Danny Saucedo in Ondskan

“Oh my god, I’m sure that’s Danny Saucedo”, I thought to myself as I watched the SBS-2 screening of the Swedish film “Ondskan” (“Evil”). A bit of Googling and the IMDB indeed confirmed he was an uncredited “bully” in the film.

The scene in which he appears, which is about a third of the way into the film, portrays ritualistic bullying in a Swedish private school in the 1950s.

At the heart of the film is the character of Erik Ponti, who lives with violence both at school and at home, where he is also beaten by his step-father.

Erik och PIerre i Ondskan

Arriving at the private school at the age of fourteen or fifteen, he refuses to abide by the hierarchical way in which the school is run. Even though you realise many of the school staff are opposed to the system, the older students, by virtue of rich parents, are able to control the younger students through the detention system, and through systematic and ritualistic bullying.

Erik’s academically-inclined room-mate, Pierre is also the subject of bullying. But unlike Pierre and many young boys who are bullied at school, Erik is good at sports, and more than physically able to defend himself. Erik fights back, both physically and mentally, against the older students. He is a very powerful character. In the end, Pierre decides it’s almost too much to continue with, and Erik also comes undone when he develops a forbidden relationship with one of the school cooks. His mental focus, however, allows him to continue.

The Best Judge meets Danny Saucedo

It’s a film I enjoyed very much, and in doing a bit of additional research, I discovered it’s based on a very well known Swedish novel, and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film in 2003.

Oh, and of course, it features Danny who went on to become a Swedish pop star, and likely Eurovision Song Contest entrant for Sweden this year. And, who I got to meet a few months ago at Stockholm Pride, when I went up to him and asked if he would be happy to have a photograph with my friend, The Best Judge.

The only unfortunate thing about the film was that I had to watch it in two parts. I’d set the film to record last night, as I was at a party, and because it had begun late the last 20 minutes, yes 20 minutes, of the film was chopped. Thank goodness there’s plenty of copies of the film on file-sharing sites both in the original Swedish, and with English language sub-titles.

There were lots of good things about this. Mostly, though because I got to work with a great team from ABC Local Radio, ABC Multi-platform and Radio Australia who were so incredibly passionate about doing this. The slideshow below features the program co-presenters, David and Andrea who are featured “over the moon”, as you would be with Lunar New Year, with happiness and excitement. David got to meet Canto-pop superstar, Frances Yip, who sang the song “Shanghai Beach” which was the theme music for an iconic Hong Kong 80s soap opera, and who sells out stadiums when she performs in Asia. Back in Australia, where she mostly lives now, she is happy to perform at the equally iconic Rooty Hill RSL. In another photograph, you’ll see Andrea eating some yummy food (Yee Sang which is a terrific dish) and who I think really, really enjoyed working on the program on so many levels, and who I also, personally, enjoyed working with again.

At the end of it all, I was tired, elated, and well and truly informed about so many things I had only a cursory knowledge of before. Oh, and totally in love with Frances Yip. “Hubba hubba”, as David commented on the radio yesterday.

And here’s the audio from the program.

http://dagbladet.se/nyheter/sundsvall/1.3802811-dagsfarska-tidningar-fran-hela-varlden-tryckta-i-sundsvall

Earlier today at work we were discussing Australia Day, and the fact there are currently 1-million Australian expats. “How do they celebrate Australia Day?”, asked one of the producers I work with. It’s then that I mentioned there’s quite an active Australian expat community in Sweden, and how interesting to think of Australians celebrating Australia Day in Sweden in the midst of a cold and dark winter.

I knew there was an active expat community because I met a bloke called Rob Manuell a couple of years ago in Stockholm. He’s married to a Swede, and lives there, but maintains his Australia connections through involvement in a wine import company, the Swedish Aussie Rules competition, and through an annual Anzac Day race competition held in Stockholm.

Even though I had Rob’s contact details, I thought it would be faster and easier just to Google him, and that’s when I discovered the Australian expat, James O’Brien who is living and working in Stockholm.

“I swear this is not me with a business on the side”, I told my colleagues when I found this entry…

Did you know that you can receive today’s edition of almost every major Australian newspaper delivered to your door each morning in Stockholm? NewspaperDirect Sweden, managed by Aussie expat James O’Brien has been helping Aussies in Stockholm stay in touch with home since the start of 2009. Check out their website www.newspaperdirect.se for more information and to trial a free copy delivered to your door. Also feel free to contact James directly on 08 5511 3131 and he’ll be happy to chat with you.”

