A scene from the Swedish TV crime series “Mafia.” Courtesy of ViaPlay
The crime drama “Mafia” (originally “Maffia”) from Sweden is a bit atypical in its focus. Covering a period from 1991-1999, it’s mainly about Yugoslavian gangs in Sweden smuggling tax-dodging cigarettes for unimaginable profits. The timing is key, since there were Serbian and Croatian factions in conflict over not only turf and profits, but the beginnings and continuation of the war between the two back home. Both involved sides relied heavily on their cut of the multi-millions of smuggling revenue to fund the fighting.
The main character is Croatian Jakov (Peshang Rad) who is the shrewdest member of either gang, trying to maximize profits while minimizing violence and risks. The other two leaders are his “brother from another mother” Goran (Nemanja Stojanovic) who is more impulsive, and Drago (Cedomir Djordjevic) who is a reckless bully. The other two have more physicality and charisma than Jakov (think of Tim Roth vs. Jeff Fahey and Vinnie Jones), making them the ones others will follow, and whom Jakov always has to wheedle into patiently pursuing a wiser course of action. He’s the only one who sees the big picture and understands how to fly under the radar and play the long game.
They butt heads with a larger gang headed by the utterly ruthless Serbian Zlatko (Miodrag Stojanovic, who looks like James Carville in a perpetually foul mood). The maneuvers and shifting alliances among them and others make for a lot of dramatic tension and periodic violence. Those relations are further complicated by the involvement of the cops, headed by Gunn (Katia Winter) whose cooperation with Jakov as the lesser evil of the lot is tenuous, at best. Is she using him to limit the smuggling and body count, or is he using her to unseat the others? Or both? Will she wind up appreciating his relatively low-key approach to the racket or jailing him?
The six 45-minute episodes each cover different years in the decade, as events in Sweden and back home unfold. There are a lot of moving pieces to follow and several compelling side relationships keeping the tenor more human and less geopolitical. I frequently complain that such seasons and miniseries from The Continent run 8-10 episodes when six would be sufficient. This one proves my point, as there’s little fat in the package that lesser producers might have milked for more running (and commercial-selling) time. Performances are excellent all around. The pace and scope of action are above average for such fare. I’m not exactly thrilled with aspects of how the season ends, but the product was engaging enough to make me hope for further developments in the lives of the surviving players.
“Mafia,” in Swedish and Serbo-Croatian with English subtitles, streams on ViaPlay starting June 19, 2025.
A scene from the Swedish TV crime series “Jana, Marked for Life.” Courtesy of ViaPlay
This Swedish procedural miniseries ”Jana, Marked for Life” is well-written in terms of plot suspense, but falls short in developing personalities of the principals that inspire engagement with them. Jana (Madeleine Martin) is the daughter of a wealthy, respected judge who is about to retire. At a posh party in His Honor’s honor, Jana spoils daddy’s evening by announcing that she’s starting work as a local prosecuting attorney, rather than accept the prestigious job he’d arranged for her with a leading firm in Stockholm.
Day one puts her on a murder case with detective Peer (August Wittgenstein), with whom she has a history. She also must work with a female officer, Mia (Moa Gammel), who resents the hell out of this privileged lass walking into a better job than hers, and immediately asserting her own ideas about the case too vigorously. Jana has more knowledge about the victim than she acknowledges to the others, and is also haunted by dreams and flashbacks to a troubled youth that she doesn’t actually remember. Apparently, she was adopted after a tragic early life with all conscious memory blotted out. She also has inexplicable fighting skills that show up in an emergency.
The murder victim was about to blow the whistle on a major criminal ring when he was whacked by someone looking like a small, lithe ninja. Not exactly standard for Nordic criminals. Through six hour-long episodes, we gradually learn more about Jana’s backstory and how it may relate to the current crime she’s working. Those efforts are hampered by issues with her junkie kid sister Jojo (Sigrid Johnson); her father and former shrink withholding information about those nagging origins; and Jana’s refusal to share what she’s learning with the cops like a proper team player would. That’s rather annoying, especially when she repeatedly puts herself in positions of danger without any notice to the others. Nor does she make things easier for her troubled sibling by explaining that her bitchiness is job and history-related, not disapproval of Jojo, who takes Jana’s aloofness personally.
