The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

I know this because some people came in and bought 30 bucks in canned goods yesterday and said they were going to the whernburg in ofallen (IL) which is an 15 screen theater. I hope to see this move their (nicer theater then the 5 screen AMC thats closer to me.

Aaah interesting. I can totally understand that the Americans won't watch that then. I must admit that I wouldn't watch it in Swedish with subtitles either. Germans & Austrians dub everything, so I don't have the problem. But, if we europeans want to flood the American market with good movies, we need to offer english dubs right from the start.

I kept asking myself, why is there such a large market for all those American remakes? I can't believe that all Americans are completely closed-minded when it comes to movies. After all, if I liked the Japanese Ring, why would Americans NOT like it? But of course, watching everything with subtitles might be an obstacle.

About the (consensual) sex in the Swedish movie: The interesting thing is how understated it is. They rarely talk romance before jumping into bed. It just doesn't seem like the big issue that most Hollywood movies make of it. This nicely supports the image of Sweden I've gathered over the years. They just seem to be rather pragmatic about it. And quite apart from that, it's a very nice break from the Hollywood overstatement of sex. (It seems to fall off the other edge, though. I get the impression that the Swedes like to see themselves as challenged with regard to expressing their emotions. I'm not sure if I've ever heard the phrase "I love you" in a Swedish movie even once.)

Oh, and by the way:

Is the solution more believable in the book than in the movie? I found no good motivation for why the girls should be Jewish; or why the sister would hide for the rest of her life, while sending him that one flower. And coming to think of it, the two sisters having baby-sat Blomqvist sounded terribly stretch-y to me.

Another by-the-way, about the original movie: Did anyone else besides me gaze in amazement at the Swedish idea of a prison?

edited 5th Dec '11 12:18:01 AM by vijeno

I was in awe when I saw that.

Subtitles versus dub is really a matter of taste. I've grown up with everything subtitled and get extremely frustrated with dubs when abroad - no only do they shut out the audience that don't speak the language, the actors are usually worse and the lines don't match what's happening. There's also some idle speculation that it might hamper progress in learning a new language, but I'm sure the dubs have their upsides too (not having to learn how to multitask reading and following events for one).

As for the love part, I always got the impression that it just means more. I have seen it a couple of times, but it's nearly always between couples that are established for years. But you also have to keep in mind that the northern type of cinema isn't lovey dovey in any form. If it's a kids film, the kid is violently abused at school, there's no dad and the mom is clinically depressed and if it's a vietnamese victim of trafficking that has been raped, carved up and tossed in a lake. Even romantic comedies have an air of humiliation and conflict over them, and the happy ending will probably be that the hero gets an affectionate "idiot" and a kiss. (as far as I can remember anyway - I avoid films of the northern type like the plague for these reasons) So yeah, there's probably some cultural influence, but the industry is pretty off the rails.

by the way, what was so special about the prison?

edited 5th Dec '11 2:24:17 PM by Mimimurlough

Well, have you ever once seen a prison in any american movie where the cell doors are open, no guards are around, people have their notebook and internet access? If I were to take a few months to write a novel, a prison like that would basically be the place I want to go to!

ETA: I totally agree about that violence part. My impression is that their code for "happy ending" or "positive" in general is rather different than in american cinema. Granted, I haven't seen that many skandinavian movies, but... just thinking of "Like in heaven" - the wife gets beaten, BUT she manages to free herself; the hero dies, BUT he's had a huge positive impact on many people. A simple happy-marry-kiss-love-forever ending would be too simple. There has to be a twist.

edited 6th Dec '11 12:07:19 AM by vijeno

I cant' remember that scene very well, but wasn't that a hospital? I'm pretty sure it wasn't a prison in any case.

Very true, I find that cultural difference very interesting

It was a non-violent crime, which means he would have been sent to a white-collar prison in America, which is quite different to the ones we're use to seeing. I suppose that's the swedish version of a white-collar prison though I've never seen the movie.

edited 7th Dec '11 3:52:36 PM by ViralLamb

Swedish prisons are supposed to be much nicer (and surprisingly more effective) than American prisons.

