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cj2017Every now and again a TV show comes along that makes you positively evangelical in your need to spread the word. That need is somehow even more pressing when said TV show is a slow-moving, twenty-episode Danish series complete with subtitles, and starring no one you've ever heard of...
BBC4, the tiny UK arts channel which - God love it - has the balls to take risks like this, made the genius scheduling decision to screen Forbrydelsen (or The Killing, to give it its slightly inaccurately translated title) in double bills, and for the past ten Saturdays Cat and I have been blissfully entranced by its labyrinthine plotting, moodily shot landscapes and flawless performances.
Opening with Day One, the series tracks a twenty-day investigation into the sadistic murder of a teenaged girl. Three distinct strands - the bereaved family, the murky world of local politics, and the detectives heading up the case - intertwine seamlessly to throw out so many twists, shocks and red herrings that some kind of score card is essential if you're going to play along. I'll concede that none of that sounds particularly original, but what sets Forbrydelsen apart from so much of the dross on the small screen is its utter lack of sensation and its willingness to portray unflinchingly the terrible aftermath of the crime. Although the victim - Nanna Birk Larsen - is only ever a shade in the background, remembered, obviously loved, but never really a tangible character, her loss completely shatters her family. The bewildered grief of her parents, suddenly facing an invasive police presence in their home as they try to decide which dress to bury their daughter in is almost unbearable to watch. There are no histrionics, nothing but raw emotion and the inevitable unravelling of relationships that were never meant to endure the strain of something so awful.
At the heart of
the police investigation and the entire show is Sofie Gråbøl as DCI Sarah Lund. Perpetually on the verge of leaving to join her boyfriend in Sweden (a national offence on a par with wearing a St George's cross to a St Patrick's Day Parade!), Lund is reeled back to her old job by the murder. As the odds, obstacles and her mother's passive-aggressive disapproval pile up against her, she becomes increasingly obsessed by the case, despite the best efforts of her replacement, who would prefer that she sod off to Sweden and leave him to run things in his own bull-in-a-china-shop style. Lund is a fabulous creation; quiet and intuitive, she's polite to witnesses, relentless in her pursuit of the culprit, unapologetically useless as a mother and a girlfriend, and still managing to rock a seemingly endless supply of Faroe Isle woolly jumpers. As her personal and professional lives slowly come apart at the seams, Lund becomes ever more isolated and prone to taking risks that would have been anathema to her on Day One. It's a mesmeric performance from Gråbøl, who is lovely in a slightly off-kilter way, perfect for a heroine whose idea of high fashion is a ratty ponytail, an unwashed jumper, nicotine gum and a pair of green wellies.
You may well have heard of The Killing because AMC have just remade the series and it premieres in the US tomorrow night. The AMC version features a cast of well-chiselled, vaguely familiar faces, has been cut down to thirteen episodes, and features a different culprit, so it'll be interesting to see what if anything remains of its source. It has also apparently taken pains to give Sarah a big ol' back-story, which is somewhat missing the point. For anyone with twenty hours to spare who is lucky enough to find a decently-subtitled version of the original, all I can say is: take a chance, because it's bloody brilliant. It's also hopelessly addictive (we, along with quite a few fellow fans on the Guardian blog, celebrated last week's finale with a Forbrydelsen Finale Food Fest!), Danish is surprisingly soothing and a lot of fun to listen to, and barely anyone else will have heard of the series so there's bugger-all chance of spoilers. Having waited four years before airing series one, its popularity over here has already seen series two snapped up by BBC4. If I disappear for another ten weeks in autumn while I don my woolly jumper in tribute and fry up the frikadeller, please don't be worried. Tak!
BBC4, the tiny UK arts channel which - God love it - has the balls to take risks like this, made the genius scheduling decision to screen Forbrydelsen (or The Killing, to give it its slightly inaccurately translated title) in double bills, and for the past ten Saturdays Cat and I have been blissfully entranced by its labyrinthine plotting, moodily shot landscapes and flawless performances.
Opening with Day One, the series tracks a twenty-day investigation into the sadistic murder of a teenaged girl. Three distinct strands - the bereaved family, the murky world of local politics, and the detectives heading up the case - intertwine seamlessly to throw out so many twists, shocks and red herrings that some kind of score card is essential if you're going to play along. I'll concede that none of that sounds particularly original, but what sets Forbrydelsen apart from so much of the dross on the small screen is its utter lack of sensation and its willingness to portray unflinchingly the terrible aftermath of the crime. Although the victim - Nanna Birk Larsen - is only ever a shade in the background, remembered, obviously loved, but never really a tangible character, her loss completely shatters her family. The bewildered grief of her parents, suddenly facing an invasive police presence in their home as they try to decide which dress to bury their daughter in is almost unbearable to watch. There are no histrionics, nothing but raw emotion and the inevitable unravelling of relationships that were never meant to endure the strain of something so awful.
