The Site for English-Speaking Fans of Henning Mankell's Detective Series
Featuring Kurt Wallander of Ystad, Sweden,
A small town outside of Malmö in the southern province of Skåne.
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The White Lioness
Originally published in Swedish as Den vita lejoninnan
in 1993 and later translated into German as Die weiße
Löwin.
| Jump to: | Synopsis | Reviews | Links | Book Info | Film Info | Product List |
From Random House:
In peaceful Southern Sweden Louise Åkerblom, an estate agent, pillar of the Methodist church, wife and mother, disappears. There is no explanation and no motive. Inspector Kurt Wallander and his team are called in to investigate. As Inspector Wallander is introduced to this missing person's case he has a gut feeling that the victim will never be found alive but he has no idea how far he will have to go in search of the killer and the origin of the crime. In South Africa, Nelson Mandela has made his long walk to freedom, setting in train the country's painful journey towards the end of Apartheid. Wallander and his colleagues find themselves caught up in a complex web involving renegade members of South Africa's secret service and a former KGB agent, all of whom are set upon halting Mandela's rise to power. In an increasingly globalised world Wallander and his team are faced with international terrorism which knows no frontiers - they must prevent a hideous crime that means to dam the tide of history.From Random House:
The execution-style murder of a Swedish housewife looks like a simple case even though there is no obvious suspect. But then Wallander learns of a determined stalker, and soon enough, the cops catch up with him. But when his alibi turns out to be airtight, they realize that what seemed a simple crime of passion is actually far more complex-and dangerous. The search for the truth behind the killing eventually uncovers an assassination plot, and Wallander soon finds himself in a tangle with both the secret police and a ruthless foreign agent. Combining compelling insights into the sinister side of modern life with a riveting tale of international intrigue, The White Lioness keeps you on the knife-edge of suspense.From Amazon description of the film version:
The third of a series of Swedish mysteries featuring small-town Police Inspector Kurt Wallander (based on the novels of Henning Mankell), this one drops the doughy, middle-aged crime solver in the midst of an international conspiracy. It all starts in South Africa, when a pro-apartheid conspirator sends a gaunt, steely-eyed former KGB assassin (icy Jesper Christensen) and a black hit man to Sweden to train for a unnamed killing. The sleepy little town gets a jolt when their hideout is destroyed in a fireball and the remains found in the ashes--a precision firearm, a sophisticated, high-powered radio, and a severed human thumb--lead Wallander back to South Africa. The scenes of beefy Nordic Wallander in a sea of black faces, appalled at the poverty and a little out of his element but always the egalitarian Swede, are among the best of the movie. Rolf Lassgård plays Wallander as a modest, amiable everyman and a dogged investigator tossed into an extreme situation, fumbling at a shootout and clumsily giving chase through frozen city streets but never shirking duty or danger. Director Pelle Berglund sets a deliberate, at times dawdling pace hampered by obscure side trips into Wallander's private life, but fills the film with a combustible conspiracy and terrific characters, notably Christensen's arrogant, icy killer and Basil Appollis's cool, charismatic South African police detective, John September.
