A spellbinding amalgam of murder mystery, family saga, love story, and financial intrigue. It's about the disappearance forty years ago of Harriet Vanger, a young scion of one of the wealthiest families in Sweden . . . and about her octogenarian uncle, determined to know the truth about what he believes was her murder.

Fans of the late crime novelist Stieg Larsson are getting lost in the Swedish countryside, searching for the quaint town of Hedestad featured in "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo."

No, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is not a true story. However, Stieg Larsson gained his inspiration from real events. When he was fifteen, he stood by as a girl he knew named Lisbeth was gang-raped. He did not have the courage to intervene then, and this event continued to haunt him as an adult.

Portrayal Of Lisbeth Salander In the Swedish adaptation, she is attacked by multiple people, gaining the upper hand by brandishing a bottle against them. The 2011 movie, on the other hand, sees her attacked by one person, managing to evade them after a struggle.

Even though Lisbeth saves Mikael's life at the end of the film, it's not enough to make true love work. In the final scene, Lisbeth is ready to meet Mikael with flowers when she discovers him with his former lover. She throws out the flowers and storms away. Love really is a battlefield.

Some of the moral and ethical issues in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo are straightforward: Nazism = bad; murder, rape, torture, physical abuse = bad; global financial fraud and organized crime = bad.

The book takes place in fictional Hedestad in the bastion of traditional Swedish culture near Dalarna Province.

While it is never explicitly stated, Salander seems aware of her own autistic tendencies. She exists on a spectrum, never clearly diagnosed nor labelled, though Mikael Blomkvist speculates that she may have Asperger Syndrome. This lack of definition is liberating, in a sense.

The biggest example of gender-based violence that occurs in the films is the rape scene between Salander and Burjmann. The first attack, Burjmann against Salander, is immediately sexual in nature. Salander even expects it, she brings a camera for blackmail.

Why is Girl with the Dragon Tattoo being remade in an American film version? There is a larger market here (U.S.) and beyond for an American version of the story and audiences, especially fans of the great David Fincher, would love to see a take on the novels with this great director helming.

Martin Vanger Martin Vanger is the main antagonist of the late Stiegg Larsen's novel The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, and its two film adaptations. He is a wealthy businessman who is secretly a serial killer, having been "trained" at a young age by his father, Gottfried. In the 2009 film, he was portrayed by Peter Haber.

Gnesta As situated near the county boundary Gnesta is served by Stockholm commuter rail which has a terminus here. Gnesta is the location for the 2009 film adaptation of the Stieg Larsson book The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, representing the fictional Hedestad and Hedeby Island.