Hvide Sande

Last decade or so has seen the rise of Scandinavian series where events occur in a smaller area or community, (e.g. Morden i Sandhamn, Sommerdahl) where beautiful local landscape and dense human contacts have a different approach than in cities or international communication, plus enabling less known actors to star.

Hvide Sande is another example of this, where the beauty of Jutland West Coast is revealed and the solving of the crime itself is not the primary reason for the Series. The plot is yet not too smooth, with several cliches, and I can´t say that the leading performers provided wow-performances (at times, it was funnier to watch the dog... :)) But as the motives of the crime itself and the round-up were interesting and I did not guess the wrongdoer, I can easily rate it with 7 points.

PS Such series are apparently meant to boost tourism - not a single rainy day in the Series (as in Sommerdahl)) but those who have lived-visited Denmark, even in summer, know that it is a big exception :)

This is not a crime series. This is Romeo and Juliet, located on the sea shore of Denmark. After the classic of all series - Forbrydelsen - new Scandinavian crime series have been produced almost factorywise. Much of these are pretty similar. Highly entertaining, but easily forgotten once you press the 'Next' button. Hvide Sande has all the ingredients of those series: two cops, a young murder victim, and a remote rural region, inhabited by obscure and secretive characters. But Hvide Sande weaves these into a Grand Love Story. Usually, when you watch a crime series, you can't wait to watch the next episode, to unravel the mystery and solve the crime. In Hvide Sande, it's impossible to turn off the screen for quite another reason: it would be like abruptly stopping the most tender of kisses. The dialogues between the two protagonist are on a literary level. And sharp and witty on top. The psychological elaboration of the characters is impressive, making you feel connected to them all the way through the story. This psychological depth characterizes the story as a whole as well. We don't see the usual hardened thugs and creepy psychopaths. Hvide Sande takes us instead to elderly homes, hippie communities, real estate agencies, and university libraries. I read a Danish reviewer here who states that the portrayal of Danish rural life in Hvide Sande is utterly unrealistic. Well, that's a fact. The series unveils a romantic world that even in Jutland never existed. But where we all would love to be, and never would want to leave. Just like the kiss the male protagonist describes. A kiss that never happened. But that made him forget time and space, and that he wanted to never end.

Definitely not the usual quality one has come to expect from a Danish tv-series. As a crime show, it's very poorly written. The plot is weak, and the 'investigation' is almost laughable. Some of the dramatic events and their resolve are extremely illogical and makes the main characters seem pretty stupid. The characters overall are very stereotypical and not at all believable. The show feels like a poor-mans version of the british 'Death in Paradise' without the intentional comic relief.

Good acting but terrible script and appalling continuity and direction. Really poor quality story line and not up to Danish standards.

Once again a really good crime thriller. (clearly from a Danish source) For me, who also like Norwegian crime thrillers very much, a reason to try this series and I was not disappointed. However, this is not a dark and gloomy Nordic crime thriller as you would typically expect. This one is carried with a lightness of touch and shows the local landscape at its best and weather at its best.

A very likeable leading lady with a somewhat grumpy partner played very well by Carsten Bjørnlund and a heart-warming dog. A perfect mix to solve the murder of a surfer on a snow-white, beautiful beach in Denmark. Everything is so beautiful that we immediately wanted to move our vacation to Denmark :-)

There is no shortage of suspense either. The story is multi-layered and unpredictable, so you want to know what happens next at the end of each episode. Plus a little pinch of local Danish humor. A successful mixture.

So it was a bad decision to choose it as a crime thriller before going to sleep, as there was rather little sleep :-)

A recommendation for all Nordic crime thriller fans.

--------------- Conclusion:

Excellent - This makes crime thrillers entertaining.