ReaderKenka
Let's be realistic.
Huievest
Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.
SanEat
A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."
Red-Barracuda
The story here is kicked off by reports of illegal slaughter of reindeer. Local police turn a blind eye to the culprits, so a Stockholm detective, who was originally from the area, returns home and investigates. Things get complicated when he discovers his younger brother is involved but worse than that, the poaching has escalated into murder.I had seen the sequel to this Swedish thriller recently, a film called False Trail which was made fifteen years after the first part. I am guessing that The Hunters is a fairly influential film, as it comes very early in the cycle of Nordic Noir movies which have become very popular over the course of the last decade or so. Like others in this bracket, this one derives a fair bit of its interest from its local flavour, in this case the chilly expanses of Lapland. Like False Trail, this one also presents a mystery which is resolved for the audience quite early on, leaving the tension to come from knowing who is dangerous and wondering how the central detective will resolve the case. For me personally, I would have preferred a mystery over the combination of thriller with family drama which both films essentially boil down to a large degree, with the detective character put in a compromised position where he has to weigh up his family loyalty over his wider role to society as a policeman, with the added complication of small town suspicion of city people ever present. I think both films are broadly similar in terms of quality, with neither being especially excellent. I thought they were more an example of a solid, if unremarkable, detective stories combined with family drama with a northern Swedish backdrop. Nothing wrong with any of that of course but I would say these are good films as opposed to the best Nordic Noir has to offer.
morrison-dylan-fan
After seeing the Nordic Noir False Trail a few weeks ago,I made a note to pick up the first of the two films (made 15 years earlier!)in the series. Finding the adaptation of Jo Nesbo's very good book The Snowman to be getting terrible reviews, (with the director admitting that production was rushed,and saying that 15% of the script that was needed to be shot was left un-filmed) I decided it was time to go on a hunting trip.The plot:Returning to the small town of Norrbotten after being a cop in Stockholm for 20 years due to the recent death of his dad, Erik Bäckström joins the local police force. Joining his brother Leif,Erik Finds the village to appear to be crime free,where all the people know each other,and know each other secrets, Bäckström decides to investigate a case of reindeer poaching. Learning that the poaching has been going on for years, Bäckström tries to find out why no one has been arrested,but is told by his fellow officers not to hurt local honour. Seeing his brother Leif wide smirk when standing with a group of local thugs, Bäckström decides to hunt down the secrets of the town.View on the film:Going down a similar country lane as the one in Lucio Fulci's superb 1972 Giallo Don't Torture a Duckling for this very early Nordic Noir, the screenplay by co-writer/(with Björn Carlström)director Kjell Sundvall dig up the superstition and Noir distrust just below the peaceful village image. Arriving as an outsider,the writers give the dialogue thrown at Erik Bäckström a brittle crunch,where one sly hand-shake can cause secrets in the town to be lost forever. Giving an excellent twist to the genres major theme of the elite being corrupt, the writers keep the mystery of the poachers tightly linked to the dour arrival of Erik into town,which exposes the police force working with the corrupt locals,which causes any trust Erik gives to his fellow officers to leak out.Impressively starting visual themes which would be expanded on 15 years later,director Kjell Sundvall & cinematographer Kjell Lagerroos keep track on the activates in the town with sweeping crane shots over the beautiful countryside,that close in on the sniper-fire of deceit. Peeling away at the calm appearance, Sundvall paints Erik's bitter Noir frustrations in a deep black canvas,where outbursts of violence hit the screen with a blunt force.Hanging around each other like a pack of hyenas,all of the guys playing the local thugs give outstanding performances,with Jarmo Mäkinen making gang leader Tomme Harela a psychopathic ticking time bomb, and Lennart Jähkel seeds moments of doubt into Leif,which are unable to overcome the allure of the darkness. Currently looking like he will return for an upcoming TV mini-series in the role, Rolf Lassgård gives a magnificent performance as loner Rolf Lassgård,whose failure to catch any glimpse of happiness is drawn with a superb heaviness on his shoulders by Lassgård,as Erik Bäckström joins the hunting season.
Christopher Laursen
"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.
grisell
Sundvall has made an intense movie about illegal hunting. It's loaded with tense and excitement. Actually, it's about people living in a desolated place, not wanting to play with the rules of the community. We haven't seen such an intense movie in Sweden for at least a decade.
