Now my number 2. I hope you are writing these down, and watch them all for the first time or again so you can tell me how wise I am. Okay, I went waaaaay too far. Not wise, but maybe you like my taste a little...kinda..a smidgen.
NUMBER 2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (Swedish) 2010
Based on the books by Stieg Larsson
Screenplay by Nikolaj Arcel: Rasmus Heisterburg; Jonas Frykberg; and Ulf Ryberg
Starring Noomi Rapace and Michael Nyqvist
Before you send me emails from outside the states...Yes..I know this was 2009 in outside the states but it got to our shores in 2010.
Now I was thinking about the whole trilogy...however I thought no..let me go with the best!!!
And yes I know there was an American version. Yes, that is good also. However this is better.
The movie starts with a 40 year old mystery asking to be solved. A journalist, Mikael Blomkvist, who needs to disappear for awhile. And a brilliant computer hacker, Lisbeth Salender, who is socially awkward with a photogenic memory. Together they attempt to solve the mysterious disappearance of Harriet Vanger.
I will go as far as saying Lisbeth Salender may be one of the most interesting female characters in movie history. We have not seen many female leads like her. A rebel. Brilliant. A little sensitive. Sexual. Socially awkward but at the same time socially aware. The great Roger Ebert said of Lisbeth after watching the Swedish version of Dragon: "Lisbeth is as compelling as any movie character in recent memory".
Rapace is fantastic. She rips up the screen. If you look at her pictures from other movies she has done you will be shocked by how she really looks.
Now for the big warning about this film. A sexually violent scene like you may have not seen before on the screen. This was shown in the American version with MPAA screening. Here it is made in Sweden, so...no MPAA. It is a turn your eyes away moment. In fact if streaming you may just want to fast forward through that part, you will see it coming. I hate telling you to fast forward through parts of a film but I understand why. Now ten minutes after that, there is revenge, which is also violent in another way. I do think these scenes are important because it shows a lot about Lisbeth. Why she is the way she is. How strong she is. Also how street smart she is
.
This movie leads to the Swedish version of Girl Who Played With Fire which I gave 4 stars out of 5 in 2010. The The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets Nest which I gave 4 1/2 out of 5 in 2010. Known in Sweden as The Millennium Series.
The American version of Dragon Tattoo which I liked also, I would give it 4 out of 5 stars (and it looks sadly they will not make the other two films), clocks in at 2 1/2 hours. What the Swedish versions does well is look into the Millennium Magazine and show there are other mysteries going on and it sets up a little bit of the next two films. Also the Swedish version has a different ending, than the American version.
In an age when we sit down to watch a film at home we have our phones and laptops. We look away from the screens and just listen while we look at other things. With subtitles it is hard to do that. And for three hours over time it is a lot.
Still I highly recommend it. And it is up to you if you want to tackle it.
Any negatives? You can get lost a bit with all the suspects in Dragon. Just stay with it...it will come. It is a slow burn...stay with it...and then the end!!
Now it is time for fun or not so fun facts:
-Rapace got her motorcyle driving license for this film
-The score for this film was done in just 4 days by Jacob Groth
-Lisbeth's mother Agneta is played by Nina Noren, Rapace's real mom.
-Rapace had her eyebrow and nose pierced for the film
One final note...this film does not work without the late great Michael Nyqvist as Michael Blomkvist. So great. Saying so much with just a look. Playing off Rapace so well. His death is a great loss.
So close to number 1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Again from the shadows as always thanks for your time.
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