RIP
Showing posts with label Sweden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sweden. Show all posts
Wednesday, 11 December 2019
Out On Blue Six: Roxette, RIP Marie Fredriksson
Deeply saddened to hear that Marie Fredriksson of Swedish rock duo Roxette lost her seventeen-year battle with cancer on Monday at the age of 61.
End Transmission
Tuesday, 6 November 2018
The Laughing Policeman (1973)
"I hope that's a sandwich you're reaching for because whatever it is, you're gonna have to eat it!"
The Laughing Policeman is the fourth book in the series of ten Swedish novels featuring detective Martin Beck by husband and wife team - and originators of Nordic Noir - Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, who just happen to figure high in my list of favourite authors. It's a novel that grips like a vice from the off, depicting a lone gunman's massacre of the passengers of a Stockholm bus, one of whom was an off-duty policeman known to Beck. Assigned the case, Beck and his team must piece together how and why their dead colleague came to be on the bus, discovering just as much about him as they do the murderer.
Given the premise, it's easy to see why Hollywood were interested. Stuart Rosenberg's film relocates the action to San Francisco but loses so much along the way.
I still don't understand the decision to start the film not with the multiple shooting (or indeed the Vietnam protest that features in the novel) but with events that lead up to the incident on the bus; a peculiar narrative choice that robs some of the mystery inherent in the story by revealing information to audiences that would not figure until much later in the source novel.
Equally missing is Sjöwall and Wahlöö's purpose behind the Martin Beck series. These novels were not just mystery thrillers, they were a textual exploration of the so-called 'Third Way' (between Communism and Capitalism) of Sweden's welfare experiment and, as such, served as a critique of Swedish society throughout the 1960s. In their novels, the bureaucrats and town planners, the rich and the destitute, were just as important as the cops and criminals. Their starting point was that something had gone profoundly wrong in Swedish society and their central protagonist, Martin Beck, was the consummate professional policeman who not only attempted to administer cures but was also wearily sick from what he viewed and experienced.
Whilst Sjöwall and Wahlöö were often happy to cite their influence in crime fiction arguably stemmed from America, transplanting their story to there essentially makes it little more than an imitation of Ed McBain's 87th Precinct novels (novels that the husband and wife claim to have been initially unaware of) and the cliches of the traditionally American policier are all too apparent in Rosenberg's film. Walter Matthau takes the role of Beck (here renamed Jake Martin) and is admirably dour and dyspeptic but is also a good deal less empathetic than the character in the books. Here, he's not averse to slapping suspects (and women) around, and is placed in the midst of stereotypical domestic disharmony (in the novel, Beck and his wife had already become estranged by this stage, having realised they married in haste as teenagers and no longer really know one another). Matthau, still more famous for his comedic roles at this stage, depicts the glumness of the character admirably, which is just as well as - considering the script elects to remove the very reason why the whole affair is called 'The Laughing Policeman' (Beck's daughter presents him the old music hall record on Christmas Day, and the novel ends with him laughing) - we're left to presume the title must be ironic. (Some territories - including I think the UK, briefly at least - even retitled the film as An Investigation of Murder to avoid confusion).
Rosenberg attempts to make much of San Francisco's colour, perhaps to compliment the integrity of the novels dissection of society, but with bearded ladies, busty strippers, Hare Krishna devotees and obese life models are wheeled out, it sometimes feels like overkill. Crucially, the appeal is lost. If you're from an English-language speaking country, Sjöwall and Wahlöö's Sweden is instantly exotic, fresh and original. This is just another American crime story and the procedural elements that are so engaging on the page feel like an abundance of red herrings and dead ends on the screen.
