Gösta Ekman, Jr. Movies

A tiny theatrical company turns into a war zone of egos as a new play goes into rehearsal in this broad comedy from Sweden. A camera crew from a television outlet is on hand to shoot a commercial as a harried director (Tova Mahnusson Norling) tries to put her cast through their paces. Not everyone, however, feels like cooperating; her two leading men (Orjan Ramberg and Dan Ekborg) seem to be competing over who gets most of the spotlight, much to the annoyance of the female star (Lena Nyman), while the troupe's makeup artist (Gosta Ekman) has a plan of his own. Puder was written and directed by Marie-Louise Ekman, whose husband Gosta Ekman plays the flamboyantly gay makeup man. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Writer-director-actor Peter Dalle is the talent behind this satire on relationships, reuniting several cast members of the TV series Lorry. A childless couple, Marie (Lena Endre) and David (Dalle), have lived together for years, despite their many disagreements. They argue often, but their friends, Sara (Suzanne Reuter) and Samuel (Johan Ulvesson) always manage to evade quarrels. Disaster can only be the outcome when the two couples celebrate Christmas together at a snow-covered cottage. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

Unemployment is the subject of this black Swedish comedy and though it is generally funny, it will be most enjoyable with those familiar with Sweden's culture and economic climate. It is the story of Torsten, a bank clerk who is fired by his boss. Devastated and ashamed, poor Torsten becomes so desperate to get his job back that he decides to engineer a bogus bank robbery so he can play hero. Unfortunately, the mock-heist goes awry and he suddenly finds himself responsible for finding 5 million in missing kronor. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This Swedish thriller is based upon one of a 10 part series of novels by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo. Two of their books have been made into films. In this third filmed episode, a notorious industrialist is hot while eating dinner at a Malmo Hotel. Enter Martin Beck and friend who investigate the case. He finds people involved in gun-running. The killer is found in a different group of people though. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö are writers of a series of immensely popular "police procedurals," or novels in which the police, while carefully following their own real-life rules and procedures, solve a crime or close a case. Many of these novels have been translated into English, and they have done respectable business in the U.S. In this film, the chase is on when a fatal fire leads the police to suspect a drug group. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

In this warm drama, Nils is in the hospital but is sufficiently ambulatory to get into the sorts of trouble ten-year-old boys everywhere get into. He's full of curiosity about everything and everyone, including the two other people in his room. One is an old man named Carson, who doesn't seem interested in much besides himself, and the other is a seriously ill boy named Lelle, who is about twelve. Lelle thinks he may be dying, and anyway he's afraid of getting too close to anyone, but after things quiet down in the evenings, he spearheads some fine, raucous adventures with Nils, and together they explore their hospital world in ways the adults wouldn't permit. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

In this detective mystery based on the novel Kronvittnet or Experiment in Murder by Maarten Hart, a respected scientist is suspected of murder when a young woman who has recently visited his laboratory is discovered to be missing. Police detective Lambert (Gosta Ekman) investigates the case, and finds plenty of evidence of the visit, but no body. He also finds clues that lead him to suspect that the scientist's laboratory is a front for a drug ring's manufacturing plant. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

This light farce chronicles the eventual emancipation of rebellious "Mama's boy" Claes-Henrik (Gosta Ekman), who falls into more than one funny mishap before the apron strings are cut. Prone to practical jokes and intent on making a living as a con artist, Claes-Henrik, who goes by the nickname of "Double H" hits upon a chance to make some easy cash. A porno film producer wants to use his mother's apartment for three days of shooting and will generously pay for its rental. Double H cons Mama (Margaretha Krook) into taking a vacation to visit some relatives, but when they get to the train, a hilarious sequence of misunderstandings leaves Mama at the station in her nightie. Double H ends up in the sleeper compartment without a ticket but with a happy female companion in the upper berth and a bottle of Irish whiskey. Emancipation has to begin somewhere. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

In this tour-de-force, an amusing and successful low-budget crime-comedy, Tobbe (Gosta Ekman) gains consciousness in his bed one morning with a world-class hangover, and groaning, realizes that there is a woman sleeping next to him. In pops Bertil (Sten Ljunggren), who was also at the party but is much less the worse for the wear-and-tear of the evening's celebrations. Bertil is a doctor, and when he notices the woman he checks her inert form out and quickly discovers that she is not sleeping, she is dead. Now the two buddies have a serious problem on their hands, and as they exchange lies about what their relationships to the dead woman really were, the lies start slipping and sliding until the truth comes out -- and the two men have to figure out how to dispense of the corpse. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

When Gary (Goesta Ekman), a somewhat staid and stable architect, and Lasse (Janne Carlsson), a good-time mechanic, end up becoming friends just at the time both of their wives have left town for a week, they each have their idyllic time-off disrupted. Gary wants a bit of introspective relaxation, and Lasse wants some time with his buddies and a few women on the side. Instead, the architect heads into some wild antics (in one scene a bank robber gets the muzzle of his gun stuck in Gary's pocket) that leave him exhausted but happy, and the mechanic ends up giving a lecture on urban planning. Considering that the architect helps Lasse realize how much he appreciates his own home and children, and that Lasse helps him realize that a little fun goes a long way, the week was pretty good after all. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

The title of this comedy is the first indication of the absurd: "sopor" means "trash" in Swedish and the acronym that is the film's title is playing with words to name a make-believe organization that stands up for the lowly or forgotten in society. About 1000 children of SOPOR unload from the subway one morning, march to the Royal Palace, and proceed to blithely take it over, holding the royal family up for a very reasonable ransom: they want the powers-that-be to reconsider their treatment of neglected or unpopular groups, like the elderly and in the case of this film, those who protest the development of nuclear power plants (a contemporary issue). Queen Sylvia (Gynet Movig), King Carl-Gustaf (Brasse Braennstroem), and Princess Victoria (Lena Nyman) are hostages who take kindly to the children's efforts, but given their status as royals, the best of Sweden's security police are out to free them by any devious means possible. This includes a security police chief launching into various character disguises and the opposition leader sweet-talking the children as only a politco with years of self-promotion can do. As broadly-painted characters from the government move in and out of the scenes, the spoof zeros in on real politicians. The satire does not bite lethally, and still leaves the audience something to chew on once the laughter has subsided. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi