Thursday 24 May 2012

Recommended Viewing: The Bridge

I discovered Scandinavian crime drama, The Bridge on BBC Four, just as the last episode was airing and summarily spent last Saturday night and all of Sunday watching the series on iPlayer. It only has a couple of days left on iPlayer, so if you think it might enjoy it, get to it!

I don't really watch much on television these days. Twitter has drawn me into a few of the reality TV programmes, but on the whole I like to watch well made drama and not much else. I rather like that BBC Four provides access to excellent European drama as homegrown drama seems a bit thin on the ground. Anyway, with that sly dig over and done with, let's talk about The Bridge.

thebridge

The Bridge is a Scandinavian made detective series and opens with the discovery of a dead body in the middle of the Oresund bridge which connects Sweden and Denmark. It's the first in the series of murders committed by a perp seemingly intent on raising social and political awareness. The investigation unites Swedish detective Saga Noren and Danish Martin Rohde, and for me it's the excellent character development and awkward friendship that develops between the two detectives that was a engaging as the plot itself.

In the early episodes, there are several of sub-plots which run alongside the main thread. I wasn't sure whether these would eventually be connected to the main plot or simply run as parallel stories in a similar way to French series Spiral/Engrenages. I have to admit that I was pleased when they were neatly tied to the main plot over the course of the ten episodes, as I generally find sub-plots tedious.

Another aspect of this series that I found interesting was the introduction of a character with quite obvious Asperger's traits. I realise this isn't necessarily new and there were many hints that Lisbeth Salander from the Millenium Trilogy similarly had Asperger's Syndrome, but Lisbeth Salander was a really hard character to warm to. I found Saga Noren much more endearing. Predictably, her lack of social mores were used as good excuse to add a bit of 'the sex'!

I really enjoyed The Bridge and would heartily recommend it. I won't say much about the ending other than to say that it was gripping and had the sort of tempered happy ending that I approve of. I think that if you enjoy crime dramas, excellent production and don't object to sub-titles, this is a must-see.

Image credit: BBC website

15 comments:

  1. I wholeheartedly agree - this a great show - i've watched it all and enjoyed it!!

    Did you just see the US movie of the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo? Personally i don't think its a good portrayal of the Salander character. I thought she was great in the books!

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    1. Thank you so much for commenting! I wasn't sure anyone would read this post.

      I have seen the US movie but not the Swedish one. I probably worded what I said badly, I think she's a great fictional character but not the best poster girl for Asperger's! :D

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  2. You can see Asperger's syndrome in Boston Legal. Old series, but very good. It's about a legal firm, but it's not... It's mostly about friendship and many other things. I consider one of the best series I've seen, and I don't say this about many.
    ;)
    (I'm going to see The Bridge, thank you for the recommendation)

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    1. Oh, thank you so much for the recommendation Renata. I've not watched Boston Legal before but it sounds really interesting and I know I'm likely to be able to find the series on my satellite tv or online.

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  3. That looks great, thanks for the rec. I am definitely adding this to my list. My kind of show, completely.

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  4. BTW, I also found the Swedish Lisbeth to be a much closer representation to the book than the US version. I enjoyed both films, but I had to watch the Swedish version a couple times because I missed so much in the facial expressions because I was so busy reading subtitles.

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    1. I still haven't watched the Swedish version of the film. I've been waiting for my husband to finish reading all three books. He's a slow reader! I know most people much prefer the original film and I'll be interested to make the comparison.

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  5. Yeah I think Salander in the books/ Swedish movie (can you tell I love that series!) is quiet and awkward but she picks her moments to say/do something and when she does she really kicks ass!! While in the US movie she mostly looks like she doesn't know what is going on and angry rather than contemplative!

    I also like the feminist stance of the books as illustrated through the characters of Salander and also Erica!

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    1. I found the strong feminist thread to the stories really interesting, particular because it wasn't written by a woman. I promise to report back once I've watched the original film :D

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  6. I have this backed up on the Sky box. I am assuming you have watched the Killing (Danish Version)? Tak!

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    1. I'd be really interested to hear what you think when you've had chance to watch it. You know, I still haven't watched the Killing. I keep meaning to look and see if there's anywhere I can stream it online.

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  7. I'm going to have to look for this on BBC America - hopefully they are going to broadcast it here. Am a huge fan of crime/mystery novels and film/TV, and especially the Swedish/Norwegian/Danish crime solvers like Kurt Wallender, Martin Beck, and Harry Hole! Highly recommend the Swedish TV productions of these series...

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    1. I'm sure you'd enjoy this Cynthia, fingers crossed you'll be able to find it on BBC America.

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  8. Adding this to my must-watch list! I'm working through Silk right now but I could use a good detective story in my life.

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    1. Oh Silk is a great. I've just started watching the second series.

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