Reviews

"Den som frykter ulven" (Cry in the Woods, 2004) is further evidence that some of the best crime thrillers today come from Scandinavia. Just like the films about Beck or Wallander, Den som frykter ulven, directed by Erich Hörtnagl, could be put in the same category. Although it is a bit different with adding more of chilling elements; nightmares, illusions and hallucinations, that in this case are just as important as painting a picture of the Norwegian policemen in their work.

Once again, we're on the trail of a killer. But this time it's not your standard killer hunt. Lars Bom ("Rejseholdet") plays the danish policeman Karsten working in Norway, although he's now abandoning his wife and kid, and moving back to Denmark. As his last case he gets a tricky one; not only does his personal demons hunt him but he's not exactly popular among his colleagues. Karsten happens to stumble on a bank robbery in progress. The bank robber Morgan (Stig Henrik Hoff, "Brent av frost") thought he was going to execute a perfect score, but unfortunately a hostage tags along. At the same time an elder woman is brutally murdered outside her house. The police suspects an escaped mental patient to be responsible for the killing, mainly because of what has happened in his childhood. The police find it to be a sure thing that the patient is the one they're after (a young boy says he witnessed the murder), it doesn't help that a psychiatrist tries to convince them that the patient Erkki (Kristoffer Joner, "Dark Woods") wouldn't be capable of committing a murder. The problem is that Erkki's personality hints otherwise. The psychiatrist Sara convinces Karsten of Erkki's innocence. The others just won't listen, especially Stefan (Aksel Hennie, "Jonny Vang") who's about to take over from Karsten as he moves to Denmark. What they don't know is that the the murder and robbery will combine, since Erkki is Morgan's hostage...

It's refreshing that it's not your typical "who-did-it"-movie, and the different aspects that are added manage to enliven the story. The only negative thing is the bit slow middle part, but i guess it's necessary for the eventual build-up. And even if the ending doesn't take you totally by surprise, its still is a bold decision. It's not going to change the world in any way, but you will definitely enjoy good entertainment for about 98 minutes.

The one who fears the Wolf, should not go into the Woods...

**** (4 out of 5)

The expectations were high for the new Wallander series. The most expensive Scandinavian production - 13 films in total - and a conscious change of style to the previously filmed Wallander films. The first one in the series, Innan frosten, is the only one of the new stories to be based on a book by Henning Mankell. The other 12 are brand new stories, written especially for the films. It is also the first time Rolf Lassgård doesn't play the role of Kurt Wallander, he is replaced here by Krister Henriksson. Despite some of the negative reviews it has received in Sweden, in Finland it has been well accepted. After having seen Innan frosten in its first week in cinemas I am very pleased with the result.

Innan frosten, or Wallander - Innan frosten as it's named in the opening titles, tells the story of a murder investigation in which detective Kurt Wallander (Krister Henriksson, "Reconstruction") tracks down a sadistic killer that seems to have connections to a religious sect. These are people that are ready to burn a flock of swans to death just to get a vignette on their web site, not to mention what they are willing to do to those that are not true believers. To make matters worse for Wallander, his daughter Linda (Johanna Sällström, "Under ytan") graduates from the Police Academy and joins the Ystad police force. Already on her first day she puts herself in a situation that could be life-threatening, something that her father isn't very thrilled about. In resolving the crime they are joined by the new recruit from Stockholm, Stefan Lindman (Ola Rapace, "Tillsammans"), who was the lead character in Danslärarnes återkomst (The Return of the Dancing Master), an another Mankell bestseller.

I think the producers made a terrific choice with casting Krister Henriksson in the role of Wallander. In this story Wallander has lost weight, tries to live better (despite the occasional glass of whiskey) and really tries to be more of a father to his daughter than he's been before. Wallander is older, more calmer and very much different than he's been in the previous films, so I don't think that Lassgård would've done as a good job as Henriksson. Also, the change of the visual output is more like the Beck films with Peter Haber, with the exception of dark city landscapes being replaced by the countryside nature of Ystad.

Wallander - Innan frosten is a well made and very entertaining thriller that keeps you interested throughout the story, although that is something you by now expect from Swedish thrillers. The cast is excellent and live up to their characters. Krister Henriksson's portrayal of Wallander is very solid, and gives high hopes for the ones yet to come. Johanna Sällström is also very reliable as Linda, who might be less experienced but even more eager than most of her colleagues. Of the supporting cast Niklas Falk ("Så som i himmelen") stands out as the leader of the religious sect. His character believes in the holy word, but seems to have a heart of darkness inside him.

Innan frosten (Before the Frost) is well worth to be seen. It's not a classic of its genre but the best of its kind at the moment.

**** 1/2 (4 1/2 out of 5)

Bark! is a movie you really can't put in some specific category, since it's not really a comedy nor serious enough to be considered a drama. It has got some good point, but mainly it fails to deliver. You're left with only one thought: What was the point of the movie, what did it try to say? When all goes down the hill, is it better to act like a dog and leave the cold hard world behind... It really tries to have some psychological angle to it but it really won't work.

The Best thing about Bark! is that it finally gives Lee Tergesen ("Oz") the long overdue leading role. Vincent D'Onofrio ("Crooked Hearts") also gives a stellar performance as the resident doctor who has a larger interest in playing the harp. Hank Azaria ("America's Sweethearts") is left with pretty much nothing to do, as Lisa Kudrow ("Analyze This") reprises her Phoebe-manners for the umpteenth time. The lack of the material reflects on the characters, especially on scriptwriter Heather Morgan's barking wife Lucy. You would think that you write for yourself a good part, but not here the case.

Good and bad beside only one thing will make this film be memorable - at least for the time being. That one thing is Scott Wilson ("Dead Man Walking") who does a great job as Lucy's dad. In a truly eccentric family his character might be the only sane person. Because of that the movie gets two stars instead of one and a half. ** (2 out of 5)

When Druids/Vercingétorix came out on rental a couple of years ago, I thought this is a movie worth seeing. It had Christopher Lambert ("Highlander"), not one of the greatest but good enough, in the lead, with supporting performances by the always reliable Max von Sydow ("Minority Report") and mostly good Klaus Maria Brandauer ("Out of Africa"). For some reason I never got around to rent it, until now that is... Thankfully I didn't put my money on it earlier. I wouldn't say it is as bad as its reputation, but it's not much better either. What probably looked like a french version of Braveheart, turned out to be a boring and overlong version of something else than Braveheart. The script and direction, courtesy of Jacques Dorfmann ("Shadow of the Wolf") is missing all the excitement and grandiosity of an epic tale. For example, the battle scenes are supposed to be bloody and violent, but all we get to see is some arrows flying... Instead we get a slow-moving, badly directed incoherent mess that has a script that makes pretty much no sense at all. Let's not even start about the dialogue... What's worst about it, is that it seems like even the actors knew that while filming. How else can you explain the wooden performance from Lambert and Brandauer. Max von Sydow has the charisma to play the master druid, but the lines they give him are utterly useless, nobody could do anything good with that. It's certainly not a very good movie but it's far from being worst ever (for that we have Police Academy 7, Ski Patrol and Knock Off) ** (2 out of 5)