Menschen in Angst

I just finished reading the book 3 days ago and I was anxious to see the series (pun intended). The trailer was a bit of a turn-off since it marketed the series as a crazy comedy which it really isn't. If something, it's a study of human souls. So minus 1 point already.

How did I rate it? There were some things in the book that didn' t make it to the series, minus 1 point. On the other hand, there were some things that weren't in the book but the writers probably thought it was a good idea to create them for no reason. Minus 1 point. Don't wanna sound superficial but the younger cop looking like a hamster really didn't help. Minus 1 point. I really enjoyed the older, experienced actors who portrayed Anna-Lena and Jim. Plus 1 point. And that is how I came to 7/10. Read the book!

Swedish series on netflix. When a bank robbery goes wrong, the thief takes people hostage at an open house nearby. And the local police force is father and son leif and jack. When they finally get in the apartment, something is not right.... what really happened here?? The father wants to just close up the case, since no money was taken at the bank, but the son is persistent. It's fun, watching everyone scramble to figure out what the heck happened. The captions are well done, in voice tone and in translation. Directed by felix herngren. Based on the book by fredrik backman.

I almost stopped watching after the first episode, but glad I didn't. I ended up bingeing the whole thing in one sitting. It's a touching and heartwarming crime mystery set in a small(?) town of Sweden. The episodes reveal the stories of all the hostages in a well paced and well played manner. However, it's not a comedy even thought Netflix claimes it is, which was also part of the reason I almost stopped watching, cause I had the wrong expectations. It is somewhat quirky, and it's well worth the watch.

I'm a huge fan of Fredrik Backman and this Netflix series is an excellent adaption of his book "Anxious People". The Netflix series develops the story characters very slowly and methodically in six 30-minute episodes.

I think this is one of the few cases where the film version has captured the book almost perfectly. Backman is a master story teller and the film is pretty much how I imagined the characters when I read the book.

This is not an action packed crime drama so you may be disappointed if that is what you were expecting. Despite the crime backstory, it is actually a very quite story about a group of random people brought together in a very unusual situation that end up bonding together in the most unusual way possible.

The film and book have a surprisingly philosophical message that is very positive and encouraging. I recommend you pay close attention to the dialogue near the end between the elderly woman and the police officer when she says, "When you get a chance to save someone, you take it."

Yet another case of a screenplay not coming close to the quality of the book. Fredrick Backman's book is outstanding, and he must be sorely disappointed with this series. I understand that Tom Hanks is making a movie of "A Man Called Ove", and I sure hope he does a better treatment of that Backman masterpiece.

The acting in this is adequate, but I think that several of the actors were miscast. Much of Backman's delicious humor never made it to the screen, and one wonders why on earth they didn't simply do a more faithful rendering even if it meant shooting a few more episodes. Perhaps the budget for this was a victim of Netflix financial woes.