- Out of it in Africa by John Mullan for the Guardian Unlimited, 2003-Apr-19
- Inspector Morse meets Sven-Göran Eriksson by Louise France for the Guardian Unlimited, 2003-Sept-07
- Out of cold storage by Susie Maguire for the Sunday Herald, 2003-Apr-06
- Random House page for The White Lioness
- The New Press page for The White Lioness
- Film Afrika page for The White Lioness
- Vanguard Cinema page for the DVD and VHS versions of The White Lioness
- IMDB film page
| Language | Title | Publication Date | Translator |
|---|---|---|---|
Swedish |
Den vita lejoninnan | 1993 | N/A |
English |
The White Lioness | 1998 | Laurie Thompson |
German |
Die weiße Löwin | 1994 | Erik Gloßmann |
Dutch |
De witte leeuwin | ||
French |
La lionne blanche | 2004 | Anna Gibson |
Italian |
La leonessa bianca | 2003 | Giorgio Puleo |
Spanish |
La leona blanca | 2003 | Carmen Montes Cano |
|
Catalan |
La lleona blanca | 2003 | Carolina Moreno |
|
Basque |
?? | ||
Norwegian |
Den hvite løvinnen | 1995 | Kari Bolstad |
Finnish |
Valkoinen naarasleijona | ||
Danish |
Den hvide løvinde | ||
Icelandic |
?? | ||
Portuguese |
A leoa branca | ||
Greek |
?? | ||
Polish |
Biała lwica | 2005 | Halina Thylwe |
Slovenian |
Bela levinja | 2003 | Uroš Kalèiè |
Turkish |
Beyaz Aslan | 2001 | Fatoş Dilber |
Japanese |
白い雌ライオン (Shiroi Mesu Raion) | 2004 | Yumiko Yanagisawa |
Korean |
하얀 암사자 | ||
Vietnamese |
?? |
Film Information
Vanguard Cinema has produced English language versions of this film on both
DVD and VHS and both are available to purchase from Amazon.com (see
the product list section for details). The movie
is interesting but the plot deviates from the book in a number of ways.
The film takes place after apartheid has ended and just before Nelson Mandela
and FW de Klerk are presented with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. The movie
does away with most of the overt racism and struggle against it which is
found in the book and instead focuses on the assassination attempt and bits
of Wallander's personal life. With both the timing changed and much of the
driving force behind the plot removed, most of the tension that made the
book so compelling is absent from the film. On a positive note, The White
Lioness film differs stylistically from the other Wallander movies available
on DVD in that it provides a more ordinary and perhaps more realistic representation
of Ystad. Jesper Christensen is perfectly cast as Konovalenko. Other notable
standouts include Basil Appollis as South African detective John September
and Björn Granath as Police Chief Björk.
) |
) |
) |
) |
| Mabasha & Konovalenko training |
Louise Åkerblom takes a wrong turn |
Robert Åkerblom | Kurt Wallander |
) |
) |
) |
) |
| Linda Wallander | the house of Wallander's father |
Kurt visits his father | Baiba Liepa |
) |
) |
) |
) |
| Svedberg, Ystad Police | Norén, Ystad Police | Martinsson, Ystad Police | Hansson, Ystad Police |
) |
) |
) |
) |
| Otto Björk Ystad Chief of Police |
Marie, Ystad Police | the body is discovered | Louise Åkerblom |
) |
) |
) |
) |
| Miranda | Matilda | the house | Dekker is dead |
) |
) |
) |
) |
| John September | Jan Dekker | Konovalenko and Malan | Wierman |
) |
) |
) |
) |
| Anatoli Konovalenko | Rykoff | Tania | the Russians plan to kill Mabasha |
) |
) |
) |
) |
| Nelson Mandela | Victor Mabasha | Sikosi Tsiki | Konovalenko's last stand |
| Product List | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Books | |||
| Image | Title | Notes | Vendor |
) |
Den vita lejoninnan
|
Publisher: Ordfront Format: Paperback Pages: ISBN: 9170371670 Released: 2005-Jan Status: In Print Markets: |
