Chez Nous (1978) - full transcript

If you get too close to something
you can't see what it is.

If you don't want to see what it is,
it helps to get very close,

so you don't see the context.

The photo was taken
on the Opera's stairs.

Gustav Adolf's Square;
the central point of Swedish respectability.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Granges Engineering and the Opera House.

And the royal palace a bit off
to the side the side.

The girl's name was Laila.

Would you take my coat?

My friends, Chez Nous presents
the Jack and Maggie Live Show.

Scram!



I told you no, and I've no intention
of changing my mind.

You can go take a running jump!

You're tanned and delicious.

Such a good-looking girl
shouldn't be so stubborn.

Not good.

Listen, I'm not changing my mind.

So piss off!

Shut up!

Shut up, I said.

It didn't go well yesterday.
We got screwed up somehow.

The magazine seemed to
have got messed up.

Like no one knew
what they were doing.

What the fuck are you on about?

Don't you take it personally,
but we have to be candid.



It went downhill...
It simply didn't gel.

We're putting out a shit paper.

Are you drunk?

You were so aggressive.
And Jansson was so aggressive.

It didn't go well and the placard
was frankly childish...

"Lill-Babs races to king tonight."

As if the father of the nation
had a hard-on and we stepped in.

For heavens sake, it was
just a come-on.

Why do we have to be
so goddamn serious?

It's not fresh, not at all fresh...

That sort of bad style
went out in the 50s.

I don't think Maria functions, either.

She spends half her time
playing bimbo.

It's very stressful.

I don't feel it's my fault.

Bullshit.

I wish you'd listen to what I say.

Good evening.

Dear me, we are in a bad mood!

How about being quiet?

Anything doing?

Sure. My feet are killing me.

So nothing.

Same as yesterday.

They don't do anything all day.
The ignoramuses wouldn't know how.

Just a lot of complaining
from every direction.

"Circulation down
throughout the country."

Probably our fault.

Those bosses aren't going
to take the rap are they?

"Fresh, fresh." Phooey.

We had a lot of provinces news
in the paper yesterday.

It's not a good look.

Next thing we'll have nothing
but news by city blocks.

Don't just sit there, jerking off...
We've got a newspaper to put out.

Hi there.

I don't usually masturbate
during working hours.

Yes, that's OK..

My poor feet are killing me.

- Howdy, Maria.
- Hi.

No, that's perfectly normal.

It is a normal length,
absolutely normal.

You know, an American survey
of over 10,000 men, has shown...

Excuse me for a moment.

- Howdy, Melin.
- Got anything?

Maybe... Listen...

I've answered like this.

No, it's not abnormal that your wife
masturbates about you in her sleep.

All the experts agree
and the facts do not contradict it.

Maybe we can circulate this...

...and eventually get a comment
from an expert panel.

Nothing.

No, no... What's this about?

Earthquake in Italy. Nothing?

- Anything?
- No.

How about this?

Take it away.

This one has an interesting story.

Gothenburg dug up the story.
Did a great job.

A cat? Is it about a fucking cat?!

Yes, but the thing is, this chic
got it back after two years.

We think it's the same cat.

Happy news of the day, I thought.

Yeah, if there is no world war tomorrow,
it'll be our lead story.

We're one of Europe's biggest papers
and we sit and write about cats?!

Right. Maybe that's why we're
one of Europe's biggest papers.

Shut up now and remove the cat.

Shitz!

This could be something.

The porn star who was murdered
last week... Laila.

Yes, apart from the finger.

It was a fucking
assassination...

But it was strange
about the finger.

So we forget Gothenburg?

Hello? Melin?
Just a moment, I'll see...

Okay, I'll call Elmgren.

Your wife is on the phone.

Your EX-wife is on the phone.

Hi, I'd like to talk to Elmgren
on the 3rd floor.

You don't want to speak to her?

You don't have to be so pissed off.

Face it, it's a crummy paper.

On and on and on with bullshit!

Yesterday YOU were pissed off
with everything.

You have to be able to talk about it.
Everyone feels it.

It's contagious.

To come after the event
with half truths, and criticize...

It's damned easy to criticize
and not accept the consequences.

Maria...

Laila.

You've got the hots for Maria,
don't you?

So do something about it, boyo.

A bit of youthful education
into the way a magician operates.

How a paper can be produced
from virtually nothing.

You could once.

It's a hellhole here.
Can you speak up?

Howdy.
What can I do for you?

No, we got these this morning...
and these pictures...

Yes, they're here and the details
are so damned unpleasant.

So I'd like to meet you
and talk to you about it.

I'm the murderer.

You don't have time today?

Listen, I'll call you back
a bit later.

You are most welcome!

Sit down.

This is Jansson in Editorial.

Can you send up a photographer
as quickly as possible?

Yes, as quickly as possible.

So YOU are Laila's murderer?

Yes, it's not every day
we get such good news story.

It's just that I want to
come out in the open.

I want to clear myself from
any untoward accusations.

It was a purely private thing.

Completely personal
between me and Laila.

She seemed to be slipping away
from me, so I felt...

Do you have a cigarette?

I felt that...

...that my emotions were
sort of overwhelming me.

Thanks.

So you want to come out
in the open?

- Isn't that what it's called?
- Yes, of course.

It's just that not everyone does it.

Fuck yes.
Out in the open.

But that was a private matter, too..

It was a purely personal matter.

It was nothing else.
That's all it was about.

I loved her.

She was slipping away from me.
Then my feelings overwhelmed me.

She had an amazing power over me.
My feelings became...

Take it easy.
There's no rush.

You'll soon have all the time
in the world, rotting in a dungeon.

I'm joking.

But we don't have to worry
about seconds right now.

Now girls and boys, we'll get this down
and decide what to do with it.

Jansson! We'll start
on the front page.

Let's see what
we can come up with.

Something along the lines of
"We have the murderer."

"The killer is here with us!"

No, it'll seem we were involved
in the murder."

We have to fucking say
that it's our exclusive story.

He came to us, after all.
Something like, "He chose us."

Wrong, Jansson.
Nothing to brag about.

You have bad judgment, Jansson.
That's always been your problem.

No, this is how it is.
We have 3 options.

One... Love story.

Simple fumbling guy,
overwhelmed by his emotions.

Like Steinbeck's Lennie
in 'Mice and Men'.

Option two...

The individual gangster
fighting against the mafia.

He quits the gang
and reveals incredible events.

The problem there is that
he doesn't fit the bill.

Option three...
Crime Incorporated, Swedish style...

The extensive pattern.

No, that's old hat.

Can't we let the guy talk first,
before we decide anything?

Wrong. Totally wrong.

First you have to establish what it is
that you want to find in something.

Just get this into your thick skulls,
girls and boys..

Our job is to take the initiative.

We have a crime, a murder here.

A fucking shit of a murder...
excuse me.

What do we do with it?

Yes, we make something
out of it.

We turn it into...
...reading matter.

Exactly, my dear.

You'll have our eternal gratitude,
for coming here.

Thank you.

It's quite clear
that it's a love story.

And Maria, you won't be
alone on this job.

Good work, 'Snapper'.

We'll call Wiren.

He's the right man. A pro.

And then my friends,
we very slowly involve the police.

But slowly.

LAILA DIED FOR LOVE
Murderer tells.

So they haven't had time
to get hold of you.

Congratulations then.

Pig!

- Who haven't?
- That hooligan's pals.

- Oh, I understand.
- No, you understand nothing.

You write too much shit.
You should write more about cats.

We once did a big survey...

...to find out who
our average reader was.

It turned out to be a lowly
railway official, with no interests.

For many years now,
we've made the paper for him.

We know exactly how he wants it.

Actually, it was not really correct
that he "had no interests".

We'd asked what in the paper
was it that he was interested in.

He replied that he was not
interested in anything special.

Then we interviewed him in depth.

He'd read the paper
for 22 years, every day.

Really. But he remembers
nothing in it. It was a blank.

Like it all had just passed by.

It gave us an insane hope.

Car 4, your position please.

What I have learned in this job
is to see humans in everything.

Absolutely everything.

Nothing is too big,
nothing is too small.

Even a fly is human.
That's what this profession is about.

...Ugandan President Idi Amin
arrived in company with ABBA...

Now they've really gone haywire.

Correction:
ABBA should be Abbe.

Interesting.

- Abbe Bonnier and Idi Amin?
- Yes, it's interesting.

A reporter is a bit of a radar screen.

You're scanning, absorbing things.
Know what I mean?

Do you understand
what I'm trying to tell you?

You're young. You're pretty...

You're talented.
And yet...

...I can feel
an inexplicable attraction.

Hey...

Listen...

You're somewhat aggressive.

You have to realize
how things originate.

You feel compelled to be aggressive
just because you're a girl.

You don't dare to be soft.
That's that damn female role.

You feel that you don't dare
take advice from someone who knows more.

A misunderstanding has occurred.
ABBA and Idi Amin

should be Abbe and his cousin.

I know what goes on at home
in the living rooms.

I've actually been
so long in this profession,

that I'm not ashamed
to be popular.

There are many in the reading public...

...who love me, I know...
and I take it as a challenge.

You need to learn to have the rules
of the profession in your backbone.

Yes,
and here we have the fire extinguisher.

Yes I see it. That's fine.

And this bed here...

- What kind of material is in it?
- I don't think that's important.

Sit down and I'll show you
why I asked you to come here.

Do you want to sit down?
Sit here now.

You see, it's continuously updated
so that I can achieve...

...effectiveness in
the spectator process.

Therefore, I've suggested,
asked you to come,

to approve
this theater-in-the-round.

- You have emergency exits...
- I do.

The theater-in-the-round where you get
the most natural feeling, economically.

- Everything's shut.
- There must be an emergency exit.

That's right, but...

...I imagined a theater-in-the-round...

...where you have 18 spectators in each
of booths around the theatre.

...and the artistic center
on the stage itself...

is completely protected.

Everything is hygienic and in the booth
you can manage your experience...

by means of 1 krona in electric devices.
There is...

This electrician...

What's the phase?

Phase?

Yes, I guess there are
only two phases.

Two, because there's no
opportunity for more to...

And you manage the first phase and then
the other by inserting a crown.

Hi, I'm Maria Stenius
from The Evening Press.

Maria, here...

If you'd like to follow me,
I'll show you.

This wall, is it concrete?

No I don't think so.
No it's not.

It's not, no.

Maria Stenius, Evening Press.

Glad to meet you.

I've appreciated your articles on
women's exploitation by advertising.

Women should not be used
just any way they see fit.

It has to be said.
I rest my case.

Can we talk now?

We can, and we shall.

He seems agreeable.

Eva-Lisa. Come here, dear.

- This is Maria, Eva-Lisa.
- Maria Stenius.

- Mr Wiren.
- Hi, it's Bengt.

Shall we take a seat?

Shall I take your...

Sorry.

Eva, isn't it difficult for you?
I mean...

You've taken over from Laila.

Yes, that's right.

I only got a couple of days
to learn the act after Laila's death.

Or swim the act you might say.
I was so nervous.

It was one of my bigger roles,
so to speak. Have you seen it?

No, I haven't seen it.
What's it about?

Shall I tell you the story?

Well, I come in fully clothed...

...and notice this eel
swimming around.

Well, something amazing
comes over my feelings,

so to speak.

- Do you get it?
- What did you say?

I'm to seem to feel amazed.

Then I'll show in my face...

that I'm craving
or being turned on.

And then I take off my clothes
while they play a sensitive song.

The sensitive song is the adagio
from Mahler's 5th Symphony.

That's really lovely.

So I lower myself into the water
while they...

So I set about trying
to catch that damned eel.

This has a deep symbolism content
that you don't need to grasp.

Sorry, I'll get it.

So this has a deeply symbolic content

which one does
not have to grasp,

because the important thing
is actually the music.

And the music is...?

Here we bring in
Rodrige's Guitar Concerto.

- And it's Segovia then.
- No, it's Rodriges.

- But it's Segovia who plays, isn't it?
- Is it? I'll go and look. Forgive me.

You recognize that, eh?

And then...?

Then I'll catch it...
and it can be quite tricky.

You have to seem to shove it in.

So I grab it in the middle,
and writhe around for a bit.

