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. His partner Hult defends him against these accusations, while Nyman's widow explains that Hult was the only one outside of the family who knew where Nyman was hospitalized. It becomes obvious to Beck, that a lot of people wanted Nyman dead, but he is not the only one targeted. Soon a sniper kills policemen from a roof in central Stockholm. This movie by Bo Widerberg is the peak performance in his career as I see it. It mixes realism with outstanding action sequences that still today haven't been done this good in Sweden. I haven't seen Mannen pa mallorca by Widerberg but that might be the one that ties this film. My favourite scene is probably when Martin Beck is on stakeout in an apartment where he tries to spot the killer. The scene is very well made and the old lady who owns the apartment is mostly concerned that Martin drinks his coffe and eat his cookies. It's pure magic. The best actor in this movie is Hakan Serner in a minor role, he portray the dull everyday life perfectly and it is very easy to imagine that this guy has been in the force way to long. A must see! Intense and extremely good police-thriller. Bo Widerberg is earlier responsible for beautiful romantic movies as well as gritty social drama, and suddenly he hits us *slam* right in the face with this movie. "The Man on the Roof" can only be described as the *best* action-thriller ever to come out of Scandinavia. I fear Ingmar Bergman has met his match! The film starts out as a meticulous, detailed account into the investigation of a brutal murder. The search for the killer is lead by homicide detective Martin Beck (surprisingly effectively portrayed by veteran comic actor Lindstedt) and his team in the Stockholm police. Then suddenly barely halfway through, the picture changes pace as it turns into a gripping action movie -and a convincing one at that. Helicopters, machineguns, you name it - and all in the downtown area of Stockholm! I wouldn't believe it had I not seen it for myself. "The Man on the Roof" is definitely as good as expected, and then some.
Eachiest replied
363 weeks ago