Ordfront.se |
) |
The White Lioness | Publisher: Vintage Format: Paperback Pages: 384 ISBN: 0099450097 Released: 2003-Sept-04 Status: In Print Markets: |
Amazon.co.uk |
) |
The White Lioness: A Mystery (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard) | Publisher: Vintage Books Format: Paperback Pages: 448 ISBN: 1400031559 Released: 2003-May-13 Status: In Print Markets: 
 |
Amazon.com Amazon.ca |
) |
The White Lioness | Publisher: Harvill Press Format: Hardcover Pages: 372 ISBN: 1860469604 Released: 2003-Apr-03 Status: Available Markets: |
Amazon.co.uk |
) |
The White Lioness: A Mystery | Publisher: New Press Format: Hardcover Pages: 500 ISBN: 1565844246 Released: 1998-Aug Status: Available Markets:
|
Amazon.com Amazon.ca |
) |
The White Lioness | Publisher: Vintage Format: Paperback Pages: 448 ISBN: 0099464691 Released: 2003-Sept-04 Status: Available Markets: |
Amazon.co.uk |
) |
The White Lioness | Publisher: The Scorpion Press Format: Leather Bound, numbered and deluxe editions Pages: 439 ISBN: 1873567588 Released: 2003 Status: Available Markets: |
Scorpion Press Amazon.co.uk |
) |
Die weiße Löwin
|
Publisher: Dtv Format: Pages: ISBN: 3423201509 Released: Status: Markets: |
Amazon.de |
) |
Die weiße Löwin
|
Publisher: Zsolnay Format: Pages: ISBN: 3552051880 Released: Status: Markets: |
Amazon.de |
) |
La lionne blanche
|
Publisher: Seuil Format: Pages: ISBN: 2020591936 Released: Status: Markets:
|
Amazon.fr Amazon.ca |
) |
La leona blanca
|
Publisher: Tusquets Editores,
S.A. Format: Paperback Pages: 504 ISBN: 8483102374 Released: 2003-04 Status: In Print Markets:
 |
Tusquets-Editores.es |
) |
La lleona blanca (Catalan) | Publisher: Tusquets Editores,
S.A. Format: Paperback Pages: 488 ISBN: 8483108798 Released: 2003-04 Status: In Print Markets: |
Tusquets-Editores.es |
| Audio Books | |||
| Image | Title | Notes | Vendor |
) |
The White Lioness | Publisher: ISIS Audio Books Format: CD Length: Unabridged, 13 tapes, 15 hrs 42 mins ISBN: 0753122960 Released: Status: In Print Narrator: Sean Barrett |
ISIS Publishing |
|
|
The White Lioness | Publisher: ISIS Audio Books Format: Cassette Tapes Length: Unabridged, 12 tapes, 15 hrs 42 mins ISBN: 0753119447 Released: Status: In Print Narrator: Sean Barrett |
ISIS Publishing |
| DVD & Video | |||
) |
The White Lioness (2000)
 |
Publisher: Vanguard Films Format: DVD, Region 1, NTSC, Color Aspect Ratio: 4:3 Language: Swedish, English & South African with English Subtitles Rating: Not Rated Released: 2000-June-27 Status: In Print |
Amazon.com Amazon.ca |
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The White Lioness (2000)
 |
Publisher: Vanguard Films Format: VHS, NTSC, Color Aspect Ratio: 4:3 Language: Swedish, English & South African with English Subtitles Rating: Not Rated Released: 2001-July-17 Status: In Print |
Amazon.com Amazon.ca |
) |
Den vita lejoninnan
|
Publisher: Sandrew Metronome
AB Format: DVD, Region 2, PAL, Color Aspect Ratio: 4:3 Language: Swedish Rating: Released: 2003-12-03 Status: In Print |
DVD.se |
) |
Henning Mankell
3 Disc DVD Box Set
|
Publisher: Sandrew Metronome
AB Format: DVD, Region 2, PAL, Color Aspect Ratio: 4:3 Language: Swedish Rating: Released: 2003-12-03 Status: In Print |
DVD.se |
) |
Die weiße Löwin
|
Publisher: Format: DVD, Region 2, PAL, Color Aspect Ratio: 4:3 Language: German Rating: FSK 16 Released: 2005-Dec-02 Status: In Print |
Amazon.de |
) |
La leona blanca
|
Publisher: Llamentol Format: DVD, Region 2, PAL, Color Aspect Ratio: 16:9 Language: Spanish Rating: Released: 2006-Mar-23 Status: In Print |
DvdGo.com |