Movie review | The Swedes made a gallows comedy about a historical mass execution

Drama, Comedy

Stockholm Bloodbath, directed by Mikael Håfström. 150 min. K16. ★★★

pulsating name on the movie! “Stockholm Bloodbath” will make a lover of charming B-movies like me laugh. And it clearly tells what and where is planned.

It is a historical event, which is indeed known as the “Stockholm massacre”. It was carried out by the King of Denmark Christian II in November 1520 after capturing Stockholm. He executed more than 80 Swedish nobles.

A terrible case, of course, and it's surprising that it's largely Swedish forces that make a terrible comedy out of it.

The Danes introduced tongue in cheek to the still images Titles pounding. King's Swordsman Didrik (Mikkel Boe Følsgaard) rides in the forest towards Stockholm like Tarantino's directed in a western.

First, a Swedish family living in the hinterland is murdered in the middle of their wedding, but the bride Anne (Sophie Cookson) survives, as does Freja, who was adopted into the family (Alba August). The young women go on a revenge spree with a hit list.

The viewer hums with satisfaction: the mood is like In Kill Bill! He has also tried his hand at directing in Hollywood Mikael Håfström.

Soon Christian II (Claus Bang) invades Stockholm's royal palace as a house, makes peace and sits opposite Kristina Gyllenstierna, who ended up as regent of SwedenEmily Beecham), on whose side Anne, Gyllenstierna's relative girl, carries the grudge.

And daggers burn with belts. After all, there is a massacre.

Puzzles occurs in abundance.

The budget of 14 million euros is small for a 2.5-hour epoch. The visual merits are unnecessarily far away Game of Thrones – level. Digitally animated overviews of 16th-century Stockholm reveal scarcity mercilessly.

The number of animal skulls on the stage is surprising. In the interior photos, horns are sticking out on almost every wall. The outfits look too new, like straight from a sewing machine.

The length is also too much, and it eats up voltage. The balance between serious and funny doesn't stay balanced.

And why do we only speak English? It certainly hurts the international market, but I guess you could have even thrown curse words in Scandi languages ​​into the rant about the hatred between Denmark and Sweden.

And I miss that Kill Bill – we don't see a spiritual final battle where the bones would really bang.

The third for his star Stockholm Bloodbath still deserves.

The film's finest moment arrives, Kristian II has ascended the throne in Stockholm. The purpose would be to celebrate friendship with the Swedish fleet. In order to raise the mood, the Danish cuckoo roars: Now let's celebrate, my God!

An unrestrained dance scene follows, where medieval court dance patterns meet music video expression, club sounds and choreography. The picture is divided into several frames where people are drinking and fucking.

More of this would have been needed. But the fact that the Swedes have been able to and dared to avoid mass execution in such a brutal way deserves a hat-trick.

Screenplay by Erlend Loe, Nora Landsrød. Starring Sophie Cookson, Emily Beecham, Alba August.

Correction at 3:15 p.m.: Anne is played by Sophie Cookson and not Emily Beecham, as the caption incorrectly stated earlier.