InternationalFilmCritique

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Name:ShaylieFunderburkClassperiod/sectionHUMA110011:3012:50PMTR
1)Titleoffilm:
TheGirlwiththeDragonTattoo
2)Yearofrelease:
2009
3)Languageoforiginalfilm:
Swedish
4)Director:
NielsArdenOplev
5)Actors:
Michael Nyqvist (Mikael Blomkvist), Noomi Rapace (Lisbeth Salander), SvenBertil Taube
(Henrik Vanger), Peter Haber (Martin Vanger), Lena Endre (Erika Berger), Peter Andersson (Nils
Bjurman), Marika Lagercrantz (Cecilia Vanger), Ingvar Hirdwall (Dirch Frode), Bjorn Granath (Gustav
Morell),EwaFroling(HarrietVanger)
6)Giveabriefplotsummary{150250words.DONOTplagiarizefromtheweb!]:
Mikael Blomkvist is a journalist for a magazine who receives information that a certain group is
committing illegal acts. When Mikael decides to write on this man, he suddenly finds that he can no
longer find credible sources to back up his new found information. With his work now published, he is
in trouble with the law because they cant find any evidence that what he says is true. When he gets a
call from someone who has a very important client that wants to speak to him, he feels inclined to meet
up with the man. The man is named Henrik Vagner, and he has a job for Mikael. He knows Mikael
because his granddaughter, Harriet, had babysat Mikael as a young boy. But Harriet had gone missing
since she was 16 years old. Henrik asks Mikael to find out who murdered Harriet over 40 years ago.
Along the way, he finds that Lisbeth, a hacker, has hacked into Mikaels computer (because she was
trying to find information on him to sell as well) and has figured out some of the missing pieces to
Mikaels puzzle. He meets up with her and they begin to work on the case together. Lisbeth has a
troubled past and is currently going through hard times which bring them closer together while they are
finding Harriets killer. With the help of others, they finally find out who killed Harriet, and it wasnt one
ofthethreetheyexpected.
7)Analyze the social and philosophical issues the film addresses. Make sure you include the point of
view of the movie, the context of the movie, what audience the movie is targeting, and why. (i.e. you
should address and reflect upon the argument or meaning of the work. This should be analysis, not
justsummaryofissuesinthemovie).{atleast500words}
The film addresses rape and the government system a lot. I found that in this film, it was very
different than what I expected. We find that Lisbeth is caught up in the court system because she has a
past of violence. The way that it was handled was that she was assigned a guardian to watch over her,
even at age 24. It seems that she has a lot of leniency at first, except maybe that she may have needed
to check in with said guardian every once in a while. I have never heard of that being handled that way,
justbecausesomeonehasapastwithbeinginamentalhospital.
They also addressed rape within the governments system. I was really shocked to find that
Lisbeths new guardian was someone so mentally sick and disturbed. It makes you wonder what kind
of foster parents are out there, or even if we do handle mentally ill people this way. These so called
guardians need to be watched and thoroughly checked every so often to make sure that they are
responsibleandnotdisgustingperverts.
We are able to watch the group of men beat up Lisbeth and all of the people at the train station
are just standing by letting this happen. I was extremely surprised to find that no men jumped in to save
this woman who was getting beat up by more than three or four men. In our society, that is completely
inappropriate. Watching women get beat like that is something that a lot of men would think is
completely wrong, even if the case were that she intentionally hit them first. No one had stepped in to
stop this fight nor did any authorities show up to break it up. Im surprised that there wasnt an officer
nearby to make sure stuff like that didnt happen, especially in a place where violence may be prone to
happen.
I think the point of view of the movie was through the eyes of people who have been wronged
in the world. These people are smart individuals who have just been dealt some bad cards. The reason
that Lisbeth killed her father was because he abused her mother. Its morally unjust but its not her fault
or her responsibility. Mikael was just a normal guy trying to do his job but some people just cant be
trusted, nor do they have their heads in the right place. This movie was sent out to target authorities and
all of us. To possibly open the eyes of those who may turn a blind eye to this kind of stuff. Its
happening all around the world whether we see it or not. I think they want us to take a stand and stop
this kind of stuff from happening to people anymore. Also, I believe they wanted authorities to see that
someofusareseeingthishappenandthattheyreallyneedtostartcaringforallofhumanity.
8) What is your response to the message of the film? Why do you respond this way? Show that you are
thinking about your own thinking here and the biases/assumptions about the world you bring to your
viewing.Didthefilmchangethewayyouviewthesubject?Why,orwhynot?{atleast250words}
My response to the film was to really think about why the director chose to shoot this. It really
brought all of the violence and issues around the world to my attention. I began to really think about
how stuff like this is probably happening every second of our lives. For some cultures, it may not be
morally unjust to beat someone or rape them. In many cultures, though, it is extremely bad to rape
someone or beat them in an alley way. I believe I respond this way because I do tend to turn a blind eye
to negativity and problems with the world because it really scares me. A lot of us dont know what to
do in situations like those whether we think we do or not. It didnt change my view of the subject in the
fact that its bad, because it is, but it did change the way I think about the world. Its not just America
that has a government that might be scandalous. We all endure these types of faulty treatment, and it
mademerealizethatIneedtoopenmyeyesandwatchforthesekindsofthings.
I generally just stick to the belief that everything will be okay and that all people have kind
hearts somewhere deep down inside of them. Im the type of person to think that it will never happen to
me, but now that I have kids I really need to try and prepare us for all the dangers of the world. People
canbeconnivingandweneedtobeabletoprotectourselvesnomatterwhereweareat.
9)Whatculturaldifferencesdidyounoticeinthefilm(philosophicaloutlook,humor,architecture,
customs,clothes,cities,weather,food,music,dancing,lifestyles,etc.)?Whatdidyoulearnabout
history,economicsorpolitics?(Therearealwaysdifferenceslookforthem).{atleast250words}
ThefirstthingInoticedwasthatMikaelwassentencedsixmonthsawayfromhiscourtdate
whichwasunfamiliartome.ImnotsurethatIveeverheardofanybodyhaveasixmonthgapbetween
theirsentencingandtheiractualjailtime.Attheend,thepeopleinjailhadlaptopsandtheywerealone
hugginginsomesortofroomwithnicechairs.Whetheritwaslowlevelsecurityornot,forjailtime,it
wasespeciallynice.
TheyalsomadeajokeabouthowCecilialefttohideHarrietsbody.Iveneverheard
someoneinamoviemakeajokeabouthidingtheirfamilymembersbodyandlaughaboutit.Deathis
usuallysomethingthatpeoplearentcomfortablebeinghumorousabout.
Itwasextremelycoldoutsideallthetime.Mikaelscottagedidnthaveaheater.Eventhoughhe
wassupposedtobelivingonthisislandwiththiswealthyfamily,forsomereasontherewasntaheating
systemineverycottageorhouse?Theydidnthavealotoftheluxuriesyouwouldexpectwealthy
peopletohave,atleastliketheywouldhavehereinAmerica.Thehousewasdesignedinanold
fashionedtheme,itseemedlike.Thewallpaperhadflowersonitandthechairsandcouchesseemed
veryuncomfortable.
Heneverreallythoughtabouthiskidsorfamilyagain,butLisbethsfamilyhadhighimportance
neartheendofthemovie.InAmerica,kidsarealwaysnumberonepriority.ThefactthatHarriets
fatherandbrothergotawaywithbeatingandrapingherwithoutanybodyfindingoutisverybizarreto
me.IknowthatifIwerearoundmyfamilythatmuch,someonewouldeventuallycatchon.
10) What techniques did the filmmaker use that were different from what you see in the films you
normally watch? Think about lighting, dialogue, atmosphere, setting, music, and how the filmmaker might
playuponyourownbiases,etc.{150words}
I noticed quite an absence of music, but I really had to pay attention to it. During some of the
rape scenes, the music wasnt loud or obnoxious like it gets in sad or scary movies. It had some drama
toit,butitwasntanythingthatreallydrewyourattentiontoomuch.
Each and every setting was very dark and depressing. It seemed as if their worlds may never be
a happy place. Sometimes the rooms were so very shadowed and dark that I was able to catch on. I
thinkhereallywantedtoplaceimportanceonthelackofwealthandpowerthattheseindividualshad.
I noticed that the filmmaker wanted us to assume who the killer might be. I assumed many
people throughout the film. He tried to get you to put the pieces together, and he did that by jumping
from scene to scene, but all the while, strategically pulling each piece of the story together. It seemed
like everyones past and background played into who they became and how the played a huge role in
Harrietsmurderandinfindingoutherkiller.
11) Discuss how what you saw in the film relates to one of the assigned readings or class discussions we
havehad.Bespecific!{150words}
I think the whole class in general applied to this film, in my case. I was able to think outside of
my judgments and assumptions and just realize that in other cultures, it might be normal to let someone
be abused because of lack of power. Lisbeth was a goth, and I just assumed it was for show and that
she did it for rebellious reasons. But as I saw her without her makeup on and watched her move about
as a normal person, I realized that she just had a really jumbled childhood. I also started to analyze the
relationship between Mikael and Lisbeth. My initial thought was, How could he like such a weird girl
like her? I assumed just because she wore dark makeup and had a lot of piercings, that only someone
who looked like that and had that same style could possibly be attracted to her. I ended up with the
thought that just because her style isnt something I like, or isnt something that Mikael wears, doesnt
meanitdefinesher.
12)WhydoyouthinkIassignaninternationalfilm?
I believe an international film is assigned because we generally just assume other cultures are
similar to our own, which isnt typically the case. Other cultures can have differences even down to their
buildings, dress, speech, or how the filmmaker directs, places lighting, and what music he chooses. We
need to open our eyes and be accepting of differences and educate ourselves on these differences. I
foundatrueappreciationfordifferencesbetweenmycultureandothers.