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The girl with the dragon tattoo (Män som hatar kvinnor) - Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Lena Endre, Niels Arden Oplev

Threat advisory: Elevated - Significant risk of entertaining activities

Movie propaganda

Forty years ago, Harriet Vanger (Julia Sporre) disappeared from a family gathering on the island owned and inhabited by the powerful Vanger clan. Her body was never found, yet her uncle is convinced it was murder and that the killer is a member of his own tightly knit but dysfunctional family. He employs disgraced financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) and the tattooed, ruthless computer hacker Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) to investigate.

When the pair link Harriet's disappearance to a number of grotesque murders from almost forty years ago, they begin to unravel a dark and appalling family history. But the Vangers are a secretive clan, and Blomkvist and Salander are about to find out just how far they are prepared to go to protect themselves.

Theatrical propaganda posters

The girl with the dragon tattoo (Män som hatar kvinnor) theatrical one sheet image

Target demographic movie keyword propaganda

Film crime Sweden thriller Swedish mystery disappearance investigation family secret murder money killer

Persons of interest

Michael Nyqvist .... Mikael Blomkvist
Noomi Rapace .... Lisbeth Salander
Lena Endre .... Erika Berger
Peter Haber .... Martin Vanger
Sven-Bertil Taube .... Henrik Vanger
Peter Andersson .... Nils Bjurman
Ingvar Hirdwall .... Dirch Frode
Marika Lagercrantz .... Cecilia Vanger
Björn Granath .... Gustav Morell
Ewa Fröling .... Harriet Vanger
Michalis Koutsogiannakis .... Dragan Armanskij
Annika Hallin .... Annika Giannini
Sofia Ledarp .... Malin Erikson
Tomas Köhler .... 'Plague'
David Dencik .... Janne Dahlman
Stefan Sauk .... Hans-Erik Wennerström
Gösta Bredefeldt .... Harald Vanger
Fredrik Ohlsson .... Gunnar Brännlund
Jacob Ericksson .... Christer Malm
Gunnel Lindblom .... Isabella Vanger
Reuben Sallmander .... Enrico Giannini
Yasmine Garbi .... Miriam Wu
Georgi Staykov .... Alexander Zalachenko
Nina Norén .... Agneta Salander
Willie Andréason .... Birger Vanger
Tehilla Blad .... Young Lisbeth Salander
Julia Sporre .... Young Harriet Vanger
Laura Lind .... Jennie Giannini
Isabella Isacson .... Monica Giannini
Magnus Stenius .... Prison Guard 'Pliten'
Stieg Larsson .... Author
Nikolaj Arcel .... Screenwriter
Rasmus Heisterberg .... Screenwriter
Niels Arden Oplev .... Director

Cinematic intelligence sources

The girl with the dragon tattoo (Män som hatar kvinnor) official movie sites:

Australia
International

The girl with the dragon tattoo (Män som hatar kvinnor) film production notes
The girl with the dragon tattoo (Män som hatar kvinnor) movie trailers:

QuickTime

Awards and film festivals:

Amanda Awards, Norway 2009: Nominated: Best Foreign Feature Film (Niels Arden Oplev)
European Film Awards 2009: Nominated: Audience Award (Niels Arden Oplev), Best Actress (Noomi Rapace), Best Composer (Jacob Groth)

NB: Swedish language dialogue with English language subtitles
See also The girl who played with fire (Flickan som lekte med elden), The girl who kicked the hornet's nest (Luftslottet som sprängdes)
Studios and distributors:

Rialto Entertainment

Intelligence analyst

Special Agent Matti

Theatrical report

Despite the sober, serious and practical personalities which we ascribe to Scandinavians today it behoves us to keep in mind that they are the descendants of Vikings. The capacity for violence and sex is not as far beneath the surface as we would like to believe.

Just look at what an Ikea flat-pack can bring out of you.

Meanwhile, there are lots of TV shows in Australia that cover the Scando-murder-detective story - Unit One (Rejseholdet), The Eagle (Ørnen: En krimi-odyssé), The killing (Forbrydelsen), Wallander. [Love that SBS. - Director of Intelligence.] - so we are well-familiar with dead people in the snow. ["Snow" is crushed-up ice cubes that fall from the sky. - Director of Intelligence.] What adds interest to The girl with the dragon tattoo (Män som hatar kvinnor) is that the detective isn't a police person; he's just a lefty journo. It's been a long time since investigative reporters were considered heroic enough to star in movies. [Blame A current affair. - Director of Intelligence.]

Michael Nyqvist is hot off his stint as the sympathetic protagonist in As it is in Heaven (Så som i himmelen) and this character is similar in many ways: damaged, romantically-challenged, in need of redemption. Fortunately, those are the qualities that make for a good film noir detective. His leading lady this time is again abused, romantically-challenged and in need of forgiveness. Makes for a good maiden in distress. All we need now is a dragon, and that beast is present both literally (great ink on Noomi Rapace) and metaphorically (a bad man doing bad things). The hero's journey is one to slay the dragon, saving the maid and himself in doing so. It's a classic tale and it's well told. Stieg Larsson has created a dark and twisted story that suits the genre down to the last reel.

If you can stand the US-market subtitles, you'll have 2½ hours of fun getting paranoid.

The crime, Sweden, thriller movie The girl with the dragon tattoo (Män som hatar kvinnor) is directed by Niels Arden Oplev and stars Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Lena Endre.