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"I hope that the movie will raise the
question of what has happened to Sweden. Where did
the Civil War take the road and what happened to the
word solidarity? This was a time when Sweden stood for
something important and valuable in the world. Now it's
very quiet."
Michael was fascinated by Edelstam's
unscrupulous virtue and morality. He wondered how he
would have acted.
"I would have been afraid to die."
Michael Nyqvist was twelve years old
when the coup in Chile occurred.
"It became a political awakening for
me. I remember when the television reporter Jan
Sandquist's photographer was killed while filming."
It was only when Michael came to Santiago to film did he
understand the extent of Harald Edelstam's work.
"Every day people came and thanked me
for what he did. I met a woman who says goodnight to his
business card every night."
Several strong scenes are recorded in
the National Stadium, which after the coup became a
regular concentration camp. Film teams were released
into a corridor that had been closed since the coup.
"It was immediately unpleasant to film inside the
stadium, in that hallway where many were dead and
tortured hard. I felt a bit ridiculous, actually. Here
we go and pretend. So I had to make a decision before my
profession. Now you take this seriously! Sharpen
yourself now, Nyqvist! "
During filming, the production
received death threats from an extreme-right radio
channel.
"It was unpleasant. Clearly, I was
afraid."
Filming was anything but a dream and
Michael chose to be extra careful.
"For my own safety, I got police
protection." |
