All the Sins

/refers to Season 1/

Although the Finns entered the Nordic thriller field later than the Danes and Swedes, some 5 years or so have shown talented approaches with several catchy series. And Kaikki synnit is another pleasant example, with distinct characters, beautiful nature, closed community issues and internal/external solitude have been skilfully combined. One can ponder on and over different modern perspectives and backgrounds - even in a remote area like Oulu´s vicinity.

And the performances are great, both leading and supporting, with relatively new faces I have not noticed in other similar series (particular wow! to Tuula Väänänen as Lauri´s mother Maarit).

"Only" 8 points from me as I liked Sorjonen a bit more. But still - worth watching and recommended. Next seasons will apparently follow.

PS Season 2 is a more intensive spin-off when some events unclear in Season 1 got explained. The performances are not so strong and the share of humour is less.

I became quite hooked on the first series although I am not sure why. The characters were interesting and very three dimensional which is rare. The crime element was very much a sub plot. The gist of the series is about two very different cops coming to a brutal realisation of who they are and where they come from. The one thing it lacks, however, is any suspense whatsoever. Not a huge problem, but noticeable. However, season 2 for me is the whole package. I am only on episode 3 but felt compelled to write this review. The acting is fabulous. Matti Ristinen especially steals the show. There is palpable tension in every episode as the righteous but traumatise cop deals with a new world order on one side and suffocating, corrupt religious zealots on the other. Love it.

Season One

Following the murders of two men in a small highly religious Laestadian community in northern Finland two officers are dispatched from Helsinki to investigate. They are Lauri Raiha, a gay man who is having relationship problems and was originally from the community and Sanna Tervo, a woman who appears to be more easy-going but also has certain emotional baggage. Once there Lauri will have to deal with attitudes he thought he'd left behind ten years ago; Sanna will also have problems as she learns of family problems back in Helsinki.

Season Two

This season is set fifteen years before the events in season one and covers a murder investigation that was briefly mentioned in the original season. It is set in the same community and involves police officer Jussi Ritola investigating the suspicious death of a couple. At first it is thought it might be a double suicide or a murder-suicide but events lead Jussi to suspect murder. It won't be an easy investigation; his boss tries to block any line of inquiry that suggests any of the Laestadian community could be involved; he also has personal problems when his wife makes a surprising confession.

I rather enjoyed this Finnish series. The two seasons feature mostly different characters so it is unnecessary to have seen the first season to understand the second; however it is probably preferable. It does serve to explain why certain characters turned out how they are in the first season. The cases are interesting and at six episodes each don't drag. There are plenty of suspects and motives so viewers are likely to be kept guessing until the reveal. The lead characters are solid and nicely varied as are the supporting characters. I liked the setting; both seasons may be set in the same town but they have a different feel as the first is set at midsummer when the sun never really sets and in the second the area is blanketed in snow. The cast does a fine job bringing their characters to life. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to fans of murder mysteries; I hope we don't have to wait too long for a third season.

These comments are based on watching the series in Finnish with English subtitles.

I loved the first season with its human interest background as well as the investigative aspects. The sexuality of Lauri was a factor in the development of the plot inasmuch as it was one of the main reasons for his long-ago departure from the area and the way people reacted to him upon his return. The fractured relationship he has with his husband was in large part engendered by the restrictive teachings of the Laestadian sect of his upbringing. It is hard to believe that such people exist in a modern, progressive society such as Finland that regularly tops the world happiness index and that their cold, exclusionist and rejectionist beliefs cause havoc with the minds of people who are connected to them. This is an overarching theme of both seasons.

Season Two is a prequel, if you will. It stems from a glancing reference made by Lauri to Sanna in the first season about previous murders in the area and is introduced by a "Previously on All the Sins" introduction in the first episode before the theme song comes up. We immediately learn about the murder and who was convicted for it and their relationship to one of the key characters in the first season. After the opening credits, we are transported 15 years into the past before the events of Season One. Clearly the actors and the characters they are playing are nearly all different with a couple of exceptions. Once more, the unforgiving and closed religious community is a major theme and we see again how it closes in to protect its own against perfectly decent and honest non-members.

As in Season One, there are some surprising, but believable, plot twists and turns. Nothing is as it seems and the revelation of the perpetrator and then the final gruesome twist leading to the arraignment in court are hard to watch. Yes, I can understand the actions taken but cannot accept them as justifiable.

I know Finland well, but this sort of religious community controlling whole towns was something I was unaware of. This particular setting takes place in a fictional town in the vicinity of Oulu, a lovely part of the country where normality, thankfully, reigns.

This was an original concept, well shot and acted with plot devices that held the attention throughout. The acting was excellent and the characters seemed true to life in their roles. Six episodes per season was just right.

I'm hoping that there will be a Season Three!

This is a little gem of a series. The performances are truly top-notch and I found myself tearing up near the end, which I rarely do. The lead actor and actress are incredibly solid and vulnerable. The screenwriting and plotting was solid. The filmography and landscapes are beautiful and you can really feel that you're watching Ostrobothnia--could the landscape be more flat?

The theme of the series really is about the trauma of religion. I have rarely seen a movie/TV-series tackle the subject with such vulnerability and from so many points of view. It's interwoven with grief, internalized homophobia and domestic violence. The storytelling comes across with very little melodrama, except for the culmination at the end. That's one of the reasons I didn't rate this a total 10/10. But the ending was well done and believable to me, so it isn't a huge complaint, and perhaps the culmination needs some extra drama, so it may be just a personal thing. Some characters, like the business man, were also too stereotypically depicted to my liking. But again, that is a small complaint in the big picture.

Bonus points for Lauri's mother's performance. It still brings me goosebumps when I think back on it. Such raw grief and guilt really makes you feel for her even with everything you know about her. But it's the humanity coming across in the series. I also thought it was very well done to have Lauri slowly start to speak more and more in his childhood dialect as the series went on. This is something foreigners won't catch, but it was a very satisfying detail for them to include, as that's what happens when one goes back.

I have ties to Laestadianism and what is portrayed does ring true to me. But I'm sure only someone who has left the religion can truly say anything about this depiction of it.