One of the Best Films of the Year

Rating: 10/10 (30 August 2010)

In Stockholm, the investigative journalist and chief-editor of the magazine Millennium Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) is sentenced to three months in prison for slandering the corrupt entrepreneur Hans-Erik Wennerström (Stefan Sauk) in an article. Meanwhile the wealthy industrialist Henrik Vanger (Sven- Bertil Taube) and his lawyer Dirch Frode (Ingvar Hirdwall) hire the Milton Security to investigate the life of Mikael, and the hacker Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) finds that he is an honest man. Mikael is invited to travel to Hedeby Island near Hedestadt to meet Henrik at his home and the old man proposes him to investigate who murdered his beloved nephew Harriet that disappeared forty years ago. Mikael moves to Hedeby Island and Henrik delivers all the files of the case. The journalist learns that all the members of the dysfunctional Vanger family are suspect and the three brothers of Henrik were Nazis. Meanwhile Lisbeth is hacking Mikael's computer and she decides to help him with further information about the case. Henrik hires Lisbeth to help Mikael and they discover a series of hideous murders connected to the disappearance of Harriet.
"Män Som Hatar Kvinnor" is one of the best films of the year. The engaging suspense is very well developed, with many characters and subplots that are perfectly resolved without any flaw. Niels Arden Oplev has a tight direction, supported by an excellent screenplay and outstanding cast. Michael Nyqvist and Noomi Rapace in the roles of an investigative journalist and an emotionally disturbed hacker respectively deserve nominations to the Oscar for their top-notch performances. Unfortunately it seems that the American cinema industry is preparing to destroy this awesome film with another remake. The Brazilian title gives a different meaning since "Män Som Hatar Kvinnor" means "Men Who Hate Women". My vote is ten.
Title (Brazil): "Os Homens Que Não Amavam as Mulheres" ("The Men that did not Love Women")
Note: On 14 July 2018 I saw this film again.