The White Lioness

Rating:
Summary: A better than average TV movie
Review: Fans of novelist Henning Mankell will enjoy this film, if only for the opportunity to see police inspector Kurt Wallander brought to life on the small screen. This film is only a loose adaptation of Mankell's novel (which is probably too complex to film in its entirety, in any case), and those expecting a faithful treatment may be a little disappointed; however, it succeeds in capturing the essence of Wallander's world, and that alone makes it worthwhile viewing. It's also a well-paced crime drama, with a suitably nail-biting climax.

TV adaptations of most of Mankell's novels have been made, but so far this is the only one that seems to be widely available outside of Sweden. Let's hope that someone sees fit to release the rest of them!

Rating:
Summary: A better than average TV movie
Review: Fans of novelist Henning Mankell will enjoy this film, if only for the opportunity to see police inspector Kurt Wallander brought to life on the small screen. This film is only a loose adaptation of Mankell's novel (which is probably too complex to film in its entirety, in any case), and those expecting a faithful treatment may be a little disappointed; however, it succeeds in capturing the essence of Wallander's world, and that alone makes it worthwhile viewing. It's also a well-paced crime drama, with a suitably nail-biting climax.

TV adaptations of most of Mankell's novels have been made, but so far this is the only one that seems to be widely available outside of Sweden. Let's hope that someone sees fit to release the rest of them!

Rating:
Summary: Photography too dark, plot nothing like the novel
Review: For those who have read the novel The White Lioness and are expecting a faithful adaptation, this movie is not for you. While it is understandable that many times plots are rewritten for film, the sudden change of the assasination attempt from South Africa to Norway is confusing to me. The photography of the film leaves much to be desired too. The lighting is simply too dark, making it almost impossible to see the faces of the many black characters in this film. I've seen movies from Scandinavia better made than this one. If you want a good suspensful Scandinavian movie, try Insomnia instead.

Rating:
Summary: Good suspense and scenes of Sweden & South Africa
Review: I watched this movie first, then now reading the original novel.

Obviously, this movie seems going after "The day of the Jackel" in many points, and different far from its original.
But I take this movie, rather than the novel.
This movie is free from most of the defects of the original - the lack of consistency (though still opportunistic in some points).

Besides, you can travel the scenes of both of Swedish suburben and South African city (mostly its people's life scenes).

The images are graceful, from which you would feel the dark, cold atmosphere of southern Sweden, and dry South African air.

And I suppose I don't mind the darkness of its images another reviewer pointed out based on the VHS edition - the staff might consider her/his cliticism when they produced this DVD edition.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty Good
Review: Pretty Good for Swedish, I think Made for TV, international detective movie