The Die Is Cast (1960)

Pretty Good

Don't listen to the negative reviews

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

This crimethriller is based on a screenplay partly written by Kerstin Ekman, famous Swedish author and previous member of The Swedish Academy(they decide who gets the nobel prize in litterature)but resigned after the Salman Rushdie affair.Just this fact makes this film very unusual. The other strange part is the setting,a TV-studio creating crimedrama, which makes it some kind of meta, ironic twist to this film. The same kind of music whenever something exciting is happening in TV show is used throughout the "real" film.Almost as if the makers of this film knew how to make fun of this genre and at the same time make it exciting. It is fairly generic story but the writing and direction and great Swedish actors makes it above the usual crimethrillers.Åke Falck playing the suspected killer/screenwriter and also the sleuth that has to try and solve this murder case before the killer gets away. He plays his part pretty good and delivers some very memorable scenes.Jan Malmsjö as a creepy, murder victim who had a lot of enemies and no friends, he is very good here playing a pretty despicable character.Anita Björk as Rebecka Striid, a femme fatale, a noir cliché but gives us a good performance and her role is pretty shocking considering her openness about sex (this film was shot in 1960) and the many casual encounters she has.Let us not forget the trio of Toivo Pawlo, Allan Edwall, Sif Ruud that brings a comic relief and also gives clues and inspiration to the main character how he can solve the crime.Viewers should seek up this film but as long as they don't expect to much. Oddly it's better the most thrillers made in Sweden today.

**Here might be spoilers**Jerk (mind you, this is not an English speaking movie, so do not read anything into that name :) ) Domare is a professional writer that writes murder-stories for national TV. The movie begins in an argument among the members of the cast and production team if Domare's last "murder" is plausible. Finally they agree that it is and the episode is aired. The troubles begin later that night when one of the team is found dead at the studio, murdered exactly as Domare wrote. In addition, Domare is found at the murder scene and becomes the prime suspect. But he manages to strike a deal with the detective, an old friend, not to arrest him so he can solve the mystery by himself. He quickly concludes that it is very possible that the murderer is one of the members in his TV-show. Slowly the true relationships between all members start to resolve (and yes, everyone is somehow connected to someone else in this team) while more murder attempts occurs. Domare must stop the murderer to acquit himself and stop the murderer.Though I'm Swedish I'm not very fond of Swedish movies, in fact I use to avoid them as I find they was rather boring (especially ones from the 80s and 90s). But I watched this one and I am glad I did. As I explained above this is a murder mystery, told from the perspective of the suspected Domare as he investigates. The story is told in a good way that slowly reveals bits of information, that may or may not be leading in the right direction. The acting is good, with many well-known (in Sweden anyway) actors and actresses, and the suspense was gradually built up in the movie. I must say there is not very much to complain about, if anything, I might have wished for a not so abrupt ending. The movie might have been a little longer, cultivating that suspense even more, offering more pieces of information in the rather complex interactions between all characters. As it was I felt I did not fully understand all connections between all the people. I hope this neglect of sharing of information was intentional and not a mistake, as it certainly added to the mystique of the movie. But a little more could they have shared.All in all, a surprisingly good movie. Watch this one, do not mind it is old or in black and white. A really good murder story is all about the story anyhow. Much better than many later Swedish movies!7/10