And then comes the hardest part.

Then I'll grab just behind the gills
and make sure I'm facing the audience.

- So that's the front.
- Yes exactly.

And then I part my legs then...

...and pull the eel's head
up a bit, then...

...then we writhe around for a bit
and I push it away.

That's it.

Here we finish
with some Gesualdo madrigals.

- Good God!
- But it feels just right.

We've had a great time
during rehearsals.

Total openness between us.
All artistic questions...

...decor, music, scenery, lighting,
we've had group discussions about.

Thus, everyone has been an individual
with participation rights.

Except for the eel, eh?

Obviously you can make fun of it...

...but if I say so myself...

...we in the leisure industry......

...take work environment issues
very seriously.

Isn't that true, Eva-Lisa?

But hey... this business with the eel...

Doesn't it hurt a lot?

No, the eel's jaws are taped up.

Taped?

See-through tape.

It used to be wire, but some eels died,
so it was changed.

Then maybe I can come up with a question
which may arouse any controversy.

Is this not animal cruelty?

He'd bite, otherwise.

It's damn painful,
let me tell you.

Then maybe I can come up
with one another question.

Do the animals
not experience pain?

Quite simply... no.

But how would you know?

All experts agree.
They don't contradict facts.

What the hell's that knocking?

It's the fire inspector.

- But Anna-Stina...
- Eva-Lisa.

Sorry, Eva-Lisa.
Maybe I can pose a question...

which may also arouse controversy...

How do you rate the chances
of women influencing your job?

Does a woman like you have...

...the same possibilities as a man
to advance within the profession?

Yes, do you have any ideas about that?

Well...

Let me say that no man
could quite do my job.

Not with an eel, anyway.

Yes, that was
not really what I meant.

Our readers actually
demand information.

About what?

That bothering you?

- What?
- That a bother?

Not really.

Can we try to be a little discreet,
with people here.

You can keep your clothes on.

Then I thought I'd take the opportunity
to ask about Saturday...

...as Veronica and Kaparn
have come down with 'flu.

- I thought you could fill in.
- Yeah, that's fine.

That's really good of you.
I'll make sure...

- They're female.
- No, male.

The males become something like that.
They're so small. They're females.

- They're big for males.
- Yes, they're females.

Females.

But they're very...

So they weren't in love with each other?
Did they never hang out?

Are you crazy?
He was a gangster.

She was terrified
when he'd come here.

Why do you think Laila
wanted to quit here?

I'm not allowed to say.

I know. It was that story about...

Of course. You know how stupid I am.

She'd met the passport king
through Stenwall.

She knew what was going on.

Wanted her share of the dough.

Calculated it would be millions
in developing countries.

Gunnar K Stenwall?
You don't mean that he...

Yes. Surely you knew?

He was king of the whore-market,
before he was house-trained,

and started appearing
on the social pages.

Didn't you know?

I think we can bring this conversation
to an end right now.

When someone is desperate, and we're
all in despair over Laila's passing...

...then the yellow press shouldn't
be trying to force information.

Heinich Boell wrote a very nice story
about it, called:..

"Katrina Blum's lost honour".
You should read it.

But Gunnar K Stenwall can surely
not own a club like Chez Nous?

That was very well put.

No, he can't.

Thanks for visiting.

Damned stupid bullshit.

I think you should go back
to that provincial rag.

You blew it big-time!

Laila died because she knew something
and the police know it too.

I think you're piss-weak.

...appears...

Maria.

Hello?

We'll take one like that.

Maria.

Hi, are you in town?

It wasn't you who called just now?

Must have been a wrong number.

Do you?

Yeah.

Yes, I know I have free time owing.

I'll try to do it then.

No.

Yeah...

See you then... all the best...
bye bye.... kiss!

You in the CID must know
if there's any sort of connection

between the Laila case
and Gunnar K Stenwall.

If you hear his name,
you have to jump to...

Listen, young lady...
Here we don't jump to anything.

And I'm not going to say anything more
to you or any of your other snoopers.

Is there anything about him?
Anything to know, that's important?

- There is about everyone, right?
- We write a lot about him.

How he saves employment
and donates to the Museum of Modern Art.

That's not quite as you write.
A starting point, right?

I need to know
if there's anything.

Can't you tell me what I can do?

You must work,
if you really want to know.

It's only a matter of work.

Well, thank you.

Did you notice when he came in?

I saw nothing.
Nothing at all.

And with your feet
on the table...

- Bosse Melin, I enjoy having you.
- Thank you, sir.

Thank you, sir.

This is good stuff.

Pretty good job.

- Yes, from Jansson.
- Good!

It feels secure with people
who know their job.

Thank you, sir. Thank you, sir.

"Great! Nice to have you, feel secure,
Good stuff, pretty good job."

What the fuck does he mean
with all that?

He means he can rely on us.
And we're 45,000 up on 'The Torpedo".

That was what I was afraid of.

Give it a break, eh?

Fuck it! the stuff in today's paper
is just shit!

Listen...

I think I might be onto
something really big.

Big!

Big?

Goddamned machine!

Hi, this is Ellen.

Can you send it up a guy
who can fix my typewriter?

Can't you send Ollie then?

Where is he?

No, I don't want a new typewriter!

Oh, just great!

You never say much,
but I have a feeling you know.

I know no damn more than you do.

To observe and walk away
is my job.

Here she comes...

Alone.

Hi.

Hi.

There's a few things
I'd like to ask you.

I can't say anything.

We've come to the conclusion

that Stenwall is in some
third world passport system deal.

I haven't said anything.

Go away.

I haven't mentioned Stenwall,
passports or money. Understand?

Laila's death is enough.

So you haven't met Stenwall?

Yes.

Once at the Sheraton.

There were 8 girls as topless bridesmaids
at a Christmas Eve shindig.

One of his business acquaintances
from London...

...wanted us to take
Christmas tree lights and...

What is it?

For fuck's sake, go away!

Don't say anything...
just get the hell out!

Hey... we're leaving.

'Bye... see you tomorrow.

This does not work.
Do I get the last number just like that.

The company last changed in 1973
to Shangrila Real Estate Co...

...and we have three names here
on the board...

