Doktor Glas Novel Transformed into Modern Swedish Thriller Film

In the center of Hjalmar Söderberg's novel from 1905 stands the lonely doctor Tyko Gabriel Glas. He becomes acquainted with a young woman who is unhappily married to an older priest, and the doctor is faced with difficult moral questions about love, freedom, death, and justice.

Psychological thriller

When Söderberg's classic is now made into a film, it does not take place at the turn of the last century – "Doktor Glas" is a psychological thriller in a contemporary Sweden.

The film is directed by Erik Leijonborg, the script is written by Isac Calmroth who also plays the title role. To step into the role of Doctor Glas has been tough at times, says Calmroth:

In our version, he is a younger, lonely, intellectual guy with a lot of self-hatred, and therefore quite dangerous. I got quite a lot of anxiety myself.

The role of the young woman Helga Gregorius is played by Thea Sofie Loch Næss, and her husband is played by Christian Fandango. In the novel, Gregorius is a priest, in the film version, he is a prize-winning author.

That "Doktor Glas" takes place in the present has freed Calmroth from some of the pressure it can mean to revive a beloved classic. It also makes it easier not to compare with other film adaptations, such as Mai Zetterling's "Dr Glas" (1968) with Per Oscarsson in the lead role, he means:

Per Oscarsson was a fantastic actor, but we are doing a very different interpretation. In a way, you have to kind of kill the book, it must not exist. If you don't do that, it will just be a bad imitation.

For everyone

That the story of Doctor Glas still holds, over 100 years later, has several reasons, according to Calmroth. Partly because it is a "fantastic contemporary depiction", but also because of the life issues it touches on.

It's about who is really evil or good, about morality, evil, goodness, about equality in relationships. But I hope that the film, even though it is a classic, will be for everyone, he says.

Sara Haldert/TT