Sound+vision
on the radar
angela kovács
actress
words by Petra Sjouwerman
For Swedish actress Angela Kovács, 2007 has been a good year. She won the prestigious Ingmar Bergman Award back in January for her “rare talent and distinctive presence”, and is half way through filming a series of six feature-length films on location in Gothenburg, starring as police inspector Irene Huss. The first of the thrillers, Tatuerad Torso (The Torso), has just been released in cinemas in Sweden.
Bringing crime writer Helene Tursten’s popular character to life is no great departure for the actress. Kovács has already played a police officer in six Swedish Wallander movies, based on the books by Henning Mankell. “The police film is a familiar concept for me”, says Kovács. “But playing Irene Huss is a great opportunity. As a 43-year-old woman, parts don’t rain on you.”
Before landing the role, Kovács had never read Tursten’s thrillers. “I don’t often read crime stories, but when I knew I was going to play her, I devoured the six books that had been adapted for the series. My reading was coloured from the beginning, because I took her immediately to heart.”
Kovács especially liked that Huss, a modern cop who juggles crime-fighting with family life, is a former European champion in the martial art of Jujitsu. “That got me started practising Jujitsu more than a year ago. It’s a challenge for me, to be able to defend myself and to have a certain attitude that says you can go only so far and no further. It’s really a sport that I like. During filming in the spring and summer there was not much time to practice, but I definitely want to take it up again.”
There is another trait she admires: Irene Huss doesn’t apologise for her actions, she follows her instincts. “She is a bit tougher than me, and that is always nice.” Has Kovács noticed any similarities between the life of an actor and that of a police detective? “As an actor you have to give yourself a full 100%. That’s also what characterises police officers. They’re really passionate about their jobs and they don’t let go until a crime is solved.”
If you missed Tatuerad Torso when it arrived in Swedish cinemas in August, the film – and the other five features in this series – will be shown on television in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Germany, before release on DVD.
avedon’s archive
words by Sophy Grimshaw
During a career at American Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar that spanned the 1940s to 1980s, photographer Richard Avedon pioneered an ambitious style that closed the door on naïve, unimaginative fashion plates. Dovima with Elephants, perhaps his best-known photo, forms part of this retrospective at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Humlebaek, near Copenhagen. Taken during a Dior shoot at a Parisian circus, the strange, stormy image suggests danger and melancholy, and was seen as a defining moment in fashion photography. Avedon shot everything from bright and shiny nudes for Playboy to stark portraits of working people in the American West, while his celebrity portraiture stretches all the way from Marilyn Monroe to Björk – the Icelandic singer’s image is the last you’ll see as you leave the exhibition. Avedon’s ability to illuminate truth in the midst of staging an illusion makes this first full retrospective a cultural highlight of 2007.
Richard Avedon Photographs 1946-2004 24 August – 13 January 2008
Louisiana Musuem of Modern Art, Humlebaek, +45 4919 0719
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Album review
Super Furry Animals – Hey Venus!
The eighth studio album from Super Furry Animals is a picaresque tale of a woman’s descent into gambling addiction. But that theme may only serve as a jumping-off point for their lovably hyperactive sensibility. This consistently winning band spin the roulette wheel of their influences – psych-rock, pastoral pop and even the sunnier side of Elliott Smith – and come up trumps again. Gruff Rhys sings like a wayward Welsh Ray Davies. As one song on the album suggests, SFA are a “gift that keeps on giving”.
Hey Venus! – Rough Trade, out now
Art preview
China Power Station: Part II
The first part of this stunning triple bill was held inside London’s derelict Battersea Power Station last autumn. The series now moves to Oslo, with Part III in Beijing next year. Art is China’s most open – if not most obvious – form of political dissent. Cao Fei’s film of a light-bulb factory and Gu Dexin’s installation of 100,000 slowly rotting apples last year allowed us to assess the real price of cheap imports and rapid economic change. The Norwegian capital awaits similar highlights.
China Power Station: Part II runs 8 September to 16 December at Astrup Fearnley Musuem of Modern Art, Dronningensgate 4, Oslo. +47 2293 6060, www.af-moma.no
Film preview
The Invasion – directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel
After the success of Downfall, which depicted Hitler’s final days, Oliver Hirschbiegel was snapped up by Hollywood for this remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, in which Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig battle an alien virus that is taking over minds. But uncredited forces are also controlling Hirschbiegel’s movie. Apparently, the studio wasn’t happy with his cut, and brought in the Wachowski brothers (of The Matrix fame) for reshoots to ensure The Invasion walks and talks like a zombie blockbuster.
The Invasion – Warner Bros, released from late September
Also out this month…
The eagerly awaited adapation of Ian McEwan’s novel set in the 1930s, Atonement, with Keira Knightley and James McAvoy. Joe (Pride & Prejudice) Wright directs. Plus, the return of Pixar: Brad (The Incredibles) Bird cooks up more tasty CGI comedy with Ratatouille, the story of a picky Parisien rodent who dreams of becoming a famous chef.
Keeping you entertained…
Through September and October, Shrek The Third and Norbit are being shown on selected Sterling flights. Turn to the back of this magazine for more information.
Have you been watching our inflight films? Test your knowledge here
1. Who voices Prince Charming
in Shrek The Third?
a. Justin Timberlake
b. Rupert Everett
c. John Cleese
2. Eddie Murphy stars as several different
characters in Norbit. What is the name of
the movie’s main female character?
a. Ruthie
b. Rasputia
c. Rowenaa
words by Richard Clayton
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