510213, Olsson, Kain

and 521123 Eriksson, Per-Ake

and 411023 Jernberg, Gunilla.

That's all there is.

So there's no "Stenwall, Gunnar K?"

No, I can't see him anywhere
in the company's 5 name-changes.

Pity.

Gunilla Jernberg shows up quite often.

I'm dead certain I've photographed her.

Now I'm not really sure
that I've understood...

...what it is you are looking for.

Is it the one behind it?

No, but I'm sure of one thing...

It's clear that nobody
is behind anything in this business.

The only question is,
who is "Nobody"?

Sorry.

It's OK. Thanks anyway.

I know they must be
here somewhere.

Isn't this style a bit...?

No that's Babs... Barbro.
She hasn't lost her looks, I think.

I'm after something
later than the 50s...

These must be Kolle's first pics.
That's Anita Ekberg.

Can she be the dame?
No, not her.

These are all nude.
She wouldn't be...

These are birds in the late 60s.

Was she a centrefold chick?

Oh yes, one of the first.

This girl only had to wear
shoes and glasses.

No, there's nothing here.

Let's have a look over here.

Maybe she's here
amongst these old covers.

What a meat-market!

Nygren didn't touch meat for 10 years

after he started in this business.

Well, what do we have here?

Hunt amongst all those rich old men
in Sandhamn.

What if she was there,

amongst the boats,
the mansions and the bimbos?

No, nothing here.

The dance-hall, the daisies...
There we have something.

Here, the gypsy activist.

This bird won in '61.

'56.

- Is this her?
- Show me.

Check the kisser.

His wife's name's Gunilla.
It's her.

It's her.

It's them!

This is crazy.

Listen, I think
I'm going paranoid.

As far as the paper's concerned
it's quite normal.

So we get to see the name
Gunilla Jernberg in the papers.

Also on the board
of a company...

- What did you say?
- ...a company before Chez Nous.

I was quite confused and wondering
if you could help me...

I feel so stupid, but...

...I actually know nothing
about forming company and law.

It's enough that my husband has to...

- What did you say it was called?
- Chez Nous.

Chez Nous... Chez Nous.

Is it a boat?

Thanks for your help.

Excuse me.

I don't usually scare easily...

...but when I get
paranoid about nothing,

I have to find out
what I'm afraid of.

It was a neighbour who rang.

He thought it was
some stupid kids.

Damn!

So you don't give up.

That's unusual.

I need to talk to you.

- What did you say your name was?
- Maria.

It's a shame to be 60.

And you've no experience
with crime-reporting?

That's alright. It's just essential
to know what's what.

But I don't have time now, you see.

I'm going to the trots at Valla.

Can I come?

Yes, this should be OK till spring.

Do you like trotting?

No, but you.

I'm retiring in September,
then we can go gangbusters full time.

Valla should be fun.

To all cars in CEO 4 from 70.

Want to check out a death?
6 Margareta Rd, Enskede.

What your snoopers have never got,
is that they run together.

So you never write as it is.

You write kilometres about
sex-rings and brothel kings...

...and who's divorcing who,
and oversexed MPs.

- Now you treat Laila the same way.
- You mean that...

You know that Hansson broad?

She had the phone number
that did the rounds of big business

and she made a minimum
of 30,000 a week.

You wrote about it.

But you didn't
say what it was...

that it was the old
Stenwall Empire.

It was just a regular suicide,
so you can go home.

'Bye then.

Yes, Laila worked for them.

For THEM?

Fuck yes. Executive class.

Dinner guests at Stenwall's.

The wider family so to speak.

Though she was an odd chick, eh?

She did what you don't do.

She looked where things went to...
where the money ended up.

It's fun to be here at Valla
and mix with the petty crims.

Many of them are great guys...

...who may have done
up to 10 years.

Though they doubtless deserved it.

Stenwall and those boys
are something else altogether.

I almost feel sorry
for the small-timers.

Everyone was after them.
Including me.

But he got mad when I saw
what was what.

Laid out the rulers
over a Stockholm map.

We're cleaning out
every pigsty, I said.

So the rabble started ringing,
saying "Stop!".

"It's inhuman...
You're giving us ulcers."

"I don't care", I said.
"Shop the bastard,."

"Not possible," they said,
"he's already gone."

They were scared he'll squeal,
so they got rid of him.

Straight into Nybro Bay.
Standing room only.

Such is the hard life
of the petty crim.

Stenwall and his mob
are something else.

Jesus, my girl, if you only knew!

You know, I've worked in
financial crime for five years.

And fucking hell, we've barely
scratched the surface.

You know, ordinary crime
has a turnover of 300 million a year.

With economic crime,
it's about 20 billion.

As much as national defense.

It's just like with the pension fund.
Just grows and is plowed back.

Soon the whole economy will be run on
sex-trade money and the pension fund.

That's a fact.

Hi, Volbert.
Watch yourself, Volbert.

You know...

Money... money...

Unbelievable sums of money...
Dirty and clean.

And dirty money that becomes clean
in no fucking time at all..

You know, Stenwall...

Started 18 years ago with two whores
who stripped in front of some booths...

...where the country bumpkins sat
and jerked off for 15 kr.

Poor! Hardly a penny to bless
himself with, you see.

So that guy started from scratch...
from the bottom.

So he's worked his way up,
mostly with bookmaking and tarts.

Then I found him here.

Look in the property register,
who started Chez Nous?

Then he's accumulated dirty money
and rolled it into Switzerland.

Then rolled it back out again,
clean... squeaky clean.

He'd classify it
as European venture capital...

...which he has invested here
and created employment.

There's no way of accessing it.

Big client of the top lawyers.

Although the Laila story was no more
than a peripheral distraction.

You know, there was an Austrian genius
called Schrenk...

...who had devised an ingenious
passport data system.

It was a huge thing
for developing countries...

...'coz a lot of those nignogs
can't write.

But the inventor
was nervous and difficult to persuade.

So they put Laila in, then she decided
that she'd have a share in the profits.

So... dirty money... good business.

Though they didn't need
to murder Laila.

Yes, that's a detail,
but I'm sensitive, you know.

Fuck it!

And I'm nearly pensioned off.

But it would have been fun before that

to go straight
to that fucking bank palace...

