Movies
It's nice to see some non-Bergman Swedish classics from time to time, especially when they're dealing with more contemporary people and problems, rather than age-old philosophical conundrums. In that regard The Pram delivers, though it's not half as frivolous and energetic as I'd hoped. Some snappy editing and a jazzy soundtrack give the film a more modern flair, but the stark camera work combined with black and white cinematography and the stern performances make it more rigid than needed. There are some fun stylistic touches here and there, but the focus of the film lies on the characters and I simply didn't care much for them.Read all
80s Swedish procedural. I know there's been a serious boom of these during the past decade (though mostly in the miniseries format), I'm not really sure if The Man from Mallorca counts as a predecessor. I'm not a big fan to begin with, but his was remarkable dry and droopy, even for a Swedish film. It's really a very basic setup, executed with almost no flair. The comedy is bland and doesn't work well, the investigation is a real bore, the cinematography is dreadful, and the soundtrack was probably just an afterthought. This feels very generic in every possible way, best to avoid unless you really love Scandinavian police thrillers.Read all