Nordic noir, drama from Scandinavia and a little beyond

speedysteve

Legend
Jummy!!

And a new season of Broen has officially started!

Saga Noren- hello again :)
Just two episodes of Forbrydelsen (the killing) series 3 to go.
Will have to do a double this evening..

Bron (the bridge) excellent! Will be on to that next.
Hello most of the dialogue in Swedish :)

Yes, hello Sofia Margareta Götschenhjelm Helin!

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NonP

Legend
Are you Norwegian?

Joachim Trier is a great guy and director. He has made more good movies than Thelma. Louder than bombs. English speaking.
I love he goes back to Nordic.

Heh, I wish. Afraid I don't speak a word of Norwegian or any other Nordic languages. Sue me. :D

I'll definitely be checking out more Trier movies. Like I said even I underrated Thelma for a long time at first and it's a shame the Golden Globes nominated fashionable quackery like The Square or even the very fine First They Killed My Father (which for the record I do consider Jolie's best work to date) over Trier's latest film. But the Oscar noms aren't final yet and Thelma still seems to be in contention, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. And I'm quite sure I'll end up liking your countryman more than the other Trier (yes, with that "von" in front of his born surname). ;)
 

speedysteve

Legend
I decided to watch Bron (The bridge).
We didn't really get into it the first time around and actually watched the American bridge instead (I know, what was I thinking!), but we liked the characters in The Am. Bridge and Marie doesn't like Danish / sub titles haha, I kid you not.

I've found the first series plot a bit OTT and preferred Forbrydelsen (The killing) in that respect.
Though what's not to like about a personality disordered, leather trousered, blond Swedish police woman? - unless you've broken a law, however minor!

I'm now onto series 2 and guess I will work through until series 4 is available to me.

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Min Danska (my Danish) had come on leaps and bounds :)
 
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speedysteve

Legend
We started watching Fortitude this evening.
Full of familiar faces, Scandi, British etc.
From Sarah Lund to Doctor Who to Dumbledore!
Fortitude could be the northern paradise on earth. Until the wheels come off the wagon and the blood starts to spurt :)

Thanks for the tip off many posts earlier.
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speedysteve

Legend
Fortitude had lots of potential and was going okay mid way.
Then it kind of lost its way. Like the script writers needed a root cause and jumped on a rather implausible one..

I finished The Bridge, Boen series 3.
Series 4 up soon..

Next up is Before we die - Innan vi dör. Yay, Swedish :)

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speedysteve

Legend
Innan vi dör (Before we die) was good.
They are talking about a series 2.

We started Modus this evening. Yet another Swedish police drama.

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TheGhostOfAgassi

Talk Tennis Guru
Fortitude had lots of potential and was going okay mid way.
Then it kind of lost its way. Like the script writers needed a root cause and jumped on a rather implausible one..

I finished The Bridge, Boen series 3.
Series 4 up soon..

Next up is Before we die - Innan vi dör. Yay, Swedish :)

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Ive seen innan vi dør.

Saw last episode of Broen yesterday. I miss Saga already :( She is my fav ever in any crime show Ive seen.
 

speedysteve

Legend
We're on to Modus 2 now.
But if a different story line.
It's interesting how Homeland and Modus 2 have women presidents. I guess at the time of making Hillary looked a cert..

Another Swedish police drama is called Hassel from 2017.

Not started on that one yet.
Looks suitable grim :)

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speedysteve

Legend
Came across Hinsehäxan on SVT-play.
2 X 90 mins.
Based on a true story set in the late 60's & early 70's.
Lots of period cars and settings.

Apparently she (Lillemor Östlin) is still at the drug dealing thing even now, aged 74!

Anyone else think Vera Vital looks a bit like Steffi Graf in this? :)

The great thing for us on SVT is, no subtitles ;)

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atatu

Legend
Off topic I know, but wondering if anyone has read the book "Beartown" by Fredrik Backman, thought it was fantastic, maybe it can be made into a TV series....
 

speedysteve

Legend
Off topic I know, but wondering if anyone has read the book "Beartown" by Fredrik Backman, thought it was fantastic, maybe it can be made into a TV series....

Haven't read that one.
My wife started A man called Ove by the same author but gave up as it was rather depressing - and she's Swedish so should be used to it :)
It's supposed to get good so she says she's going to Re-kindle it, literally on her Kindle..
 

atatu

Legend
Haven't read that one.
My wife started A man called Ove by the same author but gave up as it was rather depressing - and she's Swedish so should be used to it :)
It's supposed to get good so she says she's going to Re-kindle it, literally on her Kindle..