...walk in on Dr Stenwall,
and look the bastard straight in the eye

...and say, "It's all over, you hick...
you're busted."

Although that's not likely.

Lift a finger to a man like that...

...and 12 lawyers materialise,
with icy smiles on their faces.

And then it's not fun to be
born on the wrong side of town...

...and only have
a high-school certificate.

No, it's not.

The petty crims and the police
have to trust one another...

...or it all falls apart.

One must put honour before the law,
otherwise you lose self-respect.

These new big crims don't have the
same sense of honour as the small fry.

There's something weird
about the bastards.

You make no contact.
There's something wrong.

It's not that the prostitution industry
is illegal... it's normal.

There's nothing odd about dirty money
becoming clean... it's normal.

It's the things that are totally legal
that are peculiar.

That's where it's at.

The things you don't see.

This doesn't look like Norrland.
Enskede, closest.

The trouble with Norrland
is that it's not reliable.

They whine at us for lying,
as if lying would be easy.

Far from it...
Requires high professional skill.

We can't use this.

You take close-ups of Laila's mother.
I'm taking the album.

Here, would you like a bun?

Nice, thank you.

Like one?

A roll?

I'd thought we'd do something
on Laila's difficult upbringing...

...up in the Lapland wilderness.

That's a nice photo.

She's only 3 months old there.

There she is outside a shed we have,
which is a few miles away.

It looks very poor.

I understand
that it must have felt very lonely

for a young, cheerful northerner
to grow up here on the marshland.

And she must have
suffered a culture shock...

...when
the reality of Stockholm hit her.

How?

I understand very well that you would've
sometimes asked yourself the question...

...how a young cheerful girl
who grew up up in poor conditions...

How she could...
How she was forced...

Yes, I understand very well that you
somehow suspected this was coming.

No, absolutely without casting
any moral aspersions.

Little Grandma, absolutely,
I understand that.

Historically, being puritanical,

is something you probably
couldn't afford, out here in the bogs.

- But it was like this, that she...
- Yes, I know, but...

There has always
been an openness here,

between the sexes,
right, little grandma?

And that fine old custom
still remains here, doesn't it...

That you lie on top... on the outside.

Of course, a young, cheerful girl
may not always be so careful...

...with the temptations she...

Yes, I just want to say
that it's fantastically interesting...

...to hear a story like this
from yourselves.

Reality surpasses poetry,
you could say.

Very nice bread.

Melin! Melin!
Are you coming for a swim?

No...

No.

You're never in the right spot.

You should know how I think.

You haven't taken a single point.

It was nice stuff otherwise
in that Tarzan story, I think.

Yes, Maria is the problem.

She thinks she's onto a thread...
leading to something much greater.

Tell her to cut to the chase
in that case.

- She sees some ramifications.
- About what?

All the way up
to respectable big-business.

Tell her there's no such thing
as respectable big-business.

Yes, but now it involves
Gunnar K Stenwall.

- Suggesting that he's a gangster.
- That he is.

I always tell him that...
"You're a real rogue".

- So you know him?
- Sure fucking do.

We eat at the Society
and belong to Alvik's supporter club.

He's a lot of fun,
though a bit crazy, of course.

Maria tried to get
an interview with him,

but a wall went up.

I'll have a word with him.
Don't you worry.

Well, I'll tell Maria
you'll fix it.

Good as done.

And Melin, I'll tell Gunnar
that YOU are hanging on to the story.

And that you're a stickler for accuracy
and that I trust you.

So, it's simple. You need help.
We all agree on that.

There are only two graduate economists
among Stockholm journalists...

...of which I am one.

- I think that is the whole explanation.
- Of what?

Like I said...

You distrust us on the trade side,
because we know a lot.

Gunnar Stenwall is a businessman.
A sharp cookie, but a businessMAN.

Exactly.

That's why there's such
a stink to it.

I'll admit one thing.

I admit that I'm an expert
and that I know my stuff.

That's why I think it's quite
nauseating when ignorant journalists...

...come and cast aspersions
on the whole business community...

...which is actually
what our prosperity is based on.

It's actually no major news that
we live in a capitalist society.

Maria, you're naive.

You have to cut through
the mists and get to the core.

Alright, then I'll show you that
what is housing the core, is rotten.

The core of
the Swedish economy is sound,

but we must aim forward.

The Japanese example is useful.

For example the way
the Japanese workers go on strike

shows a completely different way
to resolve labor disputes.

The workers put on a white armband
to show they're on strike...

...but they keep working.
I see it as a future road.

One might imagine
that LO has other views...

These are the kind of entrepreneurs
we need today.

Maria, you have to
stop stalking the bastard.

You see that he
has good intentions.

...that a country has political values
or a political culture that we too...

You belong there.

The risk is that we lose talents
like Stenwall, for example...

...through the clumsiness
of the authorities.

Great talent
is driven out of the country.

Through envy.

No, damn it I say...

we shouldn't begrudge
ourselves anything.

Then let me guess that with it

the starting point is a
country like Portugal

and not very interesting.

No, not Portugal anymore.

I was with a doctor
who established...

that my test values
​​were a 60-year-old's.

My physical age.

- When were you at the doctor's?
- Last week.

I've also got incredibly more
of life since I started training.

Maybe we should play tennis some day.

Could I ask you, Dr Stonewall...

...which is your favorite heroine
in literature?

Orphan Annie.

Yes... Orphan Annie.

And what military feat
do you rank the highest?

None. I'm a pretty peaceful person,
so I answer "none" to that question.

None...

Yes exactly.

Then which historical person
do you despise the most?

Obviously Hitler or Stalin.

Or Hitler and Stalin.

Or Hitler and Stalin, yes.

Which would you imagine...

I think I'd prefer to say
that I despise no human being.

I think that was very nicely said.

If I may move on to some questions
relating to your businesses, Dr Stenwall?

No. Unfortunately, the answer is no.

Yes, but it's...

May I say I read your series
on rape, with great interest.

I think you're right,
that fundamentally

...the law is discriminatory
against women.

Almost a class law.

I know it's beside the point here,
but I still wanted to give my thanks.

Yes, thank you, but if I now
may return to...

...some questions relating
to your business.

