FREDONIA – “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” based on the international best-selling novel by the late Stieg Larsson, is the next featured film in the Cinema Series at the 1891 Fredonia Opera House. It will be screened on Sat., June 19, at 8 p.m. and Tues., June 22, at 7:30 p.m.
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” is the first in a trilogy of novels by Larsson that have become a worldwide publishing phenomenon. Director Niels Arden Oplev’s film version became the biggest grossing European film of 2009. In it, a disgraced journalist and troubled young female computer hacker investigate the mysterious disappearance of a wealthy industrialist’s niece.
Forty years ago, Harriet Vanger disappeared from a family gathering on the island owned and inhabited by the powerful Vanger clan. Her body was never found, yet her beloved uncle is convinced she was murdered and that the killer is a member of his own tightly knit but dysfunctional family. He employs disgraced financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist and the troubled but resourceful computer hacker Lisbeth Salander to investigate.
When the pair link Harriet’s disappearance to a number of grotesque murders from almost 40 years ago, they begin to unravel a dark and appalling family history. But the Vangers are a secretive clan; and Blomkvist and Salander are about to find out just how far they are prepared to go to protect themselves.
Betsy Sharkey, of the Los Angeles Times, calls the film “a mind-bending and mesmerizing thriller that takes its time unlocking one mystery only to uncover another, all to chilling and immensely satisfying effect.” Joe Morgenstern, of the Wall Street Journal, calls it “a stylish thriller with real complexity, people with interesting faces, a sensational actress cast as an ambisexual Goth hacker heroine – the news about ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ is nothing but good!” Steven Rea of the Philadelphia Inquirer calls it “rife with nightmarishly violent and horrific behavior. It’s intense, graphic, frightening ... and yes, exhilarating!” Bob Mondello, of National Public Radio, says “The author (Larsson) is a sharp social critic, so what his characters uncover isn’t just crime, but a whole dark side to Swedish society – not least a terrible, sadistic misogyny.” Unrated, “The Girl with the Dragoon Tattoo” is in Swedish with English subtitles. It runs 128 minutes.
Please note that this film, while not rated, contains considerable graphic violence, depictions of sadistic sexual practices and rape.
The Opera House Cinema Series is sponsored by Cliffstar Corporation. Tickets for Cinema Series movies are available at the door for $7 (adults), $6.50 (seniors & Opera House members) and $5 (students & children) the night of each showing. The series continues with “Letters to Juliet” on June 26 & 29; “The Lottery” on July 9; “Babies” on July 10 & 13; and “City Island” on July 24 & 27. For more information, call the Opera House box office at 716-679-1891.
Chautauqua County’s only year-round performing arts center, the 1891 Fredonia Opera House is a member-supported not-for-profit organization located in Village Hall in downtown Fredonia. For a complete schedule of events, visit www.fredopera.org.
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TAGS
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Larsson, Fredonia Opera House, cinema series, Cliffstar |