One of the things I really liked about this adaptation however is the casting of Louis Gossett Jr. as Larrimore - he's the one responsible for that glorious bit of dialogue (spoken to a pimp he's just floored) I included at the top of the review. The casting of an Afro-American actor in the Kollberg role helps to draw out the bigotry of Bruce Dern's Larsen, and he lights up the screen whenever he appears. Unfortunately, the adaptation rather reduces his role as Beck/Martin's friend, partner and confident, preferring instead to focus much more on Larsen. The character of Gunvald Larsson remains a highlight in all of the Beck novels, a brusque yet strangely loveable viking who serves as both action man and comic relief. Dern was no stranger to portraying the ugly side of human nature and he nails the roughhousing nature and aforementioned bigotry, but the character's perpetual (comic) exasperation is somewhat underplayed.
I know my review may seem a little unfair but it is only because I am such an admirer of the novels that I can't help but see the missed potential and flaws in the film. I should point out however that this film was my introduction to Martin Beck, having watched this film for the first (and, until today, only time in the '90s). If you have no prior knowledge or experience of Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö's writing and you like a good '70s crime drama then this is still enjoyable enough, though not the best that 'New Hollywood' had to offer in this field. If you are a fan of the Martin Beck books and are looking for a good, faithful adaptation to watch then look no further than Bo Widerberg's Mannen på taket (aka Man on the Roof) from 1976, based on the seventh book in the series, The Abominable Man. Interestingly, the actor chosen to play Beck in that film, Carl-Gustaf Lindstedt, was also known for his comic roles, just like Matthau.
The Laughing Policeman is the fourth book in the series of ten Swedish novels featuring detective Martin Beck by husband and wife team - and originators of Nordic Noir - Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, who just happen to figure high in my list of favourite authors. It's a novel that grips like a vice from the off, depicting a lone gunman's massacre of the passengers of a Stockholm bus, one of whom was an off-duty policeman known to Beck. Assigned the case, Beck and his team must piece together how and why their dead colleague came to be on the bus, discovering just as much about him as they do the murderer.
Given the premise, it's easy to see why Hollywood were interested. Stuart Rosenberg's film relocates the action to San Francisco but loses so much along the way.
I still don't understand the decision to start the film not with the multiple shooting (or indeed the Vietnam protest that features in the novel) but with events that lead up to the incident on the bus; a peculiar narrative choice that robs some of the mystery inherent in the story by revealing information to audiences that would not figure until much later in the source novel.
Equally missing is Sjöwall and Wahlöö's purpose behind the Martin Beck series. These novels were not just mystery thrillers, they were a textual exploration of the so-called 'Third Way' (between Communism and Capitalism) of Sweden's welfare experiment and, as such, served as a critique of Swedish society throughout the 1960s. In their novels, the bureaucrats and town planners, the rich and the destitute, were just as important as the cops and criminals. Their starting point was that something had gone profoundly wrong in Swedish society and their central protagonist, Martin Beck, was the consummate professional policeman who not only attempted to administer cures but was also wearily sick from what he viewed and experienced.
Whilst Sjöwall and Wahlöö were often happy to cite their influence in crime fiction arguably stemmed from America, transplanting their story to there essentially makes it little more than an imitation of Ed McBain's 87th Precinct novels (novels that the husband and wife claim to have been initially unaware of) and the cliches of the traditionally American policier are all too apparent in Rosenberg's film. Walter Matthau takes the role of Beck (here renamed Jake Martin) and is admirably dour and dyspeptic but is also a good deal less empathetic than the character in the books. Here, he's not averse to slapping suspects (and women) around, and is placed in the midst of stereotypical domestic disharmony (in the novel, Beck and his wife had already become estranged by this stage, having realised they married in haste as teenagers and no longer really know one another). Matthau, still more famous for his comedic roles at this stage, depicts the glumness of the character admirably, which is just as well as - considering the script elects to remove the very reason why the whole affair is called 'The Laughing Policeman' (Beck's daughter presents him the old music hall record on Christmas Day, and the novel ends with him laughing) - we're left to presume the title must be ironic. (Some territories - including I think the UK, briefly at least - even retitled the film as An Investigation of Murder to avoid confusion).
