ve heard people say both. Now is the time for my verdict.
3) The Ape and the one above were the two Swedish films I felt I missed out on last year. The less you know about The Ape’s plot, the better, they say. The film got good reviews at the Venice Film Festival.
4) Ond tro (“Bad Faith”) is currently playing in Swedish movie theatres. It’s a thriller by Kristian Petri,a very original director who’s not very known outside of Sweden. I really liked his previous feature Detaljer (Details), which was based on playwright Lars Norén‘s depressing play with the same name.
5) The Laser Man — okay, this is actually a mini-series made for Swedish television, but I intend to view its four and a half hours straight when I find it on DVD. The drama, first aired in 2005, tells the story of real-life John Ausonius, who shot eleven people, most of which were immigrants, in Stockholm and Uppsala during the early nineties. Killing one and seriously injuring the others, Ausonius became known as the “laser man” as he used a rifle equipped with a laser sight in several of his murder attempts.
Friends of mine and critics have heaped praise on The Laser Man. Some have even called it the best thing ever produced in the history of Swedish television, no categories barred. It’s pure coincidence that I’m bringing up this series now with what’s been happening recently in Malmö.