After all, you're a man
who has 42,000 employees....

Now it's like this.

Every human individual
is entitled to some privacy.

Even "The Lost Honour of Katarina Blum"
is about that, isn't it?

The responsibility of the press,
individual right versus the media.

The right to privacy.

You can ask me what you want when it
concerns me personally and I'll answer.

Thoughts, feelings, opinions,
my latest medical.

I'm a public figure,
so I can take it.

But I reserve the right
to protect the confidentiality

of my professional activities.

It's part of my business integrity.

You can talk to my lawyers
about that.

Yes I admit I'm a sucker for the law.

I've been criticised for
being over-committed

and hamstrung by the rule of law.
I admit that commitment.

But as chief adviser
to the Stenwall Group...

...then you know that you're dealing
with a rather dubious business...

...involved in dirty money
and a string of loss-making companies.

I admit that my profession
is to give advice.

Sure, I'm what the Americans
are calling the "consigliere".

I explain what the law says.

And I assure you
that I'd not refuse advice to anyone...

...however high up he may be.
Absolutely none.

Today, the law is for us...

...I mean for the whole Stenwall Group,
and for all Swedish lawyers...

the law is for us today,

what the Bible was
to society 150 years ago.

A guideline, an inspiration.
Wealth must be built by law.

On a purely personal basis...

...have you not got involved with them
just because they're a little shady?

I've already explained...

I'm a stickler for the law.
I give advice.

I determine where to draw the line
between the proper and the improper...

And it's not very easy.

20 per cent
of a healthy company's profit...

should be plowed
into good lawyers.

Our basic principle is to ensure that
each action appears to be legal...

One hundred percent legal.

Police say that the Laila murder
involves your business in Skelleftea...

...where your income appears to...

I'll admit one thing.

I do not take these questions lightly.

I'm a stickler for the law.

Therefore justice must not be
administered by the mass media.

You are young,
beautiful, intelligent,

and I admit that I can feel
a certain sympathy.

But one thing you haven't understood.

And that is?

You're playing at
being a private eye.

You think you're on the trail
of a secret. You're wrong.

It's your crucial mistake.

You don't see the things
that are perfectly visible.

Those that are completely natural.

That's why you ask the wrong questions
all the time.

You refuse to see that
which is quite visible.

The so-called India project...

It's no secret.

We're building, among other things,
a factory in Skelleftea.

The company that owns
your newspaper...

...is also the company
that's building the factory.

So we're on the same page.

You knew that, didn't you?

So you think we should put Stenmark
in the middle in colour?

Yes.

Yes, so then I've dug into
Stenwall's properties in the inner city.

There are 8 of them.
Here's a list of the tenants.

They all pay cash...
on average 40,000.

That's four million tax-free.

Surprisingly, many are journalists.

There's Jansson!

We did know that.

Hey, don't you know that guy?

Sure do.

Melin, 32 Rorstrand St.
That'd be Kurt.

Look at this...

I haven't paid a damn thing.

It's down here.

The flat came with the job.
I don't pay a penny.

It was that guy...

Alversten.

That's right.
He does Stenwall's evacuations.

Well, I didn't pay a penny,
I assure you.

You mean, you just got it?

Not a bad Christmas present.

Yeah, lots of goodies.

I have to run.
I'll be back.

Hi, I'm Maria Stenius
from The Evening Press.

I've heard you bought your flats
on the black market in this block.

Is that true?

No, now it's fine. At first I had
difficulty getting to sleep,

...but then Asta told stories
and I fell asleep.

Okay, I know.
You can run now.

Clean up the stable.

A girl from Svartmann St.

She came out of an orphanage
onto the game.

She's a prostitute?

Can I help you with something?

Yes, that inventor, Schrenk.

I'd like his address.
He knew Laila.

I'd like to have a word with him
and see what he has to say.

He says it as it is.

You can't persuade people,
but he says it as it is.

4 Lovsta Rd, Osterhaninge.
Good luck.

That's great. 'Bye.

Of course they murdered her.

Yes, but...

...that's an incredible statement.

Don't ask the question then.

But that was the case anyway.

They wanted the patent,
and I signed on.

What is it about?

The identification of data...
like fingerprints.

You put your finger on a glass plate
and then it goes to a database.

They've calculated it'd be
a huge thing...

...in developing countries,
where people can't write.

- You mean 'the contract'.
- Indeed.

It was a helluva lot of dough.

I never understood that...

...but Laila did.

And so they took her life.

We were both scared...
we really were.

We could never imagine
that it would be...

Can you prove anything?

It's important to me...

...if you know.

Yes, I didn't want to sell.

I didn't want to
from the beginning.

And then they sent her.

The thing was though,
they didn't know her.

She was a good girl.

Just like that one in..

What was her name?
The girl in...

It doesn't matter.

We got a little too close
to each other too.

That's why they killed her.

May I quote you?

They'll want your name.

It was Esther Williams.

"In Fire and Water".

That was a damn great film.

PORN CLUB ACCUSED
OF ANIMAL CRUELTY

I'm sure we're on the right track.

If we now focus hard
on following the money trail...

...we'll reach a point where
the connection is visible.

What connection?

The connection between
crime and big business.

Well, aren't these 2 different stories
that you're mixing up?

What are you afraid of, Wiren?

I'm afraid it could become heavy.

Yes, but maybe interesting.

We've got the Swedish banker in Geneva.
We know what type he is.

Stenwall's buddy who invests Swedish
gangster funds in Europe and here.

- Proof. Evidence.
- I'll get to that later.

I'll go there as a customer
and try to do a transaction.

Then he'll show how it works.

We have to do it in a way
that comes out totally credible.

What's so fucking funny
about that?

"Maria Wallraff, I suspect?"

Maria, you mean we use trickery?

That's exactly what I mean!

But what do we
achieve with that?

The truth!

That's filthy!
Utterly filthy!

Now, now, now...
Calm yourself down.

Well, Maria, that's how
you thought of it.

But you must realise
that it's impossible.

That's not our style.

That is not our policy.
We don't do Wallraff-style journalism.

We joust with our visors open.

What do you think would happen?
if we worked wearing disguises?

We'd get sidetracked.

Sidetracked... sidetracked...
I'm so glad you said that, Melin.

