The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (MA 15+) (Swedish) PRESENTED IN 35MM FILM & English Subtitles
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (MA 15+, 2009) (Swedish) Presented in 35mm Film and English Subtitles by The Revival House Perth
Disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) has just lost a libel case that's destroyed his professional reputation when he's approached by wealthy industrialist Henrik Vanger (Sven-Bertil Taube) with an unusual proposition. Vanger wants Mikael to investigate the decades-old disappearance of his niece Harriet, who vanished without a trace forty years earlier. As Mikael digs into the Vanger family's dark history of secrets, corruption, and hidden violence, he's paired with Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace), a brilliant but troubled young hacker with a photographic memory and a history of trauma and institutional abuse. Together, this unlikely partnership uncovers a trail of serial murders connected to the Vanger family, forcing both investigators to confront systemic misogyny and violence against women that spans generations. As they close in on the truth, Mikael and Lisbeth become targets themselves, entering a dangerous game with a killer who has evaded justice for decades.
Director Niels Arden Oplev delivers a gripping, unflinching adaptation of Stieg Larsson's bestselling novel, creating a Swedish thriller that doesn't shy away from its source material's dark themes. Noomi Rapace's performance as Lisbeth Salander is genuinely revelatory—she embodies the character's fierce intelligence, emotional armor, and simmering rage with ferocious commitment, creating one of cinema's most memorable antiheroes. Michael Nyqvist provides a grounded counterpoint as Mikael, whose journalistic integrity drives the investigation forward. The film's Swedish setting is rendered with cold, atmospheric beauty, while the narrative structure builds tension methodically as two damaged individuals form an unlikely bond built on mutual respect and shared purpose. The film confronts violence against women directly and without sensationalism, using genre thriller conventions to explore serious social commentary about institutional failure and generational trauma. This screening presents the original Swedish audio with English subtitles.
Original format and audio experience of this film faithfully reproduced by The Revival House. Presented in 35mm film unless noted otherwise.
When: Saturday, August 15th at 4:20PM
Where: The Revival House at the Como Theatre
Rating: MA 15+ (Strong sexual violence, coarse language and sex scene)