False Trail

I'm really beginning to dig these Swedish/Nordic/Icelandic crime thrillers more and more. At the outset, the stories seem relatively simple, but as the film goes on, and with all the twists and turns presented, you begin to realize all is not as it seems on the surface.

Overall, I found no fault with the acting. Everyone played their part as they should. Direction was spot on. If I had a complaint it was the movie drags in spots. The Swedish hinterlands were also captured vividly by the cinematographer - pristine lakes, deep green forestry, wide multicolored skies, etc. Kind of reminds me of the Pacific Northwest.

This movie should not be considered a sequel ,but the second part of the story released fifteen years before .If you are going to enjoy

"Jägarna 2",you have got to see the first effort first.

Even if Erik's brother is absent (and for a good reason) ,his shadows hangs over the whole movie:two brief flashbacks (the two brother's last hug;Leif's singing on the banks of the lake);the CD Erik gives to his nephew.

This is a thriller in disguise:the subject is the reconstruction of a family.Apparently,Peter,his mother Karin (scene of the dinner)and her new companion seem the perfect family.But cracks in the mirror will not be long in coming:Peter's hip is black and blue ,and during the funeral where he is supposed to sing ,a lump comes to his throat and tears flows on his face.

The killer's identity is known well before the ending ,but it does not matter.what's really absorbing is Erik's Relationship with Peter,his remorse "I did not do all that I could to save Leif.I knew our father treated him badly ".Like Torsten is doing with his "son" .Peter is a sensitive self-conscious tormented young man who longs for a father figure ,who wants to know more about this father who disappeared at such an early age in mysterious circumstances ,this father who,like him,loved singing -the second part sheds a new light on him,he was a criminal ,but a victim too.That's why the last sentence is such a relief for the viewer.

I find this second part even better than the first one ,more moving,more endearing .The forest landscapes are superbly filmed ,with an extraordinary sense of space ,and some scenes are so intense that the viewer feels like shouting "no!" ,particularly when Torsten treats Peter as a moving target.

Not to be missed,but definitely after watching the first episode .

Jägarna 2 was shown as preview at Tampere, Finland this week. Preview was arranged as blind performance. No one in the audience knew what to expect.

The movie by Kjell Sundvall was completely success. The unusual kind of murder mystery surprised with its smooth and natural progress of storyline.

I was shocked by extremely magnificent actor work. Roles suited seamlessly.

To say something constructive I have to mention the use of extraordinary evil. After a set of plot twists killer's character has grown so abundantly wicked that it bugged me at the end of the film.

Not meant to say last, backgrounds of the film were also pleasant to watch. The Nordic nature is always good for the movie.

FALSE TRAIL, a Swedish slice of crime noir, is a follow up to 1996's THE HUNTERS, and sees returning protagonist Erik Backstrom (Rolf Lassgard) back to solve more crimes in the chilly Scandinavian wilderness. Well, it took them fifteen years to make a sequel, but the wait was worth it: I find this to be a superior follow up in terms of excitement, thriller aspects, and pacing.

THE HUNTERS was a similarly-plotted story but had a different style of execution: it was darker, more of a family tragedy, and rather depressing. FALSE TRAIL is equally dark but has more of a conventional detective feel to it, a battle of wits between good and evil. Some viewers will find it the lesser piece, but I preferred it. It helps that Peter Stormare (FARGO) has a huge and complex role and is absolutely fantastic in it, the best work yet I've seen from the actor.

Inevitably, the taciturn and grumpy Backstrom is the film's guiding force, and Lassgard is a delight to watch as ever. The production values are better than ever, and Kjell Sundvall seems to have really grown as a director, crafting a well-polished and exciting thriller in which the stakes are never less than high. Unpredictable, involving, and harrowing, FALSE TRAIL is one to watch.

There's been 15 years since the first "Jegerne" ("The Hunters), and it's very understandable that there was to be a follow up many years later. This is the finest of thrillers made by the Swedes. Kjell Sundvall has directed both, and that's probably why both th first and the second is almost equally good. The story is different, of course, but the feel and the tension is the same. The film never slips when it comes to make a tense feeling.

This is the most true of sequels. We meet the same people 15 years later, where a policeman's family was involved in a murder. All these years later he is ordered back, after a young girl has gone missing.

Both films is kept in the same tone. This is brilliantly done. It makes a kind of rural tension. Somewhere where bans between village people are so tight that no one dares speak up. We're in the rural North of Sweden, where hunting is an everyday event. The film depicts the nature and landscape in a beautiful way, and weaves this into the story.

We feel the tension all along, and this tension is what makes the films such a treat. The actors are great, where both Rolf Lassgård and Peter Stormare are as good here as in the first. Fine actors. The first film was never forgotten. Not even outside of Sweden. That's why many also was drawn to this continuation many years later. It could've all gone wrong, this follow up. It doesn't, due to fine script writing, great acting, good instruction as well as the Swedish nature.