As the good guys stumble their way through the maze of possible crimes and perps, old and current, Jana’s chosen secrecy and autonomy wear thin. Most such dramas thrive on the likability and/or empathy factor of their protagonist(s). Jana is as off-putting to the viewers as to the other players in her family and work circles. She’s smart and usually correct in her suspicions, but frustratingly closed off in how she pursues the essential answers.
The season ends in a complete package without significant cliffhangers, though it does leave some residue for a second season. Since it originally aired in 2024, that remains as a distinct possibility. If so, perhaps Jana will have purged enough of her devils to play more nicely with others on the next case. That would make an upgrade for them and the viewers.
“Jana, Marked for Life,” mostly in Swedish with English subtitles, streams on ViaPlay starting May 9, 2025.
Kjell Bergqvist as Tom Stilton and Dar Salim as Abbas, in the Swedish crime drama series “Spring Tide” Season 2. Directors: Niklas Ohlson, Pontus Klänge. Photo credit: Niklas Maupoix. Produced by Filmlance International AB. Courtesy of MHz Choice
The Swedish crime drama,”Spring Tide” (originally “Springfloden”) is back with Season 2. I reviewed Season One of the series a couple of months ago (here is the link to that review: https://www.wearemoviegeeks.com/2025/02/spring-tide-season-one-tv-series-review/). Season Two brings back most of those principals for another 10-episode mystery.
Season Two is somewhat larger in scope, covering several crimes in two countries for its geographically scattered cast. It starts in Stockholm with the staged suicide of a possible corporate whistle-blower (NOT a spoiler. It wouldn’t have been much of a series if the guy had actually killed himself. It’s just par for the genre course.). Then a dismembered woman’s body washes ashore in Marseilles. She turns out to be a former love of Abbas (Dar Salim), sending him and Tom (Kjell Bergqvist) down there to find out whodunit. Toss in some corporate corruption and sex trafficking. Then another murder occurs, raising questions of if and how all of these plot threads overlap.
Olivia (Julia Ragnarsson) is just returning from having spent the six months since Season One in Mexico, and she still hasn’t finished her studies at the police academy. But that doesn’t stop her from pursuing her own aggressive independent investigation. The first stiff was a neighbor and friend with a surly (aren’t they all?) teen daughter, Lisa (Michaela Thorsen), who becomes annoyingly and frustratingly dependent on Olivia. This time, it’s personal… as the saying goes.
Multiple arenas of action keep things moving, although, as before, the whole thing could have been covered in seven or eight episodes to greater advantage. The scripts are otherwise well-written, giving many players the chance to strut their stuff. Some violence. No nudity. Abbas, who I thought possibly the most interesting character in the first round, plays a more prominent role in this one, confirming my opinion. A couple of romantic sidebars add to the human-interest side.
The two seasons aired abroad from 2016-18. Presumably, that’s all we’ll get, though I’d still like for the Abbas character to be booked for a spin-off. No cliffhangers at the end, so it’s safe to dive in. Ideally, watch Season One first to better understand the characters and their relationships
“Spring Tide” Season Two, in Swedish and French with English subtitles and with some English, begins streaming on MHz Choice on starting Tuesday, Apr. 19.
RATING: 2.5 out of 4 stars
Kjell Bergqvist as Tom Stilton and Julia Ragnarsson as Olivia Rönning, in the Swedish crime drama series “Spring Tide” Season 2. Directors: Niklas Ohlson, Pontus Klänge. Photo credit: Ulrika Malm. Produced by Filmlance International AB. Courtesy of MHz Choice
A scene from the Swedish TV mini-series “The Fighter.” Courtesy of MHz Choice
“The Fighter” (originally titled “Lea”) is a dark Swedish TV miniseries covering the ordeal of its eponymous boxer (Madeleine Martin) as she struggles to succeed in an environment in which her ring opponents are the least challenging obstacles to winning a championship. As the film opens, she’s in her first match after a two-year suspension for drug allegations that may have been unwarranted. Adrian (Joel Spira), her ex-hubby and father of their young son, is the sort of screw-up who is easy prey for the abundance of crime bosses who sully the sport. He’s in deep to Balthazar (Emil Almen), a vicious jerk who deals drugs, fixes fights and pounces on whatever sleazy opportunity may arise, supported by thugs to impose his will on the unwilling. Adrian’s problems are highly contagious.
