The Library Thief - 2011 - Sweden

The Library Thief - 2011 - 7/10
AKA - Bibliotekstjuven

 
John works in the national library (Stockholm) as a menial researcher.
A chance opportunity cracks the door to advancement, likewise access to priceless materials.
The polite face masks envy, jealously, resentment, greed.
Who’s going to miss a few books?  Books that can be sold to dealers of high-end antiquities.
Nightmare for book lovers and collectors, fans of the library.
Sadly, inspired by a real individual.  Curious: Anders Burius.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - 2009 - Sweden

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - 2009 - 7/10
AKA - Män som Hatar Kvinnor

 
Computer hacker Salander is hired to investigate a journalist (nice touch).
The reporter is of the exposé school, while Salander carries a history of abuse.
Methodical thriller is slow boil with shocking sexual violence.
Long, but gripping throughout.  Made Noomi Rapace an A-lister for a spell.
Followed by two sequels and an Americanized version; none interested me.

Fear Has 1000 Eyes - 1970 - Sweden

Fear Has 1000 Eyes - 1970 - 6/10
AKA - Skräcken har 1000 ögon // Sensuous Sorceress

 
Expecting her first child, Anna is broody, suffers nightmares, sees “things”.
A companion, Hedvig, is hired, who is uncannily attuned to Anna.
The two bond, yet while Anna slips into lethargy, Hedvig goes to work.
Hedvig is a witch, motivations unknown, who practices effigy magic and sexual predation.
Like most men, the husband is clueless, even as Hedvig rides him at night.
Excellent cinematography, deft sense of place, unhindered nudity.
Be prepared for a strolling pace, however.

The Blonde Witch - 1956 - France

The Blonde Witch - 1956 - 6/10
AKA - La Sorcière

Brulard, Parisian engineer is dispatched to a Swedish timber baron.
Baroness, actually, widowed and attractive, if aloof.
The locals are superstitious, reluctant to do certain things.
Brulard is forceful, however, both with the project, and in melting the owner’s heart.

 
Until he encounters Aino, a wild, untamed dweller in the woods.
Villagers view her as a witch, while he sees her as an innocent, and disturbingly beautiful.
There are elements that suggest supernatural, although Aino is closer to a “wise woman”.
Brulard, who I think perceives himself as a player, is naive and callous about females.

Draug - 2018 - Sweden

Draug - 2018 - 6/10

 
The missionary had ridden into the far north wilderness of Sweden.
Bringing Christianity to the pagans,  Circa 1000 AD.
After he and his party disappear, a team of warriors hit the search trail.
Into the woods of superstition and curses, blood feuds and possession.
Along with slumbering memory, and buried atrocities reawakening.
The narrative is too opaque for its own good.
We are thrown into a brightly lit landscape, seething with resentment.
A few reviews categorize this into a zombie film – it is not.
Nonetheless, I needed a review to clarify the ending for me.

Murders In Sandhamn - 2010 - Sweden

Murders In Sandhamn - 2010 - 6/10
AKA - Morden I Sandhamn

 
A body is washed ashore.  Police arrive and – “Hey, didn’t we go to school together?”
Yes, amidst a couple of murders, the detective and married wife and mom of two feel the sparks.
The detective’s inexperienced underling does the field work while he lingers.
You want a cleverly constructed mystery, this ain’t it.
Devotees of soap opera TV that runs 45 installments, enter friends!
Thank God the first season ran for only three episodes.  I’m done.

The Furies From Borås - 2017 - Sweden

The Furies From Borås - 2017 - 6/10

 
PG adaptation of Anders Fager’s brutal, sexually charged story.
Here, the blood, the semen, the alcohol, and other lubricants are minimized.
Nevertheless, a male sacrifice is sought out for the rites, and the “meat” is culled.
His chances?  One drug addled male and a fistful of sturdy, ravenous girls.
High school production shows budget limitations, and the graphic carnality is only hinted at.
The tone is correct and the furies seem accurate, rather than Hollywood kewpies.

Sick Of Myself - 2022 - Norway

Sick Of Myself - 2022 - 7/10
AKA - Syk Pike

 
Self-preening in the age of narcissism.
Some bleat that “look at me” is unique to our current era.  Au contraire.
Narcissists are older than Gyges.  Signe and boyfriend Thomas continue an endless line.
Thomas is an up-and-coming hot artist, whose “sculptures” are from stolen items.
Signe is an attention wannabee.  She embellishes, deceives, fabricates.
Not enough to sustain interest, however, as she discovers.
Until she physically disfigures herself, then lying that hers is a rare disease.
My anger at these social failures soon gave way to laugh out laughter.
Very black comedy about one of the countless societal diseases afflicting our species.

