Film: Sweden's trendiest export
Published: 03 Nov 2010
With various Swedish movies raking in over 150 international awards at well-known festivals ranging from the Tribeca Film Festival in New York to the Berlin Film Festival in 2009 alone, it seems the world is craving more than just pop music, minimalist design, and sturdy cars from Sweden. Thrilling films with solid storylines are quickly becoming the country's newest and trendiest export.
Cast of Snabba Cash, soon a Hollywood remake. Photo: Frank Aschberg/Nordisk Film
American teen heartthrob Zac Efron has been cast to star as the leading role in a new multi-million dollar movie called Easy Money which follows a young financier who leads a double life as a money launderer trafficking illegal drugs in the hopes of increasing his wealth.
With the right ingredients of intrigue and suspense associated with classic Hollywood crime dramas, Easy Money is actually the scheduled remake of hugely successfully Stockholm-based action movie Snabba Cash, originally directed by Daniél Espinosa, and adapted from the bestselling novel by Jens Lapidus.
Second Takes
Shortly after becoming a smash-hit in Sweden, the movie was sold in more than 20 countries to production companies such as Warner Brothers in the US. However, Snabba Cash isn't the only Swedish film making waves across the Atlantic. Andrea Reuter is project manager at the International Department at the Swedish Film Institute, which promotes films made in Sweden. According to her, films doing well abroad in indie circuits also include the award-winning Swedish vampire film Let the Right One In directed by Tomas Alfredson.
Director Matt Reeves took on Let the Right One In and remade it for an American audience, re-titling it Let Me In. "It not only is an absolutely brilliant film, it also happened to arrive when the interest in vampire movies was starting to peak," notes Reuter, referring to the film's unique vampire take. The original was set against the backdrop of a stereotypical dark Scandinavian winter.
Still photo from Let the Right One In, a Swedish vampire tale with human characters. Photo: Hoyte van Hoytema/Sandrew Metronome
"But the biggest success is, of course, the whole Millennium trilogy starting with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," adds Reuter. "They are based on extremely popular books that already had a worldwide fan base. When the films were such a success in Scandinavian cinemas, distributors in other countries decided to put a lot of effort and money into marketing as well as a wide local release. The more the phenomena grew the more press it got and the more people went to see the film. It simply snowballed."
The original Swedish version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo quickly pulled in over $6 million in the US, and talk was already underway to do an American version. Soon curious Swedes could see actor Daniel Craig dashing around Stockholm's trendy Södermalm district under the watchful eye of director David Fincher (known for gritty thrillers Fight Club and Seven) as they shot the first remake of the Stieg Larsson trilogy. The first movie will be followed by sequels The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet´s Nest.
It will be a challenge to replace Noomi Rapace in the role as Lisbeth Salander. Photo: Nordisk film
It seems Hollywood has taken a renewed interest in Sweden's film industry beyond legendary Ingmar Bergman psychological dramas, and seedy erotic movies of the 70s.
Economics 101: Demand and Supply
So why would an industry known for flashy computer-generated graphics seek out more art-house style Scandinavian movies?
"The reason is simple," says Mats Bråstedt, noted film critic with Swedish newspaper Expressen. "Good movies are based on very good stories, and this fact appeals to an international audience."
While Hollywood doesn't lack creativity in terms of visual eye candy, the challenge in mainstream movies is telling insightful human stories that global audiences can connect with through the glitz, and it seems Swedish movies have mastered this art of storytelling with mass appeal.
"The combination of these titles doing well created a momentum for Swedish film," Reuter says. "Suddenly Swedish films were the talk of the town."
Global audiences are drawn to stories in which people can personally relate to the characters in a raw and organic way that doesn't seem forced or manufactured. Harsh backdrops of cold Swedish weather and stark landscapes within the movies themselves also add a heightened sense of drama and intensity to the stories in a new genre known as Swedish noir.
"The films that are becoming more popular abroad have a certain atmosphere," says Helena Lindblad, well-known film critic with Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter. "I spoke to David Fincher [director of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo remake] and asked him why he wanted to shoot in Stockholm." According to Fincher, shooting the film for instance in Cleveland or Toronto won't get the right atmosphere because Millennium is pure Swedish noir.
A classic phenomena
Hollywood directors have long been drawing inspiration from richly developed characters in Swedish film. As far back as the late 1930s, an appetite for foreign movies was already growing. Intermezzo, a 1936 Swedish romantic movie starring award-winning actress Ingrid Bergman was remade into a 1939 Hollywood version of the same name also starring Ingrid Bergman reviving her previous role.
Inspired by director Ingmar Bergman's 1959 art-house flick Virgin Spring (Jungfrukällan), horror maestro Wes Craven's Last House on the Left was released in 1972. In true Craven style, his version had all the thrill of a horror flick, while Bergman's version was more symbolic — even though both movies were based on the same 13th century Swedish ballad, "Töres dotter i Wänge".
Lost In Translation
Once cinemagoers have connected to an original version, expectations are raised and additional pressure is mounted upon directors who dare to remake these popular films.
"Swedish is a small language," says film critic Bråstedt. "And many countries want to watch movies in their own language." This need to connect with a good story in one's native tongue is what has been driving the surge in remakes of Swedish movies abroad.
While Sweden has long exported its unique interior designs and catchy pop music with little to no changes, exporting Swedish film comes at a price. Beyond just translating the movie, these films are further tailored to suit their home audiences' tastes and many fans fear that the underlying message and storylines of these movies could literally be lost in translation.
The magic formula
"Sweden isn't supposed to make big sweeping blockbuster-style movies like Arn because as a small country, we tell small stories best," says Bråstedt, referencing the $30 million Swedish epic about a knight templar during the crusades. In essence, from those human psychological stories which Ingmar Bergman spearheaded to more modern crime dramas and introspective noir, the Swedish film industry's strength lies in its transparent showcasing of humanity.
"The appeal from the Millennium books, besides the fact that they are thrilling, is the element of the exotic," adds Lindblad. "For example, for the French who were among the first people in Europe to discover and translate Millennium, it has an exotic touch. People want to know more about the land where IKEA comes from."
As long as Sweden continues to put skillful storytelling over cookie-cutter formulas whilst creating complex characters, Swedish films as export will likely remain a hot commodity abroad.
This feature has been published by the Swedish Institute.
