The Man on the Roof (1976)

	Also Known As: Mannen på taket (original), Un Flic sur le Toit (French)
	Year of first release: 1976
	Director: Bo Widerberg
	Actors: Carl-Gustaf Lindstedt, Sven Wollter, Thomas Hellberg
	Country: S
	Genre: Polar
	Conditions of visioning: 13.11.2013, DVD, Home cinema
Synopsis: A police commissioner is violently killed in a hospital. Inspector Berg (Lindstedt) investigates and discovers that the deceased was not a perfect cop.
Review: I usually love the cinema from the 70's and this Swedish polar is no exception. The story is told with an incredible realism, especially the investigation that shows the police officers as human beings. When they discuss about the case it sounds like a realistic discussion. I liked that after a night without sleep because of discovering the murder, they keep on investigating and when they reach a dead-end, two of them discuss: "Normally it would be time for us to go home, but if we keep on pushing a little we may raise a hare". And they go on, although they are evidently extremely tired. I also found the movie to be extremely well photographed, often with a very shallow depth of field centred on the characters faces, probably the work of director Bo Widerberg. I don't like too much the title of the movie, I feel that it spoils a bit the ending and focuses on the action which is not the heart of the story. I rather liked the original title from the novel: "The Abominable Man from Säffle", but I leaned by watching the documentary that this title was found to be not suited for a movie. The French DVD edition is remarkable. The image quality is as good as DVD can give and I had no problem watching it on my largest Home cinema screen as if it were a Blu-ray. The DVD is accompanied by a booklet in which are reproduced two articles from Pierre Charrel, a nordic polar specialist. The first article (that I could find on this website, in french only) provides an analysis of the movie and of the political context in which it was produced. The second article (I also managed to find it on this website, in french only) focuses on the heroes of the original novel series. The DVD also proposes a documentary entitled Med sikte på realism (The realism in sight) by Ronny Svensson and Markus Strömqvist, filled with interviews of people who were involved in the movie making at the time, and who describe the chaotic work of Bo Winderberg. All of this was fascinating. I would almost be tempted to watch other of his movies, but unfortunately I think The Man on the Roof is the only thriller he directed, the others being dramas which is not my favorite genre. One last detail: how did I come to know about this film? Well, I was attracted to a great-looking poster drawn for this movie by Czech cartoonist Kája Saudek in the museum to his name in Prague (see the reproduction below), made some research and then wanted to see the film!
Rating: 9 /10