Dom över död man (2012) Reviews

• Wonderful film!

  jill_rosenlund852012-12-12

  I loved this movie. I couldn't disagree more with the two previous reviewers. I almost wondered whether they had been watching the same film. The pace of Troell's film allows you time to reflect as the story develops. No, it's not Raiders of the Lost Ark nor is it in colour, but it is a thoughtful, beautifully made film which stays in your mind long after you have left the cinema. And I'm not alone in rating this film. Most of the other reviews have praised the quality of the script, the camera-work and the way Troell manages to get such amazing performances from his actors. In my opinion, a must-see.

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• A well-intended disappointment.

  xym072012-10-08

  Saw it at Busan International Film Festival(BIFF), and it was the most disappointing film of the weekend. In fact Torgny Segerstedt's story, in which an anti-Nazi journalist became a political martyr, is quite fascinating. His relationships with women are also intriguing drama material. In addition to those good ingredients, the director Jan Troell had one more ambition: making this film as a journey to the mind of Mr. Segerstedt, rather than a bland and harmless biography. What could go wrong? First of all, making a black and white period piece with digital cameras(Arri Alexa) was not a good idea; especially when you start your film with real archive films filled with gritty film grains. The images here lack any depth of field, resulting in images which are crisp and dull at the same time. The whole feature felt like a cheap TV reenactment of the actual events, rather than an artistic reinterpretation. The script is not good as well. Without some fantasy elements based on a Bergman tradition, the whole feature consists of a series of important events in the protagonist's life. The timing is always off; things just come and go without proper investments. Most of all, even though it is based on the real events during World War 2, there is no sense of dread or grief. Even though Jesper Christensen's performance was stellar, I cannot recommend this film. It is a film made with good intentions, but fails to live up to them. 4/10

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• The dead man's burden

  stensson2012-12-15

  Jan Troell is the nestor of Swedish films. He's been directing for 50 years and bringing on Torgny Segerstedt is of course an interesting choice of subject. Segerstedt was one of few journalists who completely stood up against Hitler during WW2. A story of courage in a special way, since Sweden never took part in the war. So this could have been a discussion about common political morals, but instead it's a discussion about Segerstedt's private life and most of all his mistresses. Of course you can make a movie that way, if it has a substance referring to the man's work, but this isn't the case here. It's more about anybody's love life. And there isn't any magic about it. The work should be bigger than the man than it comes to somebody like Segerstedt.

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• Doom over dead man

  johan-3642012-12-12

  Even with the best intentions from its filmmaker, this film falls utterly flat. Written, directed and edited by Jan Troell, this production is the result of a tired, former champ filmmaker. Bottom line, he's done the worst sin all filmmakers can make. He's made a dull movie. Unengaging and without any resemblance of growing conflict, the film is merely a series of historical moments without any clear through-line. The story illustrates none of the severe consequences that this man caused. It merely hints at this and leaves the viewer unaware of the life threatening situation. The producer should have required the writers to make a dramatic story. The black/white look is suitable yet too crisp and sterile for its purpose. Seemingly grain-less, the digital image lacks mood and authenticity. Film and grain would have added a much needed filter.

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• heroic opponent to Hitler has own issues

  maurice_yacowar2013-01-23

  Two kinds of evil are analyzed in Jan Troell's The Last Sentence. The first depicts Swedish journalist Torgny Segerstedt's (Jesper Christensen) crusade against Hitler. As editor of an economic daily he campaigned against Hitler and for Sweden's going to war against Nazi Germany. Segerstedt contends that acquiescence to evil only nourishes it. We are responsible for what we allow, not just what we do. Despite the Swedish king's probably correct judgement that Germany and Russia would destroy the Swedish army in a fortnight, Segerstedt sticks to his campaign. His move from Scandinavian concern to the wider European is evidenced when his new bulldog Winston succeeds the poisoned Soren (a Kierke-guard dog?). As we know, Hitler's early sweep was facilitated by the surrender and compromises of state heads who lacked Segerstedt's courage and clarity. In this respect the film reflects upon the current debate over how to deal with the rise of jihadist-based anti- Semitism, in which the Scandinavian countries are very much in the vanguard. How "neutral" was Sweden in WW II and what was its effect? What cost neutrality or acquiescence now? The second moves from the political evil which Segerstedt addresses to the personal evil which he embodies. This fiery journalist is a surprisingly unimpressive man, an academic still obsessed with having failed his thesis (on the origin of polytheism), who has been essentially made by the women to whose spectres he turns after their deaths -- his mother, his wife, his wealthy Jewish intellectual mistress. Despite his open adultery he seems so insecure in his manhood that he keeps two huge mastiffs and the massive bulldog. www.yacowar.blogspot.com

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