Having seen the more recently made BBC version of Wallander I was curious to see the Swedish version when it was shown on Television soon afterwards. At first it seemed a little strange as it is based on later stories where his situation has changed somewhat, the biggest change is that his daughter Linda has joined the police and in this opening episode she moves to Ystad after graduating. Almost as soon as she gets there we learn that things are not well between her and her father Kurt; this wasn't helped by the fact that he missed her graduation. He invites her to live with him but she decides to ask a friend if she can stay with her instead.
The case this week opens in a rather macabre way when two swans are set alight and filmed as they try to fly away. A woman witnesses this but she is killed before she can report anything. When she is reported missing Kurt accompanies Linda to her daughter's house and he says that they will start an investigation if she hasn't returned by the morning. Linda thinks they should start looking straight away so heads off to where the woman was going and finds her body. Rather than being impressed with her police investigative skills Kurt reprimands her for going off alone. Soon after there is a second murder, this time an abortion doctor is abducted and hanged in a church. She was clearly targeted and soon a video of the crime is posted on the internet. It becomes apparent that the crime is some how related to the Jonestown massacre that took place in the 1970s and that the friend Linda is staying with is connected to the people concerned.
This was a great introduction to the series; I've seen it three times now and still enjoy it. This is largely down to the quality cast, especially Krister Henriksson who plays Kurt Wallander and the late Johanna Sällström who played his daughter Linda, it is a tragedy that this fine actress died so young. The story was gripping and had several tense moments. There were also some more humorous moments such as when newly transferred Stefan complains about an over-zealous traffic cop who stopped him to Kurt not knowing that the policewoman in question was his daughter. Even though I had to rely on the subtitles, as I don't understand Swedish I enjoyed this more than the British version.
The case this week opens in a rather macabre way when two swans are set alight and filmed as they try to fly away. A woman witnesses this but she is killed before she can report anything. When she is reported missing Kurt accompanies Linda to her daughter's house and he says that they will start an investigation if she hasn't returned by the morning. Linda thinks they should start looking straight away so heads off to where the woman was going and finds her body. Rather than being impressed with her police investigative skills Kurt reprimands her for going off alone. Soon after there is a second murder, this time an abortion doctor is abducted and hanged in a church. She was clearly targeted and soon a video of the crime is posted on the internet. It becomes apparent that the crime is some how related to the Jonestown massacre that took place in the 1970s and that the friend Linda is staying with is connected to the people concerned.
This was a great introduction to the series; I've seen it three times now and still enjoy it. This is largely down to the quality cast, especially Krister Henriksson who plays Kurt Wallander and the late Johanna Sällström who played his daughter Linda, it is a tragedy that this fine actress died so young. The story was gripping and had several tense moments. There were also some more humorous moments such as when newly transferred Stefan complains about an over-zealous traffic cop who stopped him to Kurt not knowing that the policewoman in question was his daughter. Even though I had to rely on the subtitles, as I don't understand Swedish I enjoyed this more than the British version.