Lea had been in Balthazar’s stable of fighters, but left in disgust to be managed by her stepdad, Sam (Ralph Carlsson), whose compulsive gambling adds yet another dimension to her woes. When she wins that return match, rumors that it was fixed trigger an inquiry led by boxing association investigator Amanda (Jennie Silfverhjelm), who has her own reasons for wanting to bring down Lea and anyone connected to her. For six hourlong episodes, we watch Lea’s zealous quest for the World Title she’s craved since childhood. As if the foregoing speed bumps weren’t enough, pile on some medical issues that make continuing to compete super-dangerous for her.
This all reads like the stuff of soap opera, and could easily have sunk to that level. But the scripts deliver a good balance of training and fighting sequences to keep the plot complexities from burying the sports side of the tale. In the latter episodes, a couple of developments add meaty suspense and character arcs. Martin handles the lead well, looking pretty convincing as a pugilist, while deftly carrying the protagonist’s dramatic load. You can tell this is European, since the star isn’t a major babe like an Angelina Jolie or Demi Moore. Martin is lean and mean; appealing without being too glamorous for any semblance of realism. Her integrity shines through the taint of underworld involvement swirling around her, keeping viewers squarely in her corner despite some questionable decisions. All the significant actors handle their roles quite well.
Subtitle-averse viewers will have their burden eased by the percentage of running time that occurs in gyms and rings with little dialog. THE FIGHTER is not an easy watch, as the seedy side of the profession seems overwhelmingly oppressive for trapped pugilists who have little control over their careers, and whose ambitions can keep them in thrall to managers and promoters with less-than-noble interests. Patience through the early bummer phase of this subtitled series will be justified.
“The Fighter” (aka “Lea”), in Swedish with English subtitles, begins streaming on MHz Choice starting Tuesday, Feb. 5.
Sofia Helin as Iris, in “Fallen” (Sanningen). Photo: Carolina Romare. Courtesy of MHz Choice
Regular readers will recognize the name Sofia Helin from previous Scandinavian crime series reviews, including the highly praised original incarnation of “The Bridge.” The ultra busy actress stars in “Fallen” (originally “Sanningen”) as yet another police detective, Iris, in a solid six-episode season procedural. In this vehicle, she’s carrying more emotional baggage than usual.
She arrives in Malmo to head up their cold-case unit, reeling from the unsolved murder of her boyfriend in Stockholm. She’s immediately greeted with the unearthing of an old corpse that might have been a teenager who’d disappeared 18 years earlier. That triggers reopening the previous investigation, which proceeds while awaiting forensic confirmation of the remains. Is it Benjamin, or someone else? Several old wounds are opened and potential suspects identified. Meanwhile, Iris tries to help with finding who murdered her beloved Christian, despite department rules that prohibit her involvement. That loss was behind her transferring to another city.
Many parties with assorted issues and conflicts get their own arcs in a script that merges a lot of important moving pieces. This one’s a serious character drama with more interpersonal elements in relation to the sleuthing than is usually the case for such programs. Iris is plagued throughout by flashbacks, visions and nightmares surrounding her old relationship and his shooting that she witnessed. Very little sex or violence; no nudity. More plot twists than trysts. Helin plays the most emotionally beleaguered protagonist among any of her prior roles I’ve seen. And she does it with her usual stellar level of performance. The woman generates empathy in whichever hat she decides to don.
The acting is fine all around, but the real stars may be the trio of credited writers. Most of these series’ seasons run for eight episodes, usually seeming longer than needed for the material. These folks tightened it to six 40-minute segments, while still packing in a hefty dose of meaningful characters and subplots that all fit well together. This could have easily devolved into soap opera territory, but thankfully stays understated enough to avoid that trap. The location scouts also deserve a nod for the sites in and around Stockholm and Malmo they found for the shoot.
The season ends with closure of most major and minor plot points, but leaves a few loose ends for a second season, if there’s to be one. No need to fear the curse of a big cliffhanger and non-renewal. And that’s a good thing.
“Fallen,” mostly in Swedish with English subtitles, debuts streaming Tuesday, Dec. 10, on MHz Choice.
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
Håkan Bengtsson as Jens, Sofia Helin as Iris, Kajsa Ernst as Kerstin, and Inez Andersson as Nina, in “Fallen.” Photo: Carolina Romare. Courtesy of MHz Choice.