Yeah, I loved A man called Ove, tell her it gets much more uplifting as it goes along...great movie too !
 

speedysteve

Legend
Been in Sweden a week now;

no nasty dark serial murders (Wallander),

no serial psychopath murders (The Bridge)

no past disappearances / rapist murders (Girl with the dragon tattoo),

no weird ancient people living underground trying to survive interacting with us (Jordskott),

no kiddie fiddling / Nazii throw backs (Rebecca Martinsson),

no drug dealing feud killing Swedish mafia (Gåsmamman)!

no ghostly pyscho killings at the ski resort (Svartsjön)

Not even sexy Swedish/Norwegian/Danish widows blowing up their husbands and become drug barons..

Must have dodged the bullet so far :)

There was a cow blocking the main road on Friday but that was quickly dealt with.
 
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speedysteve

Legend
Alex wasn't that good.

This one looks better and I caught a couple of episodes now while we are in Sweden..

Will definitely check out more once home.

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Mike Bulgakov

G.O.A.T.
Been in Sweden a week now;

no nasty dark serial murders (Wallander),

no serial psychopath murders (The Bridge)

no past disappearances / rapist murders (Girl with the dragon tattoo),

no weird ancient people living underground trying to survive interacting with us (Jordskott),

no kiddie fiddling / Nazii throw backs (Rebecca Martinsson),

no drug dealing feud killing Swedish mafia (Gåsmamman)!

no ghostly pyscho killings at the ski resort (Svartsjön)

Not even sexy Swedish/Norwegian/Danish widows blowing up their husbands and become drug barons..

Must have dodged the bullet so far :)

JUST GIVE SWEDEN A FEW MORE WEEKS...
 

speedysteve

Legend
Watched a Wallander episode here last night..
Swedish Series 2 - my favourite!
Plot:
Adulterous vicar killed by psycho wife persuading extreme radicalised church goer to shoot him.
Krister Henriksson aka Kurt Wallander got to the bottom of it all :)
 

speedysteve

Legend
Spribgfloden / Spring tide..
Suitably noir opening scene!

Murder by drugging and burying upto the neck in sand on a beach that only once a year (alignment of sun and moon) creates a tide high enough to drown the victim.
Of course the drugs clear just in time for the victim to experience the downing fully conscious.

They love a bit of noir planning our Nordics :)

It's an unsolved murder so is used as a case for investigation in criminal studies.
 

speedysteve

Legend
Are Scandinavian languages (Swedish, Norwegian and Danish) mutually intelligible?
Yes by and large.
Norwegians and Swedes do understand each other to a greater extent than Swedes / Norwegians do with Danes.
Regional difference apply.

It depends on where you grew up and what exposure and practice you have.

Someone who has lived their entire life in the North of Sweden and only spoken their dialect would in my experience struggle greatly with Danish.
Even Stockholmers by and large do.
My wife from Nyköping needs subs on Danish stuff.

I can understand a fair bit having worked their a bit ages ago, and sat through all episodes and series of The Killing and The Bridge etc :)

If a more general Scandinavian / slower speed is adopted it gets much much easier.
 

Sudacafan

Bionic Poster
Yes by and large.
Norwegians and Swedes do understand each other to a greater extent than Swedes / Norwegians do with Danes.
Regional difference apply.

It depends on where you grew up and what exposure and practice you have.

Someone who has lived their entire life in the North of Sweden and only spoken their dialect would in my experience struggle greatly with Danish.
Even Stockholmers by and large do.
My wife from Nyköping needs subs on Danish stuff.

I can understand a fair bit having worked their a bit ages ago, and sat through all episodes and series of The Killing and The Bridge etc :)

If a more general Scandinavian / slower speed is adopted it gets much much easier.
I kind of imagined what you say. In the case of the Swedish/Danish interaction, I believe that people who live so near from each other as the Malmo Swedes and the Copenhagen Danes should understand each other very well.
 

speedysteve

Legend
I kind of imagined what you say. In the case of the Swedish/Danish interaction, I believe that people who live so near from each other as the Malmo Swedes and the Copenhagen Danes should understand each other very well.
Yes, with the bridge there it is much more interactive between the two now.
I also feel that Danes understand Swedish better than Swedes understand Danish.

Ghostof can speak for the Norwegians. Generally think they are better at understanding Danish than Swedes.
 
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Mike Bulgakov

G.O.A.T.
Yes, with the bridge there it is much more interactive between the two now.
I also feel that Danes understand Swedish better than Swedes understand Danish.

This is true. I've heard both Danes and Swedes say this. More than one Swede has told me that Copenhagen Danish sounds like someone trying to speak Swