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Beck and his colleagues are back again. This time they're investigating two murders simultaneously; one is a reclusive man who lived a quiet life on his own, the other is an unidentified Asian woman. Meanwhile, the strain within the unit between Gunvald and Alice poses difficulties to the cooperation and the investigations.

In this movie, Alice gets more space at the expense of Gunvald. Beck is as usual the central character, the one who ties everything together. Even though I like the character Gunvald, I don't mind seeing Alice more in this one. We've already a lot of Gunvald in the previous movies. And the short episodes we do see in this one adds a lot of depth to his character, showing a more human side of him, not just the grim cop. In the end, I liked him even more after this one. As usual, Beck's daughter and the famous neighbour make short appearances as well.

Not the best of the Beck movies, but still interesting. It brings up important issues in a good way. If you liked the other Beck movies, you'll probably like this one too. If you haven't seen the other Beck movies, you should still give this one a chance. It's a fairly good detective story. Don't read the full version of the plot line though, in my opinion it spoils some of the movie.

This movie is a typical example of American 1950-1960's anti-communist propaganda. Regardless of one's political persuasion, the portrayal of the Communist soldiers (and in particular the Communist colonel Ho San) is ridiculously exaggerated, just like the priests, who seem to be pure saints. A very black-and-white story, shot in colour. It can be interesting to watch as a historical document from a time of ideological hostility at the height of the Cold War, but as a movie it has few appealing qualities.

One thing which truly disturbed me was how the Chinese people were portrayed. The only Chinese characters who act like adults are the Communist leaders. The rest of them mostly act like enthusiastic but stupid children (despite them being adults), which reeks of racism. Just look at the thieving cook, he acts like a total imbecil. Not to mention Siu Lan, who seems to have the mental qualities of a 10-year old. If you're interested in Cold War propaganda history, or have similar academic reasons for watching this movie, then by all means do. Few movies are so outspoken as this one in terms of purpose. But if you're looking for some nice cineastic entertainment, don't waste your time.

I was a bit surprised by the dark tone of this movie. The image of a neurotic family, drug abuse, violence and cynicism isn't common in movies from this era. The murder story itself is not the main thing in this tale, but rather the consequences of having a brutal and repressive father. Edvin Adolphson is excellent as Rutger, the pleasure-seeking son in constant revolt against his father. The same goes for Anders Henrikson as Hans, who became a painter to spite his father.

This movie has a little humour, a lot of dramatic episodes and great tragedy, especially in the end. The acting is typical for theatre-trained actors. It's good, but can be perceived as slightly exaggerated for people who are used to cinema-style acting.

Highly recommended!