“Oh my goodness, this man is living my dream life and he has my name”, I thought to myself. At the risk of appearing like an internet stalker, I decide to Google him for a while and discovered a photograph and that he’s launching a new business, a coffee shop in Stockholm where you can read newspapers from around the world.

“When he’s ready to return home”, I joked with colleagues, “we can just do a life-swap. No one will notice.” “Ah yeah, he’s a bit younger than you”, noted one of my colleagues who also just happens to be half-Swedish.

In all honesty, James O’Brien is an extraordinarily common name, and so it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise to discover one living in Stockholm. Still, it was an interesting and fun distraction in an otherwise busy day.

Män som hatar kvinnor

Hollywood couldn’t possibly release a film called “Men Who Hate Women”, could they? Even though this was the original Swedish language title of the book by Stieg Larsson and movie, it just wouldn’t work for Hollywood, would it? “The Girl With The Dragon Tatoo” sounds far more reasonable, far more exotic, doesn’t it?

Aside from the name change (which was also adopted for the English subtitled release of the Swedish books and films), I thought they’ve done a pretty good job of turning the Swedish crime page-turner into a Hollywood blockbuster.

“There’s nothing to worry about”, I told my friend Grant on the phone as I left the cinema. Like me, he’s a big Swedophile, and we’ve both approached the release of the English language translation of these films with some trepidation. I’ve read the books in English, a third of the first book in Swedish, and I’ve seen the original films made for Swedish TV a couple of times. In fact, the first, “Män som hatar kvinnor”, Grant and I have both watched in Swedish without subtitles. That was really hard-going. Grant has also been on the Millenium Tour in Stockholm.

The second of the three Swedish films, The Girl Who Played With Fire is probably my favourite. It pumps along at a cracking pace.

Stieg Larsson exhibition at Stadsmuseet in Stockholm

The pace of this first Hollywood adaption of the Millenium series is similar. Even though it’s close to three hours in duration I never once found myself distracted or bored. Significantly, only one person left the cinema during the showing for only a brief toilet break, and the friend I went with, who normally needs to take at least one toilet break during a long movie, and who usually complains “most films are twenty minutes too long” also never once found himself bored or distracted.

The plot for this film differs in a few areas from the original film, though not distractingly so. It’s still very much the story of Mikael Blomkvist and his relationship with Lisbeth Salander, as they deal with their own dramas/demons and try to resolve the mystery of the death of Harriet Vanger. On a slightly parochial and disappointing note, Harriet Vanger doesn’t end up living in Australia, as in the original. Instead, she’s in London.

As much as I love the characters created by the Swedish actors, Noomi Rapace and Mikael Nyqvist, I thought Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig were also very good in their roles. And of course, Daniel Craig has the advantage of being even more sexy than Mikael Nyqvist, while still carrying off some of the “foppishness” of the original character found in the Swedish films and books.

About the only part of the film that I didn’t like were the opening credits. Set over a Trent Reznor composed soundtrack, and with high-tech animation graphics, I thought it seemed a little “try hard”. A little hipster. A little too groovy. A little too contrived, to be honest.

Not the best BBQ Pork in Perth

I am not entirely sure why, but I’ve struggled to find BBQ Pork in Perth. I’ve been to quite a few Asian eateries and have looked through the menu without any sign of BBQ pork. Lots of seafood. But no pork. I have specifically asked at a couple of places, only to be told, “No, we don’t do BBQ Pork”. Maybe it’s a Northern vs Southern China thing?

This is in stark contrast to the year in which I lived in Perth – 2004 – when I enjoyed possibly the world’s best BBQ Pork. Every Sunday night I would go to Han Palace on Bennett Street, just around the corner from where I was living on Wellington Street. Having enjoyed the delights of their BBQ Pork, I used to go there every Sunday night, and purchase some take-away. I didn’t want rice. I didn’t want vegetables. I just wanted the pork. And from there I would head out for a drink or two at The Court (when they still had a lively Sunday night scene) and then often to Connections. It was a great routine.