At the heart of
the police investigation and the entire show is Sofie Gråbøl as DCI Sarah Lund. Perpetually on the verge of leaving to join her boyfriend in Sweden (a national offence on a par with wearing a St George's cross to a St Patrick's Day Parade!), Lund is reeled back to her old job by the murder. As the odds, obstacles and her mother's passive-aggressive disapproval pile up against her, she becomes increasingly obsessed by the case, despite the best efforts of her replacement, who would prefer that she sod off to Sweden and leave him to run things in his own bull-in-a-china-shop style. Lund is a fabulous creation; quiet and intuitive, she's polite to witnesses, relentless in her pursuit of the culprit, unapologetically useless as a mother and a girlfriend, and still managing to rock a seemingly endless supply of Faroe Isle woolly jumpers. As her personal and professional lives slowly come apart at the seams, Lund becomes ever more isolated and prone to taking risks that would have been anathema to her on Day One. It's a mesmeric performance from Gråbøl, who is lovely in a slightly off-kilter way, perfect for a heroine whose idea of high fashion is a ratty ponytail, an unwashed jumper, nicotine gum and a pair of green wellies.You may well have heard of The Killing because AMC have just remade the series and it premieres in the US tomorrow night. The AMC version features a cast of well-chiselled, vaguely familiar faces, has been cut down to thirteen episodes, and features a different culprit, so it'll be interesting to see what if anything remains of its source. It has also apparently taken pains to give Sarah a big ol' back-story, which is somewhat missing the point. For anyone with twenty hours to spare who is lucky enough to find a decently-subtitled version of the original, all I can say is: take a chance, because it's bloody brilliant. It's also hopelessly addictive (we, along with quite a few fellow fans on the Guardian blog, celebrated last week's finale with a Forbrydelsen Finale Food Fest!), Danish is surprisingly soothing and a lot of fun to listen to, and barely anyone else will have heard of the series so there's bugger-all chance of spoilers. Having waited four years before airing series one, its popularity over here has already seen series two snapped up by BBC4. If I disappear for another ten weeks in autumn while I don my woolly jumper in tribute and fry up the frikadeller, please don't be worried. Tak!
Re: Watching both versions
Date: 2011-04-28 10:57 am (UTC)I'm an American who found out about this via the Guardian. I've watched the AMC version and bought the UK DVD and there's no comparison. For those who've never seen the original, the AMC version is pretty good though the characters are a bit different. The partner is much more irritating(grungy) and the US Lundt can't seem to get the silent but intriguing part down. Finally, the music is too overpowering. The best part about the original is it didn't tell you how to feel about a particular character-the story had to play out.
Just wish I had more hours in the day to watch all 20 episodes at once.
Wish someone else I knew liked this but mention the word "subtitles" and most people tune out. I remember going to the theater to see the German film "Downfall". Soon after the movie started several couples left complaining they didn't know they'd have to read subtitles! Their loss.
Sorry, I only just saw your message about The Killing! It didn't hit my lj page, only my yahoo mail and I'm crap at keeping up with yahoo!
I managed to watch the first two episodes but I've since given up completely on the AMC version. I keep getting this urge to run into discussion forums shouting "They're doing it all wrong! Watch the original!" especially when people are claiming that the remake is a "shot for shot" version of the Danish...
I was just chatting with an American friend about it, she's enjoying the AMC one and I couldn't really get across all the things I hated about it. It's difficult when that form of drama is ingrained within a culture - the heightened emotions, signposted characterisation, moppet-cute kids, overwrought music (even though it's similar to that used in Forbrydelsen it can't help but wrench it up a few more notches), the complete lack of subtlety in the dialogue.
I think in the UK we're so over-exposed to US TV that it's only when you then see something that's different that you realise how lovely that difference is. After the Crime Scene Porn of CSI and all its ilk, something that's quiet, understated, thoughtful and so beautifully acted is something that's really worth treasuring. I've read a few responses to the AMC show saying how different it feels, how they love Sarah's "stillness" and the focus on the family but I don't see it really. I still see a typically American show with all that that entails. The lead actress on AMC is useless as well. Impossible task for her to live up to Sofie Grabol, but still, she's pretty dreadful.
We're very lucky over here to have BBC4. It's a tiny arts channel that very few people watch but it seems to have the remit to air shows with subtitles! Don't be fooled, they're anathema for pretty much the majority of the population over here as well. Fortunately, BBC4 doesn't seem to give a damn and started the trend with the original Swedish series Wallander and then Spiral (French), carving a niche out for itself by digging up decent Euro-dramas that no other channels would touch with a barge-pole. Forbrydelsen was a natural addition to this stable and received a lot of attention from certain quarters of the press (The Guardian and The Radio Times were massive advocates for the show) and a lot of very enthusiastic fans!
Hopefully once Forbrydelsen II rolls around, The Guardian won't leave it till it's nearly finished to sort out a discussion blog (they were a little late to jump on the bandwagon!) The rice pudding recipe that was posted on there was absolutely delicious ;-)
Lastly, LOL to the people leaving the cinema. We're so incredibly lazy with languages over here, just arrogantly assuming that people will speak English. I can just about get by in German and marginally in French but I wish I was multi-lingual like most of Europe, they put us to shame. Listening to Danish was brilliant. The language is utterly lovely and half the pleasure of the show was hearing the original dialogue. You can't help but fear that if the original was ever shown in the States, it would probably be a dubbed version...
Thanks for writing.