"Stockholm" (2018 release; 92 min.) opens with the reminder that this is "Based on an absurd but true story". We are in "Stockholm, Sweden, 1973" as we see Kaj (later we learn his real name is Lars) walking into the Kredietenbank, and open a salvo of gunfire. He quickly takes several people hostage, releasing everyone else, and demands that a good buddy of his, Gunnar, be released from prison promptly, or otherwise he will kill one of the hostages. This sets in motion a confrontation with the police chief, who wants to negotiate, rather than give in to Kaj's demands... At this point we are 10 min. into the movie, but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.
Couple of comments: the term "Stockholm Syndrome" is well-known as referring to a situation where hostages become friendly to the hostage taker(s), but do you know the facts of the underlying hostage case? This movie seeks to finally give us the full story of what happened in Stockholm back in 1973. The movie is by Canadian writer-director Robert Budreau, who previously gave us the excellent Chet Baker bio-pic "Born To Be Blue", starring Ethan Hawke. They must've liked their collaboration as Budreau and Hawke reunite for this film, and to great effect. Hawke is outstanding as Kaj/Lars, with just the right amount of swagger and charm. Check out his obsessiveness over Bob Dylan (4 or 5 Dylan songs play throughout the movie). But even better is Noomi Rapace, who stars as Bianca, the bank staff person who comes across as the mousy wife/mother of two young children, but underestimate her at your own peril, as she is determined to live through this. (Even though the movie is set in Stockholm, and Rapace is a Swedish actress, she speaks English for this role.) Christopher Heyerdahl plays the police chief with great restraint and confidence in his negotiating skills. I frankly was transfixed throughout the movie, and yes, there are some absurd aspects to the real-life story, but by no means is the movie a "comedy" or even "comedy-drama" as billed on IMDb: this is a hostage drama, nothing less, nothing more.
"Stockholm" premiered at last year's Tribeca film festival, yes exactly a year ago. It finally received a limited theater release, and opened at my local theater the very same weekend as "Avengers Endgame" (which I have zero interest in seeing). Talk about counter-programming! The Friday early evening screening where I saw this at was attended just so-so (about 10 people), which is a darn shame. Hopefully this movie will find a wider audience as it is released on other platforms. Meanwhile if you are in the mood for a tense hostage drama or have always been curious about the underlying hostage case that provides the origin for the term "Stockholm Syndrome", or if you are simply a fan of Ethan Hawke or Noomi Rapace, you could do a lot worse than this movie. I'd readily suggest you check this out, be it in the theater (if you can), on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.
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