not_john_cleese

In a world where the superb Franco-Belgian series "Astrid et Raphaelle" (2019; IMDb ID tt11950864) wouldn't exist, Patience would be a decent effort, meriting perhaps 6/10 or 7/10. However, we live in a world where (thankfully) the original series "Astrid et Raphaelle" does exist. I would strongly recommend anyone who plans to watch Patience to watch "Astrid et Raphaelle" instead.

In "Astrid et Raphaelle", Astrid is the main character and her autism and journey to interacting more easily with "normies" is the red thread through the (40+ so far) episodes. This is a slow process for which we get a first-row seat. Also, the actress playing Astrid is absolutely outstanding and you really feel empathy towards her, you root for her and are occasionally left with a lump in your throat.

By contrast, in Patience everything feels hurried. In only six episodes Patience/Astrid starts to smile, hugs a kid and kisses a man, more or less "just like that". No slow, shared journey with insights into Astrid's inner being. Patience/Astrid is barely the main character, which is odd since the series is named after her. It feels that the rush causes Patience/Astrid to be used as a deus ex machina more than a character - the bringer of missing links just in time to catch the culprit. On top of that, the story lines are recycled from the original series as well. All in all, Patience feels like a rushed and lazy series.

PS: One of the episodes of Patience features a character called Peter Venkman. Surely, this must be a conscious reference to Bill Murray's character in Ghostbusters... :-)

Wow. What have I just been watching? Who decided that making this "film" was a good idea? Is it a tax write-off? A crowd-funded passion project, made with friends, family and maybe some of the funders? (The large number of exec and assoc producer credits would appear to favour the latter.)

The plot has more holes than an average road in Britain. The dialogue is matched in cringeworthiness only by the acting (and obvious lack of professional direction). The lightning of the night scenes made me laugh out loud. If I have to list something positive: some of the effects are okay-ish and the actors seem to have had a great time (although most of them won't be needing agents I suspect).

As a professional film this should not get more than one or two stars. But the thing is, I enjoyed watching the whole thing. So I'll give it a generous five stars.

I don't often write reviews but in this case I regard it as my civic duty to warn my fellow earthlings. From the summary I was hoping for something on a par with Smilla, Trapped or even Fortitude but this doesn't even deserve to polish the snow boots of those movie/series.

So, how did they create this turkey (tin Swedish: "kalkon")? It all starts with a ridiculous plot. Turn that into a laughable screenplay and add some of the most toe-curling dialogue this side of the arctic circle. Finally, add some of the hammiest actors you can find (in particular the Swedish agent who vacillates between arrogant unprofessional termagant and blabbering unprofessional cry-baby, all the while showing she's a founding member of Over-actors Anonymous). I honestly don't know what made Lena Endre sign up for this - she's a classic actress but is dragged down to the level of the rest of this stinker.

In the first few episodes the local actors at least act well, but later on even they are made to suffer inane plot twists and ludicrous dialogue. The only one who deserves kudos is the little girl.

The only positive thing about this series is the stunning scenery of Greenland (let's enjoy it while it lasts).