A scene from the Swedish-Danish crime TV series “The Bridge.” Courtesy of Topic
Back in 2011, the Scandinavian crime series, “The Bridge,” was not only hugely popular in Europe but spawned quite a few remakes and derivatives on both sides of the Atlantic. The now oft-used premise is that a body is found straddling the national border of a bridge joining Denmark and Sweden, creating jurisdictional confusion. That gets worse when they discover that the top and bottom halves are from two different women. Successor series have been set on the US/Mexico, Singapore/Malaysia, Greece/Turkey and the Russia/Estonia borders. A France/England version used the Chunnel in the same way. That list may be more illustrative than complete, since variations exist under non-bridgey titles. In each, a cop from one side partners with one from the other, despite cultural and personal differences that add tensions and friction to the whodunnit component.
This original paired Sweden’s detective Saga Noren (Sofia Helin) with Denmark’s Martin Rhode (Kim Bodnia). Since all cop duo dramas or comedies must begin with irritating differences, Saga is somewhere on the high-functioning end of The Spectrum – brilliant, hyper-focused, feeling virtually no emotions in her professional or personal lives, and blunt with everyone about what she’s thinking – unable to use normal sensitivities in any conversation. What she thinks will be what she says.
Martin is the grizzled, world-weary Dane who can be soft and supportive when the situation calls for tact. The two don’t particularly like or understand what makes each other tick, but mutual respect evolves during this somber season of shared sleuthing, weaving their way through a maze of political and financial motives and suspects.
Season Two opens 13 months after the first and introduces some new detectives before settling in with the first pair. This year’s plot escalates from the realm of crime to international terrorism. Even so, there’s a significant carryover from Season One affecting roles and actions in the new case. Without providing details, the season ends in a way that might preclude the two sharing any other cases.
Season Three, another 13 months later, pairs Saga with a younger Danish partner, Henrik (Thure Lindhardt) and returns to the more familiar realm of civilian murders, with a serial killer dispatching victims in apparently ritualistic, attention-seeking displays. Really gory, too, with each posed differently. Both seasons are filled, if not overrun, with characters and subplots, giving viewers more of a challenge than average. As usual, I recommend starting from the beginning to understand the carryover elements. Bingeing each season is advisable for keeping their plots and players in mind. As one expects from a Scandinavian drama, the tone is somber – longer on mood than action, and even lower on moments of levity. Both sets do a pretty good job of living up to Season One’s level of quality in scripting, acting and production values. A final fourth season aired abroad and is sure to follow here shortly. Stay tuned , as they say…
“The Bridge: Seasons 2 and 3,” mostly in Swedish and Danish with English subtitles, streams on Topic starting Tuesday, Dec. 26.
A scene from season one of the Swedish rescue/medical drama series “First Responders.” Courtesy of MHz Choice
The first season of the subtitled Swedish TV series “First Responders” introduces us to a surprisingly diverse group of doctors, EMTs, firemen and police in a small, idyllic town, with a full array of professional and personal challenges to face. The setting is lovely, as we meet them during their summer off-season, in a village that apparently thrives on winter sports tourism. So this should be a less-pressured time for the crew. Not exactly the way it works out. Bad for them. Good for viewers.
Each episode presents a few crises calling for some combination of dramatic rescues, medical intervention and/or crime solving. Everyone in the ensemble cast gets his/her turns in the spotlight. Since they are mostly young and attractive (could it be any other way?), there is a fair share of romantic activity, as well, with some story lines unfolding throughout the season. Besides the main theme of their duties, a separate plot thread involves luring a big investor for economic growth that may, or may not, be good for the community.
Compared to our domestic network counterparts, like “911” and “911: Lone Star,” these events play out with relatively little splash. Background music highlighting major scenes is largely absent from “First Responders,” which keeps the focus more on the visuals, and lets viewers feel the urgency of their efforts without that audio prompt. Other than a couple of shockingly gruesome displays of medical yuckiness in Episode 3, the romantic encounters and assorted injuries are shown without much graphic detail. Or levity.
Viewer’s enjoyment of these 10 hour-long episodes will depend on the extent to which they bond with the characters. Everyone is presented in relatable human scale. No super-jocks or mega-villains, and nobody cast strictly for eye candy. The season ends with a few open questions, but without any cliffhangers that leave viewers in the lurch if Season Two never materializes. Overall, the series seemed engaging, though not riveting.