After a few months, the woman at Han Palace said to me, “How come you only eat pork? You should have rice and vegetables too!”, to which I replied, “Because you have such great pork”. In honesty, she was probably correct, but I figured since I ate a reasonably well balanced diet, it was okay to have a Sunday night “pig out” (pun intended) on BBQ pork, while watching “Big Brother” was a reasonable indulgence.

When I told some people in Perth about this, they joked, “I’ll bet she calls you pork boy”. The name has stuck ever since.

So in heading back to Perth, one of the things I’ve really been anticipating has been to go to Han Palace on a Sunday night for some BBQ Pork. Imagine then, my disappointment to discover last night, it was closed for Christmas. They were planning to re-open in late January in a new venue, according to the sign on the door.

I consoled myself with some pork tonight at Old Shanghai which is nowhere near as good.

The Iron Lady

It was a very “Engish” day for me, as I read a book about The Queen and saw a movie about Margaret Thatcher.

The book about the Queen by Robert Hardman was a recommendation of a recommendation by a friend of a friend who apparently said something about how it’s a really terrific “behind the scenes” look at the day to day business of the Royal Family. So far, from what I’ve read, that’s not the case, and the central theme of the book is “The Queen has ruled for over 50 years, has seen Prime Ministers, Popes and Presidents come and go and is therefore wonderful”. I’ll keep struggling with it for a few more days, I suspect to see if it gets beyond the level of a hagiography.

The film about Margaret Thatcher is far more interesting. As such a polarizing figure, even now, you just know there’s going to be people who love her and people who loathe her who will be both for and against the film.

I disagree with the two main criticisms I’ve read of the film so far: that it spends too much time dwelling on Thatcher’s current state of health, and that it ignores the politics of her time.

The opening scene of the film features a disguised Thatcher buying milk from the local corrner supermarket and remarking at how expensive it was. Thatcher was, of course, the Education Minister who famously phased out free school-milk in the UK.

Minutes later she’s back at her home, listening in to the hushed-tones of those caring for her in her latter years, as they insist “She musn’t be allowed out on her own again”. It’s unclear if she’s at that stage of Alzheimer’s Disease where she has “the wanders” and needs protection, or feels she has become a prisoner in her own home.

Anyway, her declining mental state is a recurrent theme throughout the film as she both remembers and forgets incidents in her life. Although it’s a recurrent theme, I thought its role was not to dwell on her latter years in decline, but to act in a dramatic sense as a trigger for the dramatic flashbacks.

The early Margaret Thatcher is an interesting character. She comes across as a bold woman for her time, in an era when women weren’t supposed to go into politics. She meets (the very-dishy actor who plays) Dennis Thatcher, tells him she couldn’t be an “ordinary wife”, and there’s even some suggestion of opportunism about the marriage, when Dennis says something about “how you’ll never get elected to parliament as a single woman, but if you marry me…”

Her desire for power also becomes evident in the scenes where she takes “media training” to lower her voice and to have her hair and clothing made-over, in an effort to gain party leadership. She comes across as quite pragmatic. “Well if that’s what I have to do…”

I can’t agree with the assessment the film ignores or downplays the politics of Thatcherism. There are many, many references to: the three-million unemployed, to the riots and the protests (including documentary footage), and to the way in which she went to war in the Falkland Islands when her popularity levels were at their lowest, despite the advice of those around her etc. The film doesn’t ignore politics. It’s mostly about politics.

But there’s also a personal side too, with the apparent estrangement from her son Mark who lives in South Africa, and in the relationship with her daughter, Carole, who seems to have taken on a caring role for her mother. Carole, by the way, is played wonderfully by the mother from “Beautiful People”.

And Meryl? Brilliant, of course.

So yeah, I don’t agree with the criticisms about the dementia and the politics, but I will add one of my own. It was a little boring. There were moments when I found my interest and attention wavering. Perhaps that’s because the producers/directors/writers etc have written the film seeking to portray a “balanced” view of her? If they’d made her a saint, people would have screamed. If they portrayed her as devil, people would have screamed. Perhaps, because, they’ve trod that middle-line, they’ve ended up with a film that’s just a little dull?

So yeah, that’s how I’ve spent most of Sunday. At the movies, and reading.

Män som hatar kvinnor

I indulged in a bit of “Stockholm Porn” tonight.

I spent the day catching up with my friend Lucinda who I haven’t seen in a number of years.

We first met (and shared a house) in the late 1980s when we lived and worked in Bourke.

