The Man from Majorca (1984)

In Stockholm, on St. Lucy's feast day, a bandit daringly robs a crowded post office. Within a fortnight, two witnesses are dead. Two cops from vice squad, Johansson and Jarnebring, who were... See full summary »

Director:

Bo Widerberg

Writers:

Leif G.W. Persson (novel), Bo Widerberg (screenplay)

Stars:

Sven Wollter, Tomas von Brömssen, Håkan Serner

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sven Wollter	...	Inspector Jarnebring
Tomas von Brömssen	...	Inspector Johansson
Håkan Serner	...	Inspector Andersson
Ernst Günther	...	Dahlgren
Thomas Hellberg	...	Berg
Ingvar Hirdwall	...	Fors (as Ingvar Hirdvall)
Niels Jensen	...	Roger 'Rogge' Jansson
Tommy Johnson	...	Inspector Rundberg
Rico Rönnbäck	...	Kjell Göran Hedberg
Hans Villius	...	Minister of Justice (as Hans Willius)
Sten Lonnert	...	Olsson, Alcoholic
Nina Gunke	...	Eva Zetterberg
Margreth Weivers	...	Alva Wiström
Gun Karlsson	...	Mrs. Forsberg, Witness at the Post Office
Marie Delleskog	...	Janna, Roger's Fiancée

Storyline

In Stockholm, on St. Lucy's feast day, a bandit daringly robs a crowded post office. Within a fortnight, two witnesses are dead. Two cops from vice squad, Johansson and Jarnebring, who were the first to the crime scene, pursue all leads and identify a suspect, an arrogant member of the elite secret police, a man assigned to guard the country's Minister of Justice. Just as the beat cops think they've tightened the noose around the suspect, loose ends appear, witnesses lose their certainty, alibis crop up, and even the cops doubt what they've seen. Who's protecting the suspect and why?

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Plot Keywords:

poliziottesco | swedish poliziottesco | view through binoculars | saint lucia | security police | 

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The post office staff in the beginning were the real-life staff from the real post office being robbed in the film.

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Goofs

The security guard who comes forward with a belated piece of information claims to have been on vacation to Gambia over the holidays, presumably to escape the Swedish winter, but he shows no signs of any tan.

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Quotes

Inspector Johansson: [after Jarnebring has narrowly avoided a head-on collision with a lorry during the car chase, having tried to overtake a few cars but instead ending up on the other side of the road, unable to get back because of the traffic behind the lorry] I get so fed up with you, Jarnis, was it worth this? There are, like, ten cars coming after it now!
Inspector Jarnebring: Ah well, we're alive, aren't we?

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Crazy Credits

There are no end credits for this film. All credits are shown at the beginning, and at the end, the film simply fades to black.

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Connections

Features Clown of the Jungle (1947)

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Soundtracks

Santa Lucia/Ute är mörkt och kallt
(uncredited)
Written by Teodoro Cottrau
Swedish lyrics by unknown
[Sung by the children that visit the post office]

User Reviews

The best political thriller you've never heard of

Lowly Stockholm vice-squad officers, Jarnebring and Johansson, are first on the scene of a robbery and go on to unearth apparent corruption in high places, but the threads are difficult to pull together and the case is hard to crack.

There are so many pleasures in this film that it's a shame that it is so rarely seen. Quite apart from being a good thriller director Bo Widerberg brings twists and slants to what would otherwise be the sort of film that we've seen a hundred times. Although a buddy-buddy movie, J & J's relationship is constructed back-to-front. Instead of going from 'chalk & cheese' to reconciled dream-team, they begin as good friends, with implicit trust between them as colleagues, but the events of the film put this under strain. As a corollary there is no neat ending.

There are some good moments of humour as American and Swedish culture brush up against each other, but the greatest departure from the standard is the insight into Johansson's personal life. Occupying no more than a few minutes screen time, we see the result of his marriage break-up. The scene where he attempts to recapture his relationship with his son is almost painful and his furtive eye contact with another metro traveler is nicely captured. In fact, these brief interludes convey more about the loneliness of a failed relationship than many an entire film. Overall they add a rare depth to this genre. Add to this a great car-chase and the technique of putting a rear facing road-pointing camera on the front of a car, which brilliantly conveys menace.

There is also a well-developed sense of place with all the action set in a wintry Stockholm and it's environs. While we see the city's underbelly (down-and-outs; winos; criminals; alienated youth) it is still an affectionate portrait.

Twenty years on there are some non-P.C. moments as when a suspect is recognised partly as he is seems to be the only foreign-looking person in Stockholm. The ending can also be criticised for leaving a feeling that the ball is still in the air, but this is largely because we cinema-goers are so used to complete resolution.

This is the sort of film that should be made more often. Widerberg rivaled Peter Weir as a director who could make an entertaining yet meaningful and character-driven film.

Details

Country:

Sweden Denmark

Language:

Swedish

Release Date:

12 October 1984 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

The Man from Majorca

Filming Locations:

Solsundavägen 26, Nacka, Stockholms län, Sweden

Company Credits

Production Co:

Drakfilm Produktion, Svenska Filminstitutet (SFI), Svensk Filmindustri (SF)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color (Fujicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1