Rosenberg attempts to make much of San Francisco's colour, perhaps to compliment the integrity of the novels dissection of society, but with bearded ladies, busty strippers, Hare Krishna devotees and obese life models are wheeled out, it sometimes feels like overkill. Crucially, the appeal is lost. If you're from an English-language speaking country, Sjöwall and Wahlöö's Sweden is instantly exotic, fresh and original. This is just another American crime story and the procedural elements that are so engaging on the page feel like an abundance of red herrings and dead ends on the screen.
One of the things I really liked about this adaptation however is the casting of Louis Gossett Jr. as Larrimore - he's the one responsible for that glorious bit of dialogue (spoken to a pimp he's just floored) I included at the top of the review. The casting of an Afro-American actor in the Kollberg role helps to draw out the bigotry of Bruce Dern's Larsen, and he lights up the screen whenever he appears. Unfortunately, the adaptation rather reduces his role as Beck/Martin's friend, partner and confident, preferring instead to focus much more on Larsen. The character of Gunvald Larsson remains a highlight in all of the Beck novels, a brusque yet strangely loveable viking who serves as both action man and comic relief. Dern was no stranger to portraying the ugly side of human nature and he nails the roughhousing nature and aforementioned bigotry, but the character's perpetual (comic) exasperation is somewhat underplayed.
I know my review may seem a little unfair but it is only because I am such an admirer of the novels that I can't help but see the missed potential and flaws in the film. I should point out however that this film was my introduction to Martin Beck, having watched this film for the first (and, until today, only time in the '90s). If you have no prior knowledge or experience of Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö's writing and you like a good '70s crime drama then this is still enjoyable enough, though not the best that 'New Hollywood' had to offer in this field. If you are a fan of the Martin Beck books and are looking for a good, faithful adaptation to watch then look no further than Bo Widerberg's Mannen på taket (aka Man on the Roof) from 1976, based on the seventh book in the series, The Abominable Man. Interestingly, the actor chosen to play Beck in that film, Carl-Gustaf Lindstedt, was also known for his comic roles, just like Matthau.
Wednesday, 28 June 2017
A Farewell To Two Michaels
Today brings news of the sad deaths of two very talented people named Michael; the Swedish actor Michael Nyqvist and the children's author Michael Bond.
Nyqvist was 56 and had been suffering from lung cancer for a year. The actor made his name as police officer Banck in the 1997 series of Beck films on Swedish TV, and received his breakthrough film role in Lukas Moodysson's acclaimed Together in 2000. But he was perhaps best known for his role as Mikael Blomkvist in the original (and best) Swedish language film adaptation of Stieg Larsson's The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and its subsequent sequels, and for his villainous turns in Hollywood blockbusters such as Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol and John Wick.
RIP
Bond was 91 and died following a short illness at home yesterday. He published his first book, A Bear Called Paddington, in 1958 which introduced to the world the marmalade loving bear Paddington, from 'deepest, darkest Peru'. His inspiration for the character came from an impulse boy of a lonely looking teddy bear on a shelf in a shop window as a stocking filler for his wife and from his memories of seeing refugee Jewish children at train stations during the war. Several books (selling over 25 million worldwide) an evergreen TV series and a successful film adaptation continued Paddington's adventures and has gone on to touch and enchant generations of children.
RIP
Nyqvist was 56 and had been suffering from lung cancer for a year. The actor made his name as police officer Banck in the 1997 series of Beck films on Swedish TV, and received his breakthrough film role in Lukas Moodysson's acclaimed Together in 2000. But he was perhaps best known for his role as Mikael Blomkvist in the original (and best) Swedish language film adaptation of Stieg Larsson's The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and its subsequent sequels, and for his villainous turns in Hollywood blockbusters such as Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol and John Wick.
