SWEDISH WALLANDER ON BBC: THE PHOTOGRAPHER
The weeks seem to go past quicker and quicker, and I have watched yet another Wallander episode, The Photographer.
I enjoyed this episode because of a symmetry between the main plot, and the subsidiary plots involving the unhappy love lives of Kurt and Linda Wallander.
An expensively dressed beautiful woman is dropped by taxi at a house, and after arguing with the bearded householder leaves in an agitated state.
The next scene is an evening event at a smart gallery where we learn the bearded man is the famous photographer Robert Thuresson and his work, photographs taken in war zones and other dangerous places, is being exhibited for the first time in Sweden.
The woman now attired in green silk argues with Thuresson takes one of the photographs from the wall and leaves. But on the marina she is deliberately knocked down by a car and the next morning her body washes up on the shore.
The woman Sarah Lyell, an American, was doing good works in Afghanistan, when Thuresson was there and he is regarded as the number one suspect. The devotion of Thuresson's mother Anita to her drunken violent son may mean she has given him a false alibi.
In the two sub-plots Kurt learns that he has just been a temporary diversion for Anja while her husband and family have been away, and Linda and Stefan's relationship is very much on the rocks.
Kurt and Linda spend time together talking about pleasant memories of her childhood while Kurt plays Puccini on his hi-fi. It is all very melancholic but at least this investigation gave us the chance to find out that Kurt is 60 years old, and get a view of the superb bridge between Sweden and Denmark.
I don't think these Wallanders, despite the impression in the main stream media, will ever be as depressing the Morse episodes where the very lonely Oxford detective sits down and plays Wagner.
Kurt Wallander has both his Puccini and his beloved daughter Linda, and they are able to help each other survive the dark times.
The series is produced by Yellow Bird and I do hope we see some of their other work on BBC 4 such as the Irene Huss series.
posted by Uriah Robinson at 3:59 AM
2 Comments:
You've been nominated in the Best Thriller/Mystery category for BBAW. Can you email me at trish.browning@gmail.com as soon as possible with your email address? Thanks!
I am recording these so I can watch them while I'm doing the ironing or similar. Although I hated that first one I saw (the anti-women one) I quite enjoyed the next two (chronolgically the first two in the series). I thought the plots rather week but I liked the characters very much, and the atmosphere. I can't help constantly thinking about the tragedy of the actress playing Linda, though, it is so sad- she's so talented and charismatic.
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