Sweden, Germany / 101 minutes / color / tre vänner, Sveriges Television, Nordisk, Film i Väst, ZDF och ZDF Dir: Per Hanefjord Pr: Pontus Sjöman, Helena Danielsson Scr: Maria Karlsson Story: Tyskungen (2007; vt The Hidden Child) by Camilla Läckberg Cine: Marek Septimus Wieser Cast: Claudia Galli Concha, Richard Ulfsäter, Jan Malmsjö, Amanda Ooms, Lennart Jähkel, Per Myrberg, Inga Landgré, Jakob Oftebro, Edvin Endre, Amalia Holm Bjelke, Charlie Gustafsson, Lena Carlsson, Fanny Klefelt, Axel Myrberg, Kim Solfeldt, Gunvor Pontén, Fridtjov Såheim, Espen Skjnberg, Björn Andersson.
I’ve read a couple of Läckberg’s novels about novelist/detective Erica Falck and her cop husband Patrik Hedström, and to be honest haven’t enjoyed them much. (The oft-repeated claim that Läckberg is “the Swedish Agatha Christie” is just plumb baloney, making as much sense as would a claim she was “the Swedish Terry Pratchett” or “the Swedish A.A. Milne.” This isn’t a value judgment: it’s simply that Christie didn’t write the kind of crime fiction that Läckberg does.)
Claudia Galli Concha as Erica Falck.
However, my lack of appreciation for her novels was, in a curious way, what drew me to Fjällbackamorden, the series of TV movies based on the characters at the heart of her series of novels, Erica and Patrik. What I like about the novels, while I dislike the execution, are those two characters and the setups: the novel Isprinsessan (2003; vt The Ice Princess), for example, has a fabulous setup; it’s just that, Continue reading
Noirish 