RIP
Bond was 91 and died following a short illness at home yesterday. He published his first book, A Bear Called Paddington, in 1958 which introduced to the world the marmalade loving bear Paddington, from 'deepest, darkest Peru'. His inspiration for the character came from an impulse boy of a lonely looking teddy bear on a shelf in a shop window as a stocking filler for his wife and from his memories of seeing refugee Jewish children at train stations during the war. Several books (selling over 25 million worldwide) an evergreen TV series and a successful film adaptation continued Paddington's adventures and has gone on to touch and enchant generations of children.
RIP
Saturday, 29 April 2017
Out On Blue Six: Belinda Kordic
BBC2 recently screened the 2013 horror film The Borderlands, a mash up of the modern affection for the found footage trope and the more traditional English folk horror end of the genre. It's quite an eerie little low budget film, but one of the most affecting things about it was the use of music, especially the end credits which featured a rendition of the traditional English folk ballad The Trooper Cut Down In His Prime, aka The Unfortunate Rake, hauntingly sung by one Belinda Kordic, a Swedish singer who has recorded as Killing Mood and as one half of the duo Se Delan...
Gives you chills eh?
Belinda Kordic
End Transmission
Monday, 15 February 2016
Out On Blue Six : Viola Beach, RIP
It's been a desperately sad weekend following the news of the tragic deaths of Warrington band Viola Beach - Jack Dakin, Kris Leonard, Tomas Lowe and River Reeves - and their manager Craig Tarry, following a freak road accident in Stockholm, Sweden. Their beautiful promise will now never bear fruit.
RIP lads.
Please help pay tribute to them and get them the critical and commercial acclaim they deserved and would no doubt go on to achieve by downloading the above track here - let's see of we can't get them to number one
End Transmission
Friday, 20 November 2015
Miss Julie (1999)
"If they aren't any better than us then what is the point of us striving to better ourselves?"
Miss Julie is a Swedish play written in 1888 by August Strindberg concerning the toxic love between Jean, a servant and the titular Miss Julie, his master's daughter. Despite the play's age and its foreign setting, it remains something of an oft staged favourite in the provincial theatres of the UK, and it's easy to see why; the explicit theme of class warfare and the implicit theme of Darwinism, coupled by Strindberg's naturalistic approach mean that it still has much to say to its contemporary audiences in a country that still feels the harshness of its class divide. It is the antithesis of Downton Abbey.
The play has also been adapted several times for the cinema, and this 1999 adaptation from director Mike Figgis is especially worth watching. Figgis does relatively little in lifting the film from its stage origins - there are no sweeping shots of the Midsummer's Eve lit Swedish landscape or much filler, the whole thing is shot in an obvious studio, which highlights the artificial nature of the painted scenery during the brief sojourns 'outside' - but what he does do is use the camera in a variety of interesting, intrusive Dogme-like ways to capture the spark and passion between his two leads, Saffron Burrows and Peter Mullan.
I would actually argue that this (along with Paddy Considine's directorial debut Tyrannosaur) is Mullan's finest hour. An actor with a plethora of strong performances behind him, it's no small compliment to claim that he's particularly electrifying here in drawing out the grasping ambitions of his footman, Jean, in contrast with the equally ugly arrogant privilege Burrows displays as Miss Julie. I defy you to try and take your eyes off him and, when Miss Julie comments that his eyes resemble ''burning black coals'' you realise that there is no finer description for Mullan's powerful, unflinching stare. Much comment has been made remarking on the height differences between the willowy Burrows and the diminutive Mullan, but I actually think that that is only fitting for the characters; the upper class lady and the lower class male servant. When he talks of climbing the branches to reach the top of the tree and the golden eggs in the nest he dreams of (a clear metaphor for his desire to become gentry) you can almost see Burrow's statuesque imperious frame as the physical embodiment of that desire, with him climbing up and trampling over her which, as a notion, only adds to the imagery of their hurried, rutting copulation in the larder from which neither character can ever go back.
In the third role, that of the cook Christine, Maria Doyle Kennedy is just as impressive. Overall, this is a classy adaptation that has the ability to grip the viewer from the off.
Sunday, 11 October 2015
RIP Henning Mankell
More sad news which I've only just stumbled across - one of my favourite authors, Henning Mankell lost his year long battle with cancer earlier this week, at the age of 67.
The Swede Mankell arguably created the genre of Scandi-Noir that has become so popular the past few years, by giving the world the detective Kurt Wallander, one of my most cherished literary creations. Indeed, I refuse to read the last Wallander book or watch the last series made for Swedish television because they both explore his descent into senility.
There are no words for how much I admired the writing skills of Henning Mankell and how much joy he gave me with his many novels. I am deeply saddened to hear this news and would direct readers to The Guardian's obit for a proper obituary.
RIP
The Swede Mankell arguably created the genre of Scandi-Noir that has become so popular the past few years, by giving the world the detective Kurt Wallander, one of my most cherished literary creations. Indeed, I refuse to read the last Wallander book or watch the last series made for Swedish television because they both explore his descent into senility.
There are no words for how much I admired the writing skills of Henning Mankell and how much joy he gave me with his many novels. I am deeply saddened to hear this news and would direct readers to The Guardian's obit for a proper obituary.
RIP
Tuesday, 13 January 2015
Monday, 12 January 2015
Sunday, 11 January 2015
RIP Anita Ekberg
Another star has gone out leading to another great loss to the entertainment world; Anita Ekberg star of La Dolce Vita and all round sex bomb has died aged 83
The former Miss Sweden will remain immortal for one of European cinema's most iconic scenes, wading through the Trevi Fountain in a strapless dress in Fellini's La Dolce Vita. The Vatican condemned it at the time for its sensual abandon but Ekberg was unrepentant "I'm very proud of my breasts" she was quoted as saying "It's not cellular obesity, it's womanliness"
RIP
The former Miss Sweden will remain immortal for one of European cinema's most iconic scenes, wading through the Trevi Fountain in a strapless dress in Fellini's La Dolce Vita. The Vatican condemned it at the time for its sensual abandon but Ekberg was unrepentant "I'm very proud of my breasts" she was quoted as saying "It's not cellular obesity, it's womanliness"
Sadly ill health, misfortune and dwindling fortunes dogged Ekberg in later life and she moved into a care home. Unafraid of death, she said "I don't know if paradise or hell exists, but I'm sure hell is more groovy"
RIP
Saturday, 26 July 2014
Theme Time : Anna Ternheim - Wallander
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Utterly beautiful song from Swedish singer Anna Ternheim (pictured below) which was used as the theme tune for the 2005/06 series of Wallander which saw Krister Henriksson make his debut in the role that has made him an international name in the households of crime devotees.
Saturday, 17 May 2014
Wallander : The Troubled Man (2013)
It's something of a bittersweet joy to turn on BBC4 this Saturday evening and see Krister Henriksson return to the role of Kurt Wallander for one more, final (though he's said that before!) series commencing with an adaptation of The Troubled Man.
Bittersweet because his performance, arguably the most successful interpretation of Henning Mankell's Swedish sleuth (though personally I feel Rolf Lassgård is the Wallander of the books, whilst Henriksson is the more wise and adjusted senior figure that Kurt has become in the years beyond the books) now has to convey what fate Mankell has placed upon his literary creation; dementia.
Much has changed since the 2009 run of films; Wallander's romance and departure from Ystad and its police force has now been reversed and is not touched upon or explained, whilst we also have his daughter Linda return to the fold (played now by Charlotta Jonsson, following the tragic suicide of Johanna Sällström) alongside a husband and infant daughter. But there's also much that remains unchanged, not least of all being the fact that Kurt is still a policeman, despite surely being past retirement age now?
The film, broadcast tonight on BBC4, was good but not as outstanding and satisfying as many of the previous films. I can't really say if this adaptation stands up to Mankell's novel as its the one book I have, thus far, refused to read. The thought of Kurt succumbing to dementia like his father before him is an experience I was loathe to endure on the printed page. Indeed, it's an experience that made me wince several times throughout this film, and I know they've toned down his memory lapses and symptoms here. I guess I just don't want to see my heroes fade away but, for now, it's good to have Wallander and Henriksson back.
