Martin Östh

A disturbed woman and a violent lunatic walk the same path in this thriller from Swedish director Kristian Petri. Monia is a businesswoman who has been hired to work for a large corporation based in Gothenburg. One evening, while having drinks with her colleagues, Monia steps outside for some air and she happens upon a man who has been brutally stabbed by a serial killer on the loose. Monia, who feels a curious emotional distance from the world around her, isn't sure what to make of this incident at first, but she can't get the violent image out of her mind, and over the next several days she keeps stumbling upon victims of the killer's handiwork. No one finds any of this remarkable besides her friend Frank, but in time she begins crossing paths with a curious man who seems to appear at the same crimes scenes she observes.

Strindberg was bold! In 1887, he dared to describe a priest who both drank and swore. He dared to portray a lovesick woman like Madam Flod and a calculating, lecherous Carlsson. He showed that farmhands had a sense of humor and pined for the maids, and he ridiculed the authorities. Strindberg was bold! So bold that Bonniers publishing house rejected several scenes because they were so bold. That is why we do not believe that Strindberg would disapprove of our ideas for his script. Here we will "mess around" with it thoroughly, in his spirit. In other words, you will get an adaptation that is VERY loosely based on Strindberg. Madam Flod will be lovesick, and Carlsson will be senile. The farmhands will have tons of funny lines, the maids will scream at the top of their lungs when the farmhands want to flirt, and the pastor won't be sober for many minutes. And the ending? No, we won't let anyone die here. These are new times! Strindberg was bold. Bold—so are we! Cheers, Strindberg!