“First Responders: Season One,” mostly in Swedish with English subtitles, is streaming on MHz Choice starting Tuesday, May 31.
When Fredrik Backman’s bestselling novel A MAN CALLED OVE was turned into an international hit film, it seemed inevitable that another of the Swedish author’s bestsellers would adapted for the big screen. BRITT-MARIE WAS HERE (Britt-Marie Var Har) is a Swedish drama/comedy based on Backman’s bestseller of the same name, about a 63-year-old woman who takes a job as a youth soccer coach in a little town, even though she knows nothing about the sport. The success of A MAN CALLED OVE set a pretty high bar for this film. While BRITT-MARIE also focuses on a flinty older person, this is more modest stuff than that epic tale.
Britt-Marie (redoubtable Swedish star
Pernilla August) is a 63-year-old housewife who likes everything
tidy, organized and clean. She lives by the motto that a clean house
says everything about you, and takes pride in keeping hers neat and
polished. In voice-over, she tells us her sister Ingrid was always
dreaming while Britt-Marie was always the practical one, with her
feet firmly on the ground.
Armed with her to-do lists and cleaning
products, the no-nonsense Britt-Marie has taken care of the house
with military precision, while her husband Kent (Peter Haber) took
care of making money. Kent travels a lot in his job but when at home,
he spends his time obsessively watching soccer (or football, as it is
called there). She thinks she and Kent have a system that has worked
well for them for 40 years, until she discovers her husband is having
an affair.
With no drama, practical Britt-Marie marches straight home, packs a bag and moves out. The next day, she goes to the local employment agency, to look for a job. There are very few open to a woman of her age, but one is temp work in a remote town named Borg, as a youth counselor. Oh yeah, she also has to serve as their soccer coach too. “Any experience in football?” the job counselor asks. “It feels like half my life has revolved around football,” Britt-Marie cryptically replies.
When Britt-Marie arrives by bus in tiny
Borg, it is late at night. She lets herself into the graffiti-covered
youth center and inside, the youth center is even worse, dingy and
cluttered. “Chaos,” Britt-Marie mutters. Clearly she has
quite a job ahead of her – and that is without the coaching part.
Then she meets the kids who form the soccer team, when the ragtag
bunch of racially-diverse preteens accidentally break a window as
they practice in the field next to the youth center.
This fish-out-of-water tale is directed
by actor-turned-director Tuva Novotny, her second feature film.
Comparisons to A MAN CALLED OVE are inevitable, even though that film
had a different director. A MAN CALLED OVE is a tale about a
curmudgeonly man that begins in an unassuming manner but then takes
off into unexpected directions, transforming it into a kind of epic
adventure with a big heart, as it recapped this unassuming man’s
astonishing, heartbreaking life. BRITT-MARIE WAS HERE has heart too
but it is a more limited kind of story.
Part sports movie, part
second-chance-at-life story, the film employs plenty of conventional
elements from both genres, yet it manages to create warmth, thanks to
its dry humor and some nice performances. Britt-Marie has no idea how
to coach but the kids are so motivated that they almost drag her
along, as they prepare for a big game against a neighboring town. She
also does not care much for kids, or adults for that matter. However,
after scoffing at the idea of this buttoned-down old lady as their
new youth soccer coach, everyone pitches in to help Britt-Marie and
she finds herself softening. This remote little Swedish town seems
mostly populated by descendants of immigrants from Africa and the
Middle East, but film never directly comments on this, letting the
story’s undercurrent about the economically-marginalize makes the
point. While the kids try to prepare for the big game, Britt-Marie
goes on a journey of self-discovery, tied to forgotten, buried dreams
linked to her youth.
The film has little flashbacks to
Britt-Marie’s youth but nowhere as elaborate as the flashbacks in A
MAN CALLE OVE. Like everything else in this story, it is more
practical and down-to-earth, like the character herself. The film
does offer a little flight of fancy in charming animated sequences
the run under the opening and closing credits.
The film is well-acted, with Pernilla
August in particular giving her seemingly-inflexible character an
unexpected kind of inner strength as well as that dry sense of humor
that is often a signature of Scandinavian films. Britt-Marie starts
out as an independent, take-charge type who needs no one, but she
ends up as a warmer if less certain person, who discovers the value
of friends. She opens her heart to her own dreams, even as she helps
the kids reach for theirs.