We're not so scrupulous
with most of our stories, are we?

Are you sure you're not just
being a coward, Melin?

No one can fucking say
that I'm that!

No one is going to
fucking stop me from...

Listen! We're going to fucking-well
expose this...

...but without any
Wallraff German trickery!

If it's true!

If there's something in this,
it'll come out!

If we think it should be hidden,
then so be it. But openly!

Coward?!

Are you having a hard time,
personally?

You're worried. I see you're sorry.
There's no point denying it.

You work using something
which lies deep within you.

Otherwise
you're just a technician, right?

Maria is out on a limb
on her own, but headstrong.

That's fine.
Nothing wrong with being like that.

I think our average reader is too.

Plus chubby and emotional.
The people of the future.

Look at the society page...
the young, broad, juicy types...

...with a tear
in the corner of their eye.

They're the ones who get ahead.

Open the family page.

There you have the wiry serious types
who are fast disappearing.

We're moving away
from gravity and puritanism.

On our way to frivolity.

Damn it, if we were to bet big
on it for a month...

Put everything on
the age of sensuality.

Think well of yourself.

Don't be depressed.

Seize the moment.

Maria wants us to invest a month
digging up the dirt on Stenwall.

Well...

Maria is right.

It's both nice and unusual
to have a girl who doesn't give up.

We'll send Maria up to Skelleftea
to talk to the construction workers.

Ask if they want to work
on these projects.

How ordinary people view their work.

Not celebrities
like Stenwall and company,

but our ordinary simple readers.

We have to think of them too.

The chubby workers.

You know what this is about.

If we invest all resources...

...then out will pour an endless flow
of shit about Stenwall.

And about us, too...
into the bargain.

So do we take the gamble or not??

Shall we stop Maria?

Because once the truth
is here on the table...

...then you know very well,
it can never be contained.

Now I want to find out...
Yes or no?

Scotch?

It can't be denied...
You're in the driver's seat.

One can't be too careful.

Circulation rises
and you understand...

...what makes an owner happy.

I know you do,
because you're smart.

We know you don't play ball very well,
but you have a good head.

As circulation increases...

...so does our freedom.

When it goes down,
our freedom diminishes.

Increased circulation...
increased freedom.

Reduced circulation...
reduced freedom.

That's why we have to maintain...

...our incessant struggle
to increase circulation... for freedom.

Everyone's freedom.

No man is an island, Melin.

Just what does all
that bullshit mean?

Bullshit?
This is not bullshit.

Simply put, you are free.
The responsibility is yours.

And I trust you.

When Maria was a child,
she lived next door to a family...

where the kids always said
that they decided for themselves

and they were completely free,

for example to come home at night
whenever they wanted.

They were always home by 8.30,
that was the weird thing.

She once asked...
"If you can come home when you want...

why are you always home
by 8.30?"

They said...
"Because we want to come home by 8.30."

She thought that sounded strange.

You're a good girl, Maria. Brave.

And you don't give up.

Not many girls are like you.

How would you feel about going
to the USA for 6 months?

USA?!

And write a series of articles...
ruthlessly critical, of course...

...about that whole capitalist
rubbish heap.

Somehow I think you're the only one
who has the honesty for such a task.

I would really like to clear up
the shit I'm working on now, first.

Of course...

I understand what you mean,
but...

...you mustn't lock yourself in.

Don't deny an opportunity.

It wouldn't be hard for such a project
to become very prestigious.

One has to have the courage
to constantly reconsider one's attitude.

That's all I mean.

Fucking shit!

Hi, how are things?

Fine.

You didn't come in the Cessna?

Not star reporter Wiren
on an assignment.

We'll get right into it.
One of the union guys is waiting.

Great.

- Great set of wheels, I hear.
- Yeah... fabulous.

- Careful now.
- We think it's fine.

Nobody has anything against
localisation up here.

Hell, it's all about our jobs.

I've only said it as it is.

In that case I say give us more
up here in Upper Norrland.

You in the union
should be more interested...

in what kind of money you get.

Yes, there's that, of course.

Yes, you see what it looks like.

My dad works here.

Why?

I've worked here all my life.

It's like 200 years I've worked here,
worn out, sweating over this sawmill.

It was like the framework
for the whole community.

It was like...

yes, it felt like the sawmill
belonged to everyone.

But then...

Then MoDo comes...
and buys everything up.

They discovered that
there were raw materials here.

Here there was money to be made
by shutting everything down.

Yes, damn it, it's hard to understand.

The sawmill runs well and is profitable.

And then comes a big company
and buys it all up.

Just to earn a hell of a lot
of millions by pulling it down.

But it was legal.

If it was legal, my girl....

If it was legal, then I say
bring more dirty money to Norrland.

Then fucking all will be well.

Listen, you've heard that before,
but it happens anyway.

Sure, that's why.

No, I say...
If one is right, so is the other.

We won't knock back any millions.
Dirty money or not.

Now I've met so many people
who try to hide the truth...

...just because it concerns their jobs.
Now you say exactly the same thing.

I can't fucking cope with it.

Sure you can cope.

You don't strike me
as a quitter.

But what good is it?
I'm on my own.

Yes...

Yeah...

They gang up together.

It's obvious.

They try to block things
so they don't progress.

What should I do?
What should I write?

Either you write it as it is,
which you can't...

...or you say nothing,
which I don't think you should do.

Hello, Maria.

Maria, when will you understand
that this business of economic crime...

...is just a fake problem?

You know that in today's society
there are two things that are important.

Companies' reduced profitability
and the Japanese wage level.

Do you understand?

One sometimes wonders if Swedish society
needs to be run into the ground...

...till the trade union movement is
lying on the floor begging for mercy.

Yes, I readily confess...
I admit there may be things.

You don't have to be
pissed off about it.

You're young,
beautiful and intelligent.

I actually feel a kind of
inexplicable attraction to you.

I admit we should have more articles
about economic crime.

I mean, for example,
with the real estate black-market.

I think that is extremely rotten.

Tell me... Sister Maria...

Hadn't you got your apartment
in Svartmann St

...for 22,000 kronor
on the black market?

That's not a criminal offense.

It's not illegal to BUY black.