Wednesday, 16 April 2014
Friday, 28 February 2014
Masjävlar (2004)
In Masjävlar (also known as Dalecarlians) Sofia Helin, star of - for my money - the finest Nordic Noir series The Bridge, stars as Mia, a Stockholm based professional who returns to the rural backwater town in Northern Sweden that she grew up in to celebrate her father's 70th birthday.
This is a quirky little tale about families, secrets, repressed emotion and the unspoken bitter resentments and tension that are harboured in close knit communities. Uniquely Swedish in tone it may be, but one thing is for sure, it's a film that tells us that families are the same the world over and that times of celebration and of bringing people together often just show how far apart we all are.
At the heart of the film is the relationship between the three sisters played by Helin, Anne Petren and Kasja Ernst. Petren is a somewhat silly (on first appearances) newly divorced woman discovering what the single life has to offer her, whilst Ernst is the disapproving sibling who has taken it upon herself to always be there for her parents and the family, and never letting anyone forget it. Add to the mix Helin's more cosmopolitan and independent Mia and you've three uniquely different characters.
Maria Blom's film perfectly captures the small locale atmosphere and the light and shade inherent in the Swedish character. There's some funny moments as well as moments of great sadness all played brilliantly by the cast; Helin is as watchable as ever, whilst Ernst greatly impressed me in her role. Nice acoustic folky soundtrack too.
Saturday, 22 February 2014
Girls With Guns
Christina Lindberg in the 1973 Swedish cult classic Thriller - A Cruel Picture (known on the American Grindhouse circuit with characteristic originality as They Call Her One-Eye) A huge inspiration on movie magpie Tarantino, of course.
Here's Christina sans gun and eyepatch. She's now a journalist in her native Sweden.
Monday, 3 February 2014
Sunday, 2 February 2014
Out On Blue Six : ABBA
After the gripping sucker punch of the final two episodes of The Bridge (why? why? why?!?!) BBC4 kept us on Scandinavian shores with a documentary on ABBA and a compilation of their performances at the BBC.
A veritable SOS, it helped assuage my fears following that finale
Just.
End Transmission
A veritable SOS, it helped assuage my fears following that finale
End Transmission
Tuesday, 17 December 2013
Theme Time : Choir Of Young Believers - The Bridge
A deep depression developed within me on Saturday night as the final two parts of Borgen, the sublime Danish political drama were screened on BBC4.
The final two parts ever.
I am so going to miss that show.
However, the depression was alleviated almost immediately with news that I shall get my Scandinavian drama fix once more from BBC4 in the new year, as they commence screening of the long awaited second series of the Danish/Swedish crime thriller The Bridge from the 4th January.
I loved this show and so to celebrate, here's the brilliantly atmospheric theme tune from Choir Of Young Believers, Hollow Talk
The final two parts ever.
I am so going to miss that show.
However, the depression was alleviated almost immediately with news that I shall get my Scandinavian drama fix once more from BBC4 in the new year, as they commence screening of the long awaited second series of the Danish/Swedish crime thriller The Bridge from the 4th January.
I loved this show and so to celebrate, here's the brilliantly atmospheric theme tune from Choir Of Young Believers, Hollow Talk
Choir of Young Believers is the musical project of Danish singer, Jannis Noya Makrigiannis. The band consists of Makrigiannis, along with a rotating cast of supporting players. Very popular in Denmark, they have had a string of No 1 hits and won 'Best new Act' at 2009's Danish Music Awards. The musical style combines folk melodies, orchestral instrumentations and dark lyrics.
The Bridge itself has subsequently been remade for American/Mexican television and British/French television too as The Bridge and The Tunnel respectively. But if you ask me, except no imitations. The original will always be the best.
Friday, 13 December 2013
Monday, 9 December 2013
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