646f9e108c Police lieutenant Nyman is murdered in his hospital bed and Martin Beck and his colleagues have another murder to solve. They discover that Nyman was a very tough policeman who received several complaints about his methods. His partner Hult defends him against these accusations, while Nyman&#39;s widow explains that Hult was the only one outside of the family who knew where Nyman was hospitalized. It becomes obvious to Beck, that a lot of people wanted Nyman dead, but he is not the only one targeted. Soon a sniper kills policemen from a roof in central Stockholm. And perhaps the best opportunity I have Stateside to explain its appeal after my first viewing nearly 30 years ago.<br/><br/>The novels featuring Martin Beck were skillfully written by a married pair of avowed Marxists in a style that was clinical yet neither entirely detached nor heavy-handed. Call them police procedurals, social commentary or political thrillers, or some amalgam if you like, but I had no connection whatsoever to their setting, and there was no reason I should have enjoyed them. But I did on first read, and still do, for I know these people and daresay you do too.<br/><br/>The film adaptation of &quot;The Abominable Man&quot; (a reference to the first victim) has a relentlessness that at times irritates and exaggerates any necessary pause. The casting and acting are purposive and earnest throughout. The directorial style, photography and editing are FAR superior to &quot;the drunken cameraman&quot; that permanently distracted me from Stateside police dramas in the Nineties. With insight you will identify the man on the roof early on, but by then it won&#39;t matter. You may remain puzzled by some of the characters&#39; decisions, Beck&#39;s final one in particular.<br/><br/>Just sit back and watch Beck, Roenn, Kollberg, Larsson, Malm and others wrestle with a practically insoluble problem that puts many lives at risk in the worst possible environment, then wonder if you have not in fact viewed a documentary if not a primer. This is one of the greatest Swedish police movies ever made. Sure, it is a child of is time, the mid 70&#39;s, but is has something other movies lack: tension and a documentary feel.<br/><br/>Yes, it has a slow beginning. It doesn&#39;t have the mantra of modern movie makers: pace.<br/><br/>Modern movies, regardless of genre, are to often cut to hard. One scene too much is often removed. Not in this movie, though. It is something so rarean action movie with a slow pace and actual police work.<br/><br/>One of Sweden&#39;s most famous comedy actors of all times plays Martin Beck: the late Carl-Gustaf Lindstedt. He&#39;s doing the greatest portrait of this disillusioned policeman ever. Gösta Ekman, Peter Haber and Walter Matthau were not even close. <br/><br/>Mannen på taket is a great movie, has great actors, and is a great time document. A must see in my opinion. If you can see past modern movie cliché heroes and big explosions that is. There is a reason that no one has done a remake of this movie. All other books with Martin Beck has been filmed countless of times, but not this one… (It&#39;s named Den vedervärdige mannen från Säffle in Swedish or The Abominable Man in English).
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