Sweet Maria, we all
get our fingers dirty.

There is so much in this society
which is both legal and rotten.

Do you know what I think
we'll do now?

We'll go to my weekender...

...and I'll fuck you silly,
then we'll let this be forgotten.

- Hi.
- Hi.

You're looking fresh...
Just been fucked maybe.

Do you have anything
or are you on vacation?

You do have something...
and fucking long.

Here.

But if we do anything on Laila again,
we have to angle it differently.

He had more pictures
here somewhere.

I've no idea what Maria has written.
Is it interesting?

I'm very afraid we'll be stuck in
something heavy, if we leave Laila...

...her very face...
I feel somehow...

I see a face that is only eyes...

- An eye illustration?
- Yes. Eyes. Laila's eyes.

Really big and questioning
and with a riddle deep inside...

The little man who tells the truth,
that we will not understand.

There we have it. The eyes say...
"You will never understand."

Yes, that's damn good.
Human and yet individual.

Yes, the story ends there...
Honestly, yet open in a riddle.

Melin, you OK with this?

Yes, the questioning eyes
of the individual who asks and asks.

The mystery that ends...

Stop it!

The mystery that ends in a mystery.

Really?!

I think the individual little man
wants some mystery in life.

If there's something wrong
with my article, then just say so.

So, little man...

Do you have something for me?

Yes. Yes, Melin. I actually
have got some new material here.

It's a major American survey
showing...

...that the average length
is now 15.7 centimetres.

And that is actually a reduction
since 1966...

...of 2 millimetres.

Those are pretty worrying numbers.

If you want to stop me,
then do it now.

He's a professional.

He writes about smut,
but checks the facts.

I'll tell you what's wrong, Maria.

You assume.
You don't know.

So it's not true.

Every single word is true and we must
move on. We have the resources...

We take a property owner
who has porn club in his basement.

Who the hell doesn't?

And so you call him a gangster.

Is that a watertight assessment
do you think?

Yes, a porn club in the basement.

It seems to be more common
than you'd think.

Melin, now you're
really talking shit.

You know this holds true.

Economic crime.
We have the resources.

You're all shit-scared.

That's exactly what you are.

We have to be source-critical.

Even that shit Stenwall...

...has the right
to be handled correctly.

And I don't want this turning
into another Geijer saga.

But if we become very attentive...

Be "attentive",
and you'll become a journalist.

Listen...You don't try
to teach me my job.

Damn semi-radical
sugar-coated politico...

...who talks about not daring.

This is purely about
the stakes involved.

We still know far too little.

That's exactly what I think.

Never quite sure...
its all a mystery.

Shut up!

And by the way, Bergman says
that it's all old-hat.

He's a stock-market commentator,
so he should damn well know.

You're scared.

We live in a capitalist society.
I guess that's not news either.

Elemental source criticism requires...

Hang in there, Maria!

Next he'll be throwing
the Watergate guys at you...

...who had two independent sources
for everything they reported.

Isn't that the fucking way
it should be?!

Yes... is that what we see
in the paper every single day?

We put it in as a debate item
on the culture page.

The culture page!

The culture page!

So we'll get onto doing
a bit of work on it.

Stop talking so much. We do have
a paper to get out, right?

- Where's Lill-Babs?
- Page 6.

- So we'll put Laila's eyes...
- No, you and I will talk!

Can you just shut up
so I can get to the point?!

Shall we put Laila's eyes
on the centre spread.

We'll do the mysterious eyes
of the 70s as well.

Lill-Babs and Silvia.

Two young representative Swedish mums.

Our main export item to this world.
Hard and straight. National mix.

Jansson.

You piece of shit!

Listen I think you’re talking
a damned load of crap.

I think you're a coward
who's happy to give up.

We're not giving up.

We’re going on with
the Laila case, aren't we?

In what way?

You have done
a hell of a good job, Maria.

We've got a paper to get out.

We're 45,000 ahead
of 'The Torpedo'.

That's all you think of...
Your damned numbers!

40, 50, 100. That's all you keep
in that skull of yours.

Fuck it, how would you be if you
thought about what you did instead?

Not just about getting the paper out.

At least you feel SOME responsibility.

I'm so tired of this.

If they want to read about their cats,
let them read about their cats.

Which "they" do you mean?

I feel sorry for you,
who's sold out.

With your ambition to be honest,
I think you should change jobs.

So much fucking bullshit!

They talk so much bullshit.

- There's no point to it.
- There's no point to what?

Anything...!

if you think about the stuff
you've done in the past.

Nothing! Not a skerrick!

Listen, let me tell you...

When I was as old as you...

...I also thought
I had my "big thing".

I was in Cuba
to do a story on Hemingway.

I got my interview.

We sat all night drinking.

Probably a damned nice conversation.

In the morning when I woke up...

...I didn't remember
one goddamned word.

I called Hemingway and asked
what we had talked about.

He didn't remember anything, either.

There was no article.
Nothing at all.

Melin, could you and I just talk
with each other for once?

Do you know the poem...

"A little fly on a train at night"?

I don't give a fuck about flies!

Buzz... buzz...!

I'm not going to apologize.

When I was 11 years old...

...my dad died in an accident.

The tractor overturned.

I ran for help...

...but they couldn't get him freed.

They tried for an hour,
then he was dead.

Then I had a dream.

I dreamed I was...

...that I was terribly strong,
could lift everything.

It was as light as a feather.

Just like on the moon.

The last six months,
that dream has returned.

It's strange.

It's like I started dreaming about
a world where the rules don't apply...

...or where they can be changed.

You could imagine a world...

where it was possible
to show everything as it was.

Enemies are enemies...

a friend is a friend and
a gangster is a gangster.

White is white and black is black.

Like when it's raining like hell
in Stockholm one day...

...and afterwards everything
is clear and sharp.

Yes, the plot is quite complicated...
but it boils down to the fact...

...that the duke is in love
with Rigoletto's daughter, eh?

And then she dresses up when he...

Yes, the duke is going
to murder her father...

...and then he kills her instead.

Yes, that's when he sings
that really famous song.

Yes, it's a bit hard to explain...

The plot is not
what's most important.

It's the music that matters most.

Subtitles by FatPlank for KG