Wallander

Branagh's acting is superb, as always - very enjoyable last night

It seems a good adaptation,and having lived in Sweden for a few years I can certainly recognise both the place and the Swedish character.

Barrie

I wonder whether it will be available on iTunes, can't use the bbc iplayer here in Germany.

I used to look across to Skåne from my apartment in Copenhagen many years ago.

quote:

Originally posted by Huwge:
I wonder whether it will be available on iTunes, can't use the bbc iplayer here in Germany.

I would imagine it would be out on dvd fairly quickly

The books are excellent and this adaptation really does them justice. Kenneth Branagh has captured the complexity of the character brilliantly. I particularly liked the photography last night with the margins of some shots slightly blurred. According to the follow on feature on BBC4 this is meant to depict Kurt's diabetes and its effects on his vision.

In an interview Henning Mankell said he wanted to encapsulate the fears that abound in modern day Sweden, particularly the shock created by the assassination of two leading politicians, Olof Palme and Anna Linde, with the realisation that an almost utopian society had to face dangers from ill defined enemies. I think the stories work well in this respect; the crimes are shocking and savage but the perpetrators and their motives are often hazier; there if often a sense of other forces or dangers lurking just out of reach of the hard working Detective.

If nothing else we know that there is more to Sweden than ABBA, Bjorn Borg, Sven Goran Erikson, Volvo and Saab.

Nothing wrong with Saabs!

steve

or Volvos

There is also Stig Helmer!

(Although admittedly he is just another fictional character...)

Fabulous stuff. I'm really enjoying it. Beautifully acted, shot and produced.

Brannagh is indeed superb, but has anyone seen the two episodes of the Swedish version on Beeb 4?

Even better I reckon. The Swedish 'Wallander' has a superbly acted and very believable 'ordinary bloke, world-weariness' about him.

Tragic that the beautiful Johanna Sallstrom who played Wallander's daughter committed suicide in 2007 at the age of 32, leaving a five year old daughter.

John.

Awww that's such a shame. I haven't seen either version yet but would be very interested and watching both. I hope they are still on iPlayer!

Superb last night I thought. Wonderfully depressing

He made Rebus seem Chief Constable material!

quote:

has anyone seen the two episodes of the Swedish version on Beeb 4?

ja visst, de var utmärkt

I've seen the Mastermind episode and pretty much have to agree with ROTF - it was really good. Didn't see a second episode on iPlayer though.

What a fantastic series. I hope they will make more than these three. Kenneth Branagh was outstanding but the whole cast, script, direction and photography were excellent.

Three more likely to be shot next year. By then Wallander's medication may have kicked in

As a Swede I'm a bit confused.

So, they have made an English version the Wallander series? With Kenneth B as the main character? The other characters are Swedes? He is speaking English and the Swedish actors are speaking what?

The Swedish version was very good, btw. And very Swedish, in a way, and probably by design. An example are that in the winter you can here the rasp of studded tires on the cars. Never happens in Hollywood...

JohanR

Johan,

It's an all-English cast playing similar lead characters (Kurt Wallander, his daughter Linda and his colleague Martinsson, for example) but it was filmed on location in Ystad. I understand the production company behind the original Swedish-language Wallander films was behind this new production.

I did manage to catch one of the Krister Henriksson films on iPlayer the other day and really liked it. If anything I felt it was more atmospheric and "other worldly" than the BBC version I saw, an effect probably enhanced for me by the fact that the dialogue is in Swedish!

Have seen all the Swedish series and am looking forward to seeing the Branagh versions when they are released on DVD. I will be interested to see whether KB can capture the world weary, everyman sack of potatoes look of the Swedish Wallander. The charm of the Swedish series was the absence of any ego in the actors portraying the various characters, they came across as ordinary people confronted by extraordinary circumstances.

Branagh plays the world weary very, very well

Been away on Jule holliday. Thank's for the info, Jon.

JohanR

Have just watched the first two episodes on DVD - very well produced and excellent use of landscape. I think the 90 minutes is a bit of a stretch to get everything in and I feel that a lot of my comprehension of events was facilitated by having read the books and watching the Swedish versions. That said, I hope they manage to make a couple more episodes.

So, who's going to try and squeeze the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo into 90 minutes and who will play Mikael Blomqvist and Lisbeth Salander?