The rest of the cast are also good, and
add to the mix of dry humor and warm appeal,as they embrace this
stranger. Memo (Mahmut Suvakci) plays Memo, a joke-cracking Middle
Easterner who is the town’s jack-of-all-trades. Memo turns out to be
very helpful and Britt-Marie gets more help from Memo’s employee Sami
(Lance Ncube), who takes care of his younger brother and sister (who
are on the soccer team), since their mom died. Britt-Marie forms a
special bond with Sami’s sister Vega (Stella Oyoko Bengtsson), a girl
who lives for soccer. More help for the team comes from Bank (Malin
Levanon), the legally-blind daughter of the former coach, and local
policeman Sven (Anders Mossling), who has a crush on Britt-Marie,
adding a touch of romance.
Nothing wild happens in BRITT-MARIE WAS
HERE but the film does take some unexpected turns and ends up in a
satisfying place that is a bit different than what we expect.
BRITT-MARIE WAS HERE is a modest little
drama/comedy, much like it’s central character, but like that
character, it also warms the heart with its tale of following one’s
dreams. BRITT-MARIE WAS HERE, in Swedish with English subtitles,
opens Friday, Oct. 4, at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac.
In the Swedish dark comedy A MAN CALLED OVE, director/scriptwriter Hannes Holm takes us on a roller-coaster trip through the life of old curmudgeon. Ove (Rolf Lassgard) is the kind of guy every neighborhood seems to have, the obsessively neat, angry rule-enforcer who checks up on things and sees that everyone follows the rules – all of them.
Ove cracks down on his neighbors during his daily rounds to check up on things, a habit left over from when he was the chair of the neighborhood committee. But Ove definitely is not a friendly neighbor. Basically, this crabby widower just wants to be left alone. Recently widowed, he visits his late wife Sonja’s (Ida Engvoll) grave every day, to bring flowers and complain. Suddenly without a job at age 59, he decides to join her. But people keep interrupting his suicide attempts, with friendly visits or requests for help. Particularly bothersome is his friendly new neighbor Parvaneh, an Iranian woman, and her Swedish husband Patrick (Tobias Almborg) and their their two cute little girls.
Nobody does twisty, dry, dark comedy as well as the Swedes. Both funny and touching, the film takes us through Ove’s up-and-down life through a series of flashbacks. Based on a best-selling novel, this film was a huge hit in Sweden, but this neighborhood curmudgeon character is a universal type. While we recognize Ove’s type, this dry and dark comedy turns him into a fully rounded, more complex person, and also goes off in completely unexpected story directions. This film will remind some viewers of another clever comedy about an old man with an unexpected past “THE 100 YEAR OLD MAN WHO CLIMBED OUT A WINDOW AND DISAPPEARED.” This film is a bit more touching and Ove’s remembered life is not near as wild as that one, but it has its surprises too, a life filled with ups and downs, heartbreak and love, and unexpected twists.
Two of the joys of this film are its beautiful photography, particularly stunning in the flashbacks, and its fine acting. Lassgard is perfect as the older Ove, glowering and suppressing a snarl every time he encounters another human interruption. All he wants to do is join his wife in death. Every time Ove attempts suicide, he drifts off into reveries of his earlier life as he waits for death – a wait that is always interrupted by something or someone.
Lassgard is not the only gem in this cast, although his performance and the director’s deft touch in presenting the sometimes traumatic events of his life really lift the already-good story. Filip Berg is moving as young Ove, a decent young man coping with a challenging start in life, as is Ida Engvoll, who sparkles as lively Sonja in the flashbacks.
Bahar Pars is wonderful too as irrepressible Parvaneh, a lively, strong-willed pregnant woman who shrugs off her neighbor’s grouchy manner. The cracks in Ove’s armor begin to appear around her, as well as her two little girls and a stray cat, that Ove defends from another neighbor.
The film is funny, surprising, moving, and even romantic as it unspools Ove’s story. This gentle, delightful film touches on an unexpected range of contemporary issues. In other hands, sentiment could have gotten the better of this film but director Holm keeps enough comic edge to rescue it from that fate, keeping it funny but warm, a little gem that will have you leaving the theater with a smile.
A MAN CALLED OVE, in Swedish with English subtitles, opens in St. Louis on Friday, Oct. 14, at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinema.