Agatha Christie's Hjerson - 2021 - Sweden

Agatha Christie's Hjerson - 2021 - 6/10

 
She is a showrunner for the popular MILF TV show, running out of ideas.
What if we do a series with famed inspector Hjerson, retired after a case error?
Odd couple premise based on obscure Christie character (actually a character of a character).
One watches formula mysteries for plots, twists and clever characters.
Plots here are half baked, meaning each 2-parter needed a more imaginative rewrite.
Twists range from adequate to obvious.
Our characters are quirky, though not on Poirot level.
They also lack chemistry and the female, Clara, grows more grating each outing.
OK enough if it’s airing.

Eldritch Code - 2017 - Sweden

Eldritch Code - 2017 - 6/10

 
Another fool coworker opens an exe file at work.
The IT guy swings into action, trying to remove the R’lyeh file.
Turns out the bug is nasty and tenacious, infecting the server, then worse.
Programming meets HPL in professional looking short from Sweden.
Subs = https://subscene.com/subtitles/eldritch-code/english/2864454

The Best Intentions - 1992 - Sweden

The Best Intentions - 1992 - 7/10
AKA - Den Goda Viljan

 
Bergman’s story about his parents, written a decade after a premature retirement.
(Turns out he had more fuel in the tank.)
A young seminary pupil falls in love with the rich daughter.
Marriage, and then he is assigned to a parish in northern oblivion.
Gorgeous looking film, cautionary in several ways.
Set in 1909, the romantic idealism of one character and the humorless discipline of the other may not resonate with many (though I know at least three couples in precisely this relationship).

Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words - 2015 - Sweden

Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words - 2015 - 7/10
AKA - Jag är Ingrid

 
Less a documentary about the movie career, but more a behind the doors personal look.
For a Bergman fan, there is wonderful material here.  Old photos, home movies taken by her father, as well as Ingrid herself who was quite the home movie buff.  A trove of correspondence with lifelong Swedish friends.  Recollections from her four children.
What emerges, however, is the story of a loner and perhaps a lonely soul.
Bergman moves from Sweden to Hollywood to Italy to England.  In two moves, she leaves her children behind.
Always, though, she takes her bulging collection of photos, letters and home movies.
One wonders if, for the woman orphaned early, those physical memories were more important than anything else.

Äkta Människor: S01 - 2012 - Sweden

Äkta Människor: S01 - 2012 - 7/10

Uneven parallel reality series where hubots (robots - cyborgs - cylons) are ubiquitous in society.
They are tireless, work without complaint, and are programmed to be maddeningly cheerful.
Employers love ‘em, human coworkers - who are being displaced - are less thrilled.

 
A subset of hubots is programmed differently, or simply lacks programming.
They have free will and are on the run, led by the sinister Niska.

 
Several themes are explored over ten episodes:  Hubot rights, cloning, government control, black market modifications, human - hubot relationships (and all that implies), discrimination, age ism.
There is also the uneasy reality of humanity being supplanted by our creations - as if we have done such a spectacular job of our stewardship.
Good SciFi / Speculative show, though the creators bit off more than they could chew.
This is the original Swedish series, with subtitles.

Bron Broen: S01 - 2011 - Denmark

Bron Broen: S01 - 2011 - 7/10
AKA - The Bridge

 
Corpse is found on Øresund Bridge, midway between Denmark and Sweden.
Police from both countries arrive and they will decide jurisdiction when the identity is discovered.
Wait a minute -- The body is actually cut in half --  No, it’s two separate bodies put together.
The murders are the beginning of a series of well planned events and symbolic deaths.
Brief series starts slow, but accelerates to red-line quickly.
Not to be missed is the female Swedish detective, Saga.
She has virtually no social skills, and no check switch - and is painfully funny - but her counterparts recognize her crack investigative skills.

Killing Small Animals - 2020 - Sweden

Killing Small Animals - 2020 - 6/10

 
Wordless short from Sweden designed to appall and quietly succeeds.
PETA supporters, peruse the title, please.
A wife, going about her daily routine, still finds time for unsettling diversion.
Imagine, from smaller to larger.
Disturbing and well done.
Again, animal lovers, beware.