In the time since, we have kept in semi-regular email contact, as she has travelled the world, lived in different parts of Australia, and had a child who is now almost fourteen.

The last time we saw each other, she was living in the Gold Coast.

But now she’s living in Perth, and it was terrific to catch-up with her.

After chatting, eating, and having a glass or two of vino, we settled down on the couch and watched “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” or as I told her, it’s really called “Men Who Hate Women”.

As you watch the opening credits to the film you’ll see the phrase “Män som hatar kvinnor” and the subtitles will tell you that translates as “The Girl With The Dragon Tatoo”. Well, no it doesn’t. The direct translation is “Men Who Hate Women” which is actually a phrase used later in the film towards the end.

You can understand why a book and film “Men Who Hate Women” would have struggled to find a market in English-speaking countries, so I’ve remained curious about how the film’s title was regarded in Swedes? Was it provocative or merely descriptive of the subject matter? Swedish readers, perhaps you can offer an insight?

I digress. It was great to watch the film and to point out to an old friend various parts of the Stockholm landscape that I now know very well. “That’s the Town Hall. That’s Sodermalm. That’s the view from Katarinahissen” and so on.

Oh…. and “That alley-way smells like piss.” (A reference to Slussen and Kolinsberg).

Public art, thoughtful words from the Pigram Brothers, and the perfect place to check your hair and make-up before heading to The Court Hotel in Perth, Western Australia.

I took my first work-related phone call from the Eastern States at about seven o’clock this morning. Even though it was in my diary, and I’d planned for it, I was still fairly bleary eyed. Still, I think I managed to make sense of it all.

I think I also made sense when I took a call the other day from The East where the person on the end of the phone hadn’t quite realised there was a three-hour time-zone difference between Melbourne and Perth. “So it’s 10.30 in the morning?” the person on the other end of the phone said, to which I replied, “No, it’s 4.30 in the morning”.

Three hours time difference between Sydney and Perth shouldn’t make a difference but it does. And I was reminded tonight of why, at the end of 2004, I decided to return to Sydney, instead of staying in Perth: it’s the time-zone difference. On paper, you wouldn’t think two or three hours makes a difference, but it certainly does.

The work stuff you can live with. That’s why you get the big bucks. But a three hour time zone gap makes the biggest difference when it comes to maintaining relationships with family and friends. You arrive home from work, and you think it would be terrific to ring up your family and friends, and then suddenly you realise they’re going to bed. Even though many of my friends back home are night owls, you still don’t want to call too late. And besides, there’s a difference between calling someone at seven and calling someone at ten.

And that’s what happened after work today.

Pop Trivia

Although for a while I was thinking “Boy & Bear” would be a good name for our team for the pop trivia night at Yaya’s, in the end it was probably best to go with “Le coqs sportif”. “Boy & Bear”, of course is the name of a highly successful Australian pop group at the moment, and although it would have been highly appropriate musically, I guess it would have kind of muddied the waters if we had gone with that name. After all, I’m a 46 year old, and Mark is a 29 year old, although who was the boy and who was the bear could have been left open to much speculation.

Mark and I first met in Sydney a few years ago in blogging circles. Although he has spent most of his life in Perth, he spent a few years in Sydney studying, and that’s when we became friends. Coming back to Perth for this trip, he was one of the people I really wanted to catch up with.

And what better way to catch-up than to have a meal, and then later go to a pop trivia night run by a friend of his. We both have a strong interest in music, and we have complimentary skills. I was pretty useful on the rounds of questions on Classical Music, Eurovision and The Life and Time’s of Molly Meldrum. Yes seriously. Mark answered everything else, particularly all of those tricky 1990s music questions about bands like Ween, Nirvana and so on. Mark also secured red wine in the heads/tails round.

Pop quiz, pop quiz, pop quiz...

Although we finished in fourth place, we were tonight’s per capita winners. As Le Coqs Sportif, the two of us against much larger teams did well. While some teams struggled on the classical music round, we scored ten out of ten. We also got nine for the Eurovision round (thought actually we think we got 10 and were mis-marked) and nine for the Molly Meldrum round (missing out on the name of John Lennon’s first solo album). At one stage we were on 69 points. It was about then that I realised being “Boy and Bear on 69″ was proof that we had gone with the right team name.

A good night was had by all…