Scandinavia House

Between Blood and Lilacs/Mellan blod och syrén
followed by The Perfumed Pistol/Den parfymerade pistolen

June 19 & 21

Between Blood and Lilacs/Mellan blod och syrén

Directed by Rickard Petrelius (Sweden, 2011). Barber-surgeon Johan Gustav Dåådh (Peter Eggers) returns to Stockholm from the war in Finland. He’s taking a patient, Simon Freund (Joel Spira), to Chief Constable Carl Fredrik Wahlstedt’s (Johan H:son Kjellgren) home, where Freund works as a tutor. It’s there that Dåådh’s life takes an unexpected turn: not only does he fall head over heels for Wahlstedt’s wife Magdalena (Linda Zilliacus), he also becomes involved in solving a murder case. After successfully solving the case, to his surprise, he is offered the position of district commissioner, i.e. police inspector. As a political radical, Dåådh’s first instinct is to decline, but when he realizes that Magdalena believes in him, he decides to accept the job with Freund as his assistant. Dåådh’s intention is to use his new position of power to try and make a difference in the name of justice.

The Perfumed Pistol/Den parfymerade pistolen

Directed by Rickard Petrelius (Sweden, 2011). A shop owner is found dead with a knife in his chest. A man has been caught seemingly red-handed, but Dåådh is not satisfied with what appears to be the obvious solution. Instead he tackles the crime from a completely different angle – and reaches a surprising conclusion. Meanwhile, one of Dåådh’s radical friends from his past needs protection, but their meeting ends in tragedy that suddenly makes Dåådh the focus of a vengeful woman’s rage.

Fickle Woman/Flyktiga fruntimmer
followed by Good Evening, Beautiful Mask!/Godafton, vackra mask

June 26 & 28

Fickle Woman/Flyktiga fruntimmer

Directed by Levan Akin (Sweden, 2011). Libelous pamphlets against the king are being distributed around town. When Dåådh is on his way to interrogate the person who printed them, the man is found murdered, his skull crushed in his own printing press. Dåådh’s investigation brings him in contact with a beautiful and radical young French woman. After more people are gruesomely murdered, Dåådh realizes that the old adage holds true: hell hath no greater fury than a woman scorned. Märta Raxelius (Sara Turpin) is convinced that Dåådh killed her brother and will stop at nothing to get her revenge.

Good Evening, Beautiful Mask!/Godafton, vackra mask

Directed by Levan Akin (Sweden, 2011). A cunning burglar is wreaking havoc in Stockholm. As the panic spreads, Dåådh is under pressure to apprehend the dangerous masked thief. After the thief narrowly escapes, Dåådh is offered help from the renowned hypnotist Cagliostori, who is performing in the city. Dåådh allows Cagliostori to hypnotize him, falls asleep, and wakes up in an unpleasant situation with his life in danger.

The Wages of Sin Is Death/Syndens lön är döden
followed by A Toast to the Scaffold/En skål för schavotten

July 10 & 12

The Wages of Sin Is Death/Syndens lön är döden

Directed by Levan Akin (Sweden, 2011). A bomb explodes in a packed coffee house in Stockholm. Dåådh’s investigation of the attack is interrupted by an order for him to halt the illegal church services held by a pietistic congregation – of which Simon Freund is secretly a member. No sooner has Dåådh taken care of this crisis when another murder suddenly demands his attention. A respected priest in the state church is found burned to death. Dåådh starts to sense that there is an unexpected link between the two murders and that the perpetrator could be found in unsettlingly close proximity…

A Toast to the Scaffold/En skål för schavotten

Directed by Kristina Humle (Sweden, 2011). One of Dåådh’s old radical comrades is accused of treason and hanged on the square. His body, intended to be donated to Uppsala University for the advancement of medical science, instantly disappears after the hanging – and the two students sent to take possession of it are found murdered. Dåådh soon realizes that his enemy Märta Raxelius must somehow be involved. When two more murders happen, it becomes clear to Dåådh that someone is ready to kill indiscriminately in order to prevent him from uncovering the dangerous truth. And before he realizes it, his own life is also in danger.

The Blind Hand of Fate/Ödets blinda hand
followed by The Die is Cast/Tärningen är kastad

July 17 & 19

The Blind Hand of Fate/Ödets blinda hand

Directed by Kristina Humle (Sweden, 2011). A number of children are found dead in the great piles of excrement and trash lining Stockholm’s shoreline. Dåådh’s investigation leads him to the Great Orphanage, where they claim to know nothing about the bodies. One of the children from the orphanage is chosen to carry out the drawing in the Number Lottery, a popular event where large amounts of money are on the line. To Dåådh’s anger and dismay he is forced to concede that a child’s life is worth little when so much money is at stake.

The Die is Cast/Tärningen är kastad

Directed by Kristina Humle (Sweden, 2011). A landowner is found dead in the stables of his estate, kicked to death by his horse. Dåådh soon determines that the tragic accident was actually murder. He has no difficulty finding people who bore grudges against the victim, but is unable to tie any of them to the crime. Any member of the landowner’s family could have done it, but the evidence is insufficient. Chief Constable Wahlstedt intervenes and decides that the law must run its full course – someone must be found guilty!

The Voices of the Dead/De dödas röster
followed by A Different Kingdom/Ett annorlunda kungarike

July 24 & 26

The Voices of the Dead/De dödas röster

Directed by Rickard Petrelius (Sweden, 2011). Dåådh is invited to Uppsala by his old professor, who needs his help to find out who poisoned one of his students. After taking on the case, Dåådh quickly realizes that his own life is in danger; someone clearly doesn’t like him snooping around. Back in Stockholm subversive events take place at Chief Constable Wahlstedt’s home that will affect Dåådh’s future. Meanwhile, his old enemy Märta Raxelius has decided to put her plan for revenge into action. But rather than striking at Dåådh, the blow lands on someone else…

A Different Kingdom/Ett annorlunda kungarike

Directed by Rickard Petrelius (Sweden, 2011). Dåådh’s world has been shaken to its foundations. His friend Freund has disappeared and Dåådh’s worst enemy has taken the deathly ill Chief Constable Wahlstedt’s place. Through his knowledge of medicine, his courage, and his ability to see patterns in seemingly unrelated events, Dåådh succeeds in turning the situation around, and even uncovers a crime ring with connections to the highest levels of society. When he is unexpectedly confronted by his own past, he is forced to bargain with those in power in order to save his life. For the first time, Dåådh must seriously question his future as an officer of the law.