Well he was jailed for writing a libelous and inaccurate story meant to take down a corrupt businessman. He went to jail and came out with a completely accurate and revealing story that took down the corrupt businessman.

So evidently, prison works.

Going to see it now, meeting the 'rents at the park and ride near Green Mount Road.

....

I hate to admit it about an second American version of a book/movie, but I rather liked it.

My review: http://imamobi.blogspot.com/2011/12/girl-with-dragon-tattoo.html

Summary: I liked it. It had pacing issues, but otherwise it was realy impressive. May well be my "movie of the year".

I saw it, I enjoyed it. Rooney Mara did work as Lisbeth; she both completely nailed the part and went with a very different portrayal than Noomi Rapace, which I think speaks volumes about her ability as an actress. Rapace's Lisbeth is full of cold focused anger; you wouldn't get close to her (though you might dream of fucking her) because you're pretty sure she'd bite your face off if you got within striking distance. Mara's Lisbeth has a hunched-shoulder vulnerability and more ragged edges than a sack of broken glass. You want to get her a cup of cocoa and make the world stop being mean to her.

Mara finds Lisbeth's don't-fuck-with-me attitude when needed though. "I am insane," she intones at the camera...and whens she says it, you damn well believe it.

The movie did better than I thought it would. Especially considering that I was all prepared to hate it. See it, I say.

I watched a North American movie critic's review of this film.

He pronounced Mikael Blomkvist as "Mi-kaal Plum-quest".

I almost fell off my chair in laughter.

I was thinking about seeing it after reading this thread, but a lot of my friends have me doubting it. I'm not a big fan of graphic sex scenes, and from what I've heard it's pretty graphic. One guy I know actually walked out and asked for a refund. Is it at least faithful to the book?

Yes it is and I suggest watching Movie Bob's review of it on the escapist.

edited 3rd Jan '12 3:33:47 PM by vanthebaron

The "sex" scenes aren't too graphic, its the "rape" scene, that's what's graphic. But that's central to the story and yes it is very faithful to the book.

I've read the books and while sitting in the theater I wondered how many people would walk out of it because they weren't prepared. Too my surprise, no one did. We all enjoyed ourselves from what I could hear.

edited 3rd Jan '12 4:45:22 PM by ViralLamb

^true. the sex between Mikael and Lisbith is nice, by the rape of Lisbeth is shot to make you cringe.

Just came back from the movie. Thoughts:

• Since it's relevant to the discussion, I'll put this first: The rape scene? Hard to watch. It says something about our society that that scene was hard to watch but I never once had a problem watching Blomqvist being tortured with the intent to kill - but I'm not 100% certain what it says. But it's not so hard to watch that I wanted to leave the theater. As long as you don't mind occasionally having to look away from the screen, you can probably handle it.
• The use of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" was clever in the trailer - not so much in the actual opening credits.
• The movie is longer than I thought. It doesn't feel like two and a half hours, but that's about what it is. I thought for sure that it would end after the culprit's car exploded and he died, but there must have been at least 30 minutes of stuff after that.

Overall? Yeah, it was good.

edited 3rd Jan '12 6:00:36 PM by Sporkaganza

"Immigrant Song" more applys to the second movie when we learn about Lisbeth's dad

edited 3rd Jan '12 6:06:38 PM by vanthebaron

All I got out of it was "Lol, see because it's set in Sweden! 'I come from the land of the ice and snow,' get it? Ha ha! This is clever and not at all juvenile. Oh, and it's a heavy song because this is going to be gritty and dark! Get it?"

But admittedly this movie is the only thing I know of the franchise, so maybe it could be relevant after all.

read the trope page

edited 3rd Jan '12 6:16:49 PM by vanthebaron

Two N's. I just read it and it didn't reveal anything. (But I only skimmed.)

edited 3rd Jan '12 6:16:56 PM by Sporkaganza