Die Spur der Jäger

Sundvall has a good ear for dialogue, and uses his locations to great effect. One main problem with contemporary Swedish movies is the wooden dialogue, which is largely avoided here. The story holds together well in the beginning, but the naturalism and believability Sundvall builds up completely vanishes towards the end, which is unfortunate and ultimately makes this a rather average movie. The script has some irritating holes, like the subplot with Lassgårds love interest which is mysteriously left unresolved. The last act is also a indication of the current "Americanization" of Swedish cinema which is a rather sad phenomenom. We should make movies on our own terms and be wary of too many american influences, those estethics tend to become overblown, predictable and unrealistic when translated into Swedish.

One of the biggest Swedish box-office hits of the last couple of decades, this is an almost western-like story about a man who returns to his backwater town when his father dies.

Erik Bäckström (Rolf Lassgård) left his small hometown in the north of Sweden when he was younger to become a policeman in the big city. Now that his father has died he returns to the small town. He starts working on a long-running case of people poaching reindeer, but he soon discovers that not many people have any real interest in the case being solved. Eriks loyalties are tested along with his views on right and wrong.

This movie is quite solid, more so than most Swedish movies i might add. But still there are a few flaws that needs to be discussed. First of all this movie is not very sympathetic in it's description of the people from northern Sweden. Rather they are portrayed as a bunch of racist, moonshine-drinking rednecks. A view to be questioned no doubt. Also what strikes me about this movie is the almost complete lack of emotion it presents. There are terrible things going on on screen, brutal and terrifying, but they are examined at a distance and without any real moral judgment. It feels clinical.

What makes this an enjoyable experience despite the flaws though are several things. Rolf Lassgård is very good in the lead as the policeman, and also the rest of the cast perform well. Especially i might mention Lennart Jähkel as his brother. Also the movie is exciting and has quite a lot of suspense. And while the director shows very little emotion in the way he portrays the events of the film, there is still much emotion to be had. Jägarna is a movie that makes you think.

I rate it 7/10.

"Jagarna" was brought to Canadian audiences via the Showcase TV network during a Scandinavian film festival -- and thank goodness it was! What an amazing character-driven story which not only delves into a poaching conspiracy but the emotionally-charged relationship between two brothers. Pure brilliance and highly recommended. An all-time favorite.

This is a great movie about how it can be in the north of Sweden, Norrland. The story is about a police, played by Rolf Lassgård, returning to Norrland after have lived and worked in Stockholm, the capitol of Sweden. Soon after his return he starts a investigation about illegal hunting in the area. This leads to lots of conflicts with the people in the area.....

The drama gets the viewer involved, some of the scenes are intense.

You work up a hatred for a group of bully, savage like locals, and local people hypocritically convincing themselves there is no local crime, actually turn a blind eye to it.

What transpires is a drama which at the conclusion does not deliver the just desserts to the characters that it should.

There are some appalling crimes and corruption, but apparently the justice system cannot take any action.

The opening scene of the slaughter and butchery of reindeer is to be avoided.