The Square - 2017 - Sweden

The Square - 2017 - 6/10

 
Flux of museum curator, publicity consultants, journalists, benefactors, an innocent.
Not the actual creative forces.  No, showmen, touts, hangers on.
Stockholm museum, determined to juice interest in upcoming installation, opts for disturbing gala.
Anyone who has done PR - or rolled their eyes at it - will recognize how some stunts, no matter how moronic or stale, succeed despite themselves, whereas imaginative concepts may be utterly ignored by the unwashed.
The distracted curator is a poor father, thoughtless lover, bully to children.
Insider satire may be too icy and too incestuous for its own good.

I had a couple fundraising gigs for "non-profit" arts groups.
Their appetite for money would astonish many.  Just how much was taken in and spent.
I was good, coaxing mid-sized Poobahs to donate so they could admire their names in guides
Until I was fired.  Next year, I was recalled.
When money is involved, the arts world has little shame.

Architecture Of Doom - 1989 - Sweden

Architecture Of Doom - 1989 - 8/10

 
Curious documentary of the Third Reich dominated by artistic and aesthetic components.
How many of the party leaders were unsuccessful writers, poets, painters, etc ...
The aim of the Party was to rebuild the nation on a vast scale.
Major exhibitions were shown of idealistic representative art and massive civic improvements.
Second half switches from city layouts to body perfection.  Eugenics.
Which leads to the systematic obliteration of "flawed humanity" via extermination camps.
I cannot say I concur with many of the arguments as presented, yet the take is provocative.
No mention, by the way, of Lebensraum.
No talking heads, just dry narration.  Arresting visuals.
Difficult to make up my mind about this.  Each time I rewatch, I have raised my score.

Lady In White - 1962 - Sweden

Lady In White - 1962 - 6/10
AKA - White Lady  //  Vita Frun

 
Though listed and discussed at various Noir sites, this Swedish film is more a whodunit.
Reminiscent of creaky manor mysteries of the early 1930's, with a dollop of Gothic.
Family and high placed associates gather for the reading of the will.
From delighted to disappointed to distraught.
Warnings are followed by corpses.
The large estate and grounds are a maze of back hallways, listening tunnels, and half glimpsed figures.
Music is a strange mix of combo jazz, wordless chorus and electronic.
Everyone is out for gain, nefarious business during late nights and in the nearby swamps.
Old fashioned, drawing room clichés, evident throughout, may be fun for fans of this type.

The Hunt - 2012 - Denmark

The Hunt - 2012 - 7/10
AKA - Jagten

 
Harrowing character study, with Mads Mikkelsen as kindergarten teacher.
After a five year old tells that he showed his erection, his life is royally and totally frakked.
Barring a miracle, there is no way a blot like that will ever wash clean.
Everyone in the village turns against him.  Though it never said why, one suspects he could not leave while police investigations were ongoing.  So he lived amidst escalating resentment, fear and hatred.
Almost to a soul, everyone took the child’s story as gospel.
This gets really ugly.

I saw this happen first hand, when a regular customer of the store where I worked was accused by a twelve year old.  He was a math teacher, and completely exonerated.
Transpired the student launched accusations after being displeased with poor grades.
The man was released by the school, the district would not employ him, he could not find work within 100 miles.
He eventually relocated across the country.

Couple years later, a rep from the school district visited the music store.
District honchos had heard there were five guys with BA degrees in Art, English, and History, toiling for budget wages.
The district was desperate for male, “role model” teachers.
Despite financial proposals that were quadruple our meager record store salary, we all refused.
Citing how every single year, it seemed some poor male teacher was accused, cleared, yet ruined.
The stench of accusal, especially related to children, never disappears.

White Wall - 2020 - Finland

White Wall - 2020 - 5/10

 
The abandoned mining facility seems a perfect site for long term nuclear waste storage.
Deep underground, the waste should stay safe for 100,000 years.
Of course there are protestors and eco-terrorists, but Security is robust.
As the grand opening nears, workers strike a towering white wall.
Impenetrable, composition unknown.  Archeologists date it over a billion years old.
While this series is classified as SciFi, this is what Harlan Ellison termed Speculative Fiction.
It is also slow and padded with purposeless characters and empty sideplots.
This ought to have been a two hour movie, period.
You could probably skip half the episodes and miss little.