The Hypnotist: Lasse Hallström thriller is Sweden’s Best Foreign Language Film Oscar 2013 submission
The Hypnotist, Lasse Hallström’s first thriller ever and the Academy Award-nominated director’s first Swedish film in more than a quarter of a century, is Sweden’s official submission for the 2013 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. Starring Mikael Persbrandt, Lena Olin (a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nominee for Enemies: A Love Story), and Tobias Zilliacus, The Hypnotist opens in Sweden on September 28.
The Hypnotist plot
Based on Lars Kepler’s crime novel, The Hypnotist is described (via the Swedish Film Institute’s press release) as "a brutal story about a murderer that has virtually done away with an entire family. A son manages to survive with serious injuries, and the hunt to find the killer before he gets to the last remaining daughter is on." Hallström’s film is in competition for the Golden Shell at the upcoming San Sebastian Film Festival.
Note: Lars Kepler is a pseudonym for husband and wife authors Alexander Ahndoril and Alexandra Coelho Ahndoril.
Lasse Hallström Oscar nominations
Lasse Hallström has been nominated for three Academy Awards. In 1987, he was in the running for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay (with Reidar Jönsson, Brasse Brännström, and Per Berglund) for My Life As a Dog. In 1999, Hallström was once again a Best Director nominee for The Cider House Rules, featuring future Spider-Man Tobey Maguire, Charlize Theron, Michael Caine, and Paul Rudd.
In the directing category, in ’87, Hallström lost to The Last Emperor‘s Bernardo Bertolucci (who also shared with Mark Peploe the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar). In ’99, Hallström lost to American Beauty‘s Sam Mendes.
The 2013 Academy Award nominations will be announced on January 10, 2013. The Academy Awards ceremony will take place on February 24, 2013.
The Hypnotist photo: AB Svensk Filmindustri.
