Mikael Persbrandt Movies

In this installment of Sweden's popular Martin Beck series - a star detective chronicle adapted from the popular novels by husband and wife Per Wahlöo and Maj Sjöwall - a cadre of vile eco-terrorists threaten to attack Sweden, and Beck (Peter Haber) attempts to stop them before a full-scaled disaster occurs. Meanwhile, the federal authorities suspect Beck's colleague Gunvald Larsson (Mikael Persbrandt) in a murder case, and order Beck to arrest him. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

A happily married couple discovers just what kind of lasting implications a simple conversation can have after bringing up a taboo subject over dinner with friends and discovering a division they never knew existed. Lars and Susanna have been married for years, yet their love today is as strong as it was the first day they locked eyes. They both have great jobs, drive nice cars, and share a spacious home with their teenage daughter -- who is about to strike out on her own. Susanna's friends Ann and Ulf serve as almost a mirror image of herself and her husband; both are highly intelligent, financially secure, and extremely well-spoken. One night, as the two couples sit down for dinner together, Susanna steers the conversation toward the affairs of a close colleague. Much to Susanna's surprise, the topic elicits fierce reactions from her dining partners. As the debate about the subject grows increasingly passionate, fundamental splits are revealed that may run too far and too deep to mend. Could it be that the future relationships between these longtime friends -- and perhaps even the couples themselves -- have finally reached the breaking point after so many years of contentment and joy? ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

"You can never leave your past behind you" is the theme of Dragonflies, a Norwegian-Swedish co-produced psychodrama. Eddie and Maria are a pair of lovers looking to start their lives anew after serving time in prison. Despite the difficulties ahead of them, they're managing well until the arrival of Kullman, Eddie's former cohort and cellmate. An aggressive personality, Kullman moves in all his belongings and declares he's there to stay. And while he claims he's out to reform himself, he drops hints that a crime is brewing at the back of his mind, with a role reserved for his old pal Eddie. Often intense, the film showcases the talents of two rising stars, director Marius Holst and actor Marie Bonnevie. ~ Connor McMadden, Rovi

Nine of Sweden's leading actresses are brought together in this unconventional comedy-drama about a group of actresses awaiting a casting announcement. A major American film producer is looking for a Swedish actress to play the title role in a big-budget remake of the classic Greta Garbo vehicle Queen Christina, and a handful of women who were in talks for the role wait with bated breath for the decision to be declared. Rebecca (Lena Endre), married to hunky matinee idol Ake (Mikael Persbrandt), is spending her 40th birthday waiting for word on the role. Alexandra (Suzanne Reuter) will be shooting a TV commercial, to be directed by Rolf (Brasse Brannstrom). Rolf used to be involved with Cecilia (Marie Richardson), who lately is nearly as well known for the fact that she's pregnant and not identifying the father as she is for her acting. Cecilia appears on a morning chat show with Georgina (Ewa Froling), who used to be in love with Gregor (Peter Haber), Alexandra's current husband. Stella (Helena Bergstrom) is a defiantly out lesbian who is having an affair with Karin (Marika Lagercrantz), the wife of film director Magnus (Rolf Lassgard). Stella also happens to be starring in Magnus' latest project, along with Ake and Molly (Pernilla August). Meanwhile, Git (Gunilla Roor) is in a session with her analyst, trying to come to terms with her feelings about her work, and Evior (Stina Ekblad) is in rehearsal for a musical, and reaching the regrettable conclusion that she can neither dance nor sing. In keeping with the film's tangled onscreen relationships, Helena Bergstrom, who plays a lesbian sleeping with her director's wife, is married to Colin Nutley, Gossip's writer and director. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Based on the novel by the pseudonymous "John W. Grow," this drama is the first feature to examine the unsolved murder of Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme, who was shot in February of 1986 as he walked through the center of Stockholm with his wife. Troubled police officer Roger (Mikael Persbrandt) is on the brink of a breakdown, and his pal Bo (Reine Brynolfsson) gets an order to find out the problem. Roger relates how he almost prevented Palme's murder, and the tale then flashes back to the beginnings of the conspiracy and the killer (Michael Kitchen) in Malta. While the novel fingers a leader in the Swedish business community as the manipulator of the murder, the film evades this point. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

In this fact-based Swedish movie, 23-year-old Stockholm junkie Sandra (Johanna Sallstrom) nearly dies from an overdose and checks into a rehab home, unaware that her drug pusher roommate Roffe (Mikael Persbrandt) is plying drugs on her 18-year-old sister Jannika (Tove Appelqvist) and forcing her into prostitution. Sandra soon leaves rehab in order to save sis -- while flashbacks reveal the childhood influences they experienced with their now-divorced upper-class father and alcoholic mother. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

A 14-year-old outdoorsman who believes himself called to become a protector of nature, leaves his family home to live in the forest. There, he must not only contend with cleaning up after his fellow humans and caring for animals, but he must also protect himself from those who want to return him to the village. Kim receives his calling via a vision in which a Native American warrior appears to request Kim's help. The warrior also promises him that if he can hit the moon with his bow and arrow, he will be able to talk to the animals. Afterward, Kim moves to the forest and begins his new life. His parents, however, don't understand and only want him home, so they launch a search with the police. He gets into real trouble after he shoots arrows at Germans who have come in search of eggs. Violence ensues when a solitary policeman, armed with a machine gun, launches his own hunt for Kim. Though it does contain brutal scenes, some of which involve animals, this arty drama is aimed at older children. Interestingly, filmmaker Stefan Jarl, best known for his documentaries, utilized untrained wild animals during the filming. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Two Danish schoolchildren -- one meek and unassertive, the other angry and vengeance-prone -- forge a friendship with ugly consequences in this cautionary tale from director Susanne Bier. The story opens with physician Anton (Mikael Persbrandt, working abroad in a Kenyan hospital, where he's routinely treating female victims of a psychotic thug known as Big Man (Evans Muthini). Anton himself suffers from a dysfunctional home life, given his emotional estrangement from his wife (Trine Dyrholm), and his desire to set a positive example for son Elias (Markus Rygaard) -- the physician longs to mend both relationships but finds this difficult given his frequent absenteeism. Meanwhile, another family suffers from equally grave issues: Claus (Ulrich Thomsen) and his son, Christian (William Jøhnk Juels Nielsen), move from London back to their home country of Denmark; Claus is still reeling from his late wife's recent death from cancer, and father and son find it more and more difficult to connect with another. But Christian has much deeper issues than simple filial alienation -- an almost pathological addiction to retribution that manifests itself in a knife-wielding attempt to protect new friend Elias from a local bully. Elias and Christian become fast companions, but as they do, it draws out a level of rage in both boys that threatens to culminate in shocking, terroristic levels of violence. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi