Wallander

Being a fan of detective dramas and having watched the BBC's version of Wallander I was interested to see what the original was like when it aired on BBC4. Unfortunately I didn't catch all of the episodes but I enjoyed all of the ones I saw, in fact I preferred it to the British version.

Each episode follows a single case so it doesn't matter too much if you miss the occasional episode. Krister Henriksson is great as the eponymous Kurt Wallander, a police inspector in the Swedish city of Ystad. He isn't the only Wallander in the department, his daughter Linda is also on the force. She is played by the late Johanna Sällström who did a great job, it was rather sad watching it to know that this able actress is no longer alive.

The episodes I saw were all gripping, they also contained a bit more gore than one would expect in a British detective series set in attractive scenery, it isn't over the top though so shouldn't offend anybody unless they have a really weak stomach.

I'd certainly recommend this to all fans of detective fiction, it is a shame that it was aired on digital only BBC4 rather than getting a slot on BBC2 where it might get a larger audience; it seems they are afraid of showing anything subtitled on a major channel.

It's as if Krister Henriksson has just stepped off the page of one of Henning Mankell's books and transferred to the screen with his portrayal of the Swedish detective. Everything about this tv series is just right. The best of all the scandi noir crime dramas.

There is a great pleasure to be had in watching cinema in a language that you do not understand;an adventure and straining of your faculties in trying to derive the meaning of phrases that sometimes do resemble English, but not totally.The sub-titles help.Henriksson is the consummate actor, at once the father figure and also the failed father-man.I have always found a certain attractive sparsity in Swedish drama that contrast the more over-weighty and over-wordy cinema of British and American traditions,a leaner more trenchant quality.Sometimes quite a bit less is more, especially in convoluted and complex narrations that seemingly have no apparent solution but deliver more satisfaction and amusement in the final denouement. This is without a doubt much better that what was a very good English production.Intelligent acting,enticing cinematography,and story plots to match!

I've seen both recent episodes on the BBC4 channel, and think the show is simply excellent. The gritty style of Kurt Wallander, played superbly by Krister Henriksson, along with some very skilled direction and scriptwriting, make this a gripping detective series. It's not for the faint-hearted either as some scenes are very graphic. The nasty stuff genuinely sends chills down your spine, something very difficult to achieve. While the general character of the Swedes is one of reserve and ice, the scenes of violence and gore differentiates this from the normal stereotype. The cinematography is excellent, and it is a show I would recommend to many Film Studies students.

The supporting cast is the one possible weakness in this show, and more could be done to bring them into it more. Otherwise a very good show. BBC have unearthed a winning detective series

First of all, greetings from Finland, Kurt Wallander! I usually do not watch a lot film series, but this is just so much different. Better. Much better than ANY other detective series out there. Right now one of our TV-channels are presenting a Wallander movie on Saturdays every week! I'm always eagerly waiting another one and it's easily a highlight of my whole week/weekend at the moment!

Krtister Henriksson is the main reason. Absolutely fantastic actor. He really may be the most memorable and impressive character which I've ever seen. He's calm and clever. I have always good feeling when I watch him playing the role of Kurt Wallander. It's.. Almost like a magic.

Of course the script and screenplay is also very important factor in detective stories. Of course there's couple things here and there which are just slightly impractical or clichés but that actually hasn't never bothered me.

Conclusion; After every movie, I'm happy. And when Wallander usually just walks away at the end of the movie and music starts playing, I feel great, I smile and get shivers. What could be better feeling after watching a movie?

I'm absolutely loving these movies. Krister Henriksson, thank you for being Kurt Wallander for all these years. Golden times that we will never forget.