Snöänglar

Sometimes almost too painful to watch, but this features an astonishing performance by Maria Rossing as Maria - I cannot find words to adequately describe it and don't want to issue spoilers. But the acting all round is just superb, and especial mention has to go to the young girl who plays Nicole. Best drama I have watched in ages.

A very realistic series about a number of bad decisions in your life, unwilling criminals and innocent victims. The actors' and actresses' play is as usual in the Swedish, Danish films, outstanding. As much as we don't want to notice and acknowledge...life is more than black and white.

It's quite realistic in the sense that so many families are struggling like this. Poor, drug abuse, mental health issues, etc. The one I feel most sorry for is Nicole!

None of the characters are very likeable but I think that's on purpose. Good acting and interesting story, even if a little predictable.

I am surprised that this excellent series hasn't received better reviews.

At the heart of it is a troubled family: Jenni, a borderline addict not recovering well from a difficult pregnancy and having to deal with an unsettled baby (Lucas) and mothering a young, deaf daughter, Nicole. Nicole, herself, is shattered by her parents' distraction with the baby and Jenni's inability to take adequate care of her. And then there's Salle, a recovered addict, struggling in the grey economy of low-paid part-time jobs in an effort to provide adequately for his family while having to care for Nicole when Jenni can't. Jenni's mother is somewhat sympathetic but critical of Jenni and reluctant to help with care.

Beyond the family is Alice, an experienced police officer caring for a husband who's recovering slowly from a stroke, and managing some tense relationships at work. Maria is a middle-aged paediatric nurse, unable to have children of her own and constantly frustrated by the failures of the medical and social work systems to provide adequate care and nurturance for vulnerable children. Finally, there's Emma, a pregnant teenage runaway who seeks sanctuary with Maria.

At the heart of the story is the question of parenthood, primarily motherhood--those who cannot have children (Maria), those who decide not to have them (Alice), those having them by accident (Emma), those who choose or feel obliged to have them (Jenni) and those whose children have grown up, leaving the question of one's ongoing obligation, and those dealing with inadequate parents.

When Lucas disappears in a horrific snowstorm on Christmas Eve, his disappearance is initially put down to Salle's and Jenni's irresponsibility by an indifferent police force and it's only when Alice hears of it that the tension begins to build.

Over the course of 6 episodes, the question of who took Lucas remains a tense question, but I found myself increasingly drawn into the question of what would happen to all of these people. Without any trace of sentimentality or excuse making, the awfulness of personal lives, the consequences of mistakes made at key moments and the flaws of everyone involved mean a doubled mystery and tension.

From early on, the one who dunnit is reasonably obvious, with only one or two possibilities. But that doesn't matter. We are not asure till episode 5 (episode 6 adds its own tense uncertainties) who it was and by then the momentum carries you to the last frame.

The series starts slowly and is never rushed--one obvious reason for the limited reviews. But the pace of this slow-cooked mystery enriches it, allowing depth and comprehension that would be lacking without the time. It's worth patient viewing, paying attention to characters as well as crime.

The cast are great. Nicole, played by Nikole Bartnas, as the confused kid, loved but neglected; and Maria, played by Maria Rossing, who progressively reveals her sadness and need to love others, are stand-outs. But it's Ardalan Esmaili, as Salle, floundering, doing his best to juggle unmanagable responsibilities, and driven to desperation by his grindingly unfixable situation, stricken by tragedy and others' behaviour, who really makes this series .

It's possible there could be a second series about which I feel ambivalent--hard to imagine that they could top this.

This is one of the few Scandinavian series when viewers can see that so-called native local people can also live in poverty and misery (usually this is visible when depicting post-1990 immigrants). The situations are both tragic and somber, and intertwining 3 cases and multiple characters provides additional value to the series. True, the potential wrongdoer as to the baby is somewhat revealed too soon (in spite of somewhat artificial distractions), but the real circumstances remain mystery up to the end. All the scenes are accentuated by harsh weather conditions and gray winter sky = climate is a strong supporting cast here.

The performances are also okay, with many faces not visible in every Swedish-Danish series :) Well, Eva Melander is a kind of star in Scandinavia, but Maria Rossing was a pleasant surprise, previously unknown to me.

Thus, Snöanglar is a solid series, yet not Innan vi dör or Bron/Broen, and with certain triviality in depicting police officers, particularly headstrong ones...