Police lieutenant Nyman is murdered in his hospital bed and Martin Beck and his colleagues have another murder to solve. They discover that Nyman was a very tough policeman who received several complaints about his methods.
The film is based on the novel "The Abominable Man" (1971) by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, though it was actually a book in the middle of a popular detective series rather than the first. Along with the book, director Bo Widerberg was inspired by William Friedkin's film "The French Connection" (1971).
Widerberg has interestingly contrasted himself with the godfather of Swedish cinema, Ingmar Bergman, noting, "Neither I nor my friends saw very much in him. We didn't find the issue of God's existence that damned important. But it's safe to say you'd be putting yourself in a bad position if you're trying to slit the throat of the father figure before your own debut." Around 750,000 people attended the film in Sweden, making it the most successful film produced by the Swedish Film Institute until Fanny and Alexander was released in 1982. The film was selected as the Swedish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 50th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee. A shame, because this film is great and way ahead of its time. The movie looks as good as any movie today (2017).
The film is based on the novel "The Abominable Man" (1971) by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, though it was actually a book in the middle of a popular detective series rather than the first. Along with the book, director Bo Widerberg was inspired by William Friedkin's film "The French Connection" (1971).
Widerberg has interestingly contrasted himself with the godfather of Swedish cinema, Ingmar Bergman, noting, "Neither I nor my friends saw very much in him. We didn't find the issue of God's existence that damned important. But it's safe to say you'd be putting yourself in a bad position if you're trying to slit the throat of the father figure before your own debut." Around 750,000 people attended the film in Sweden, making it the most successful film produced by the Swedish Film Institute until Fanny and Alexander was released in 1982. The film was selected as the Swedish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 50th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee. A shame, because this film is great and way ahead of its time. The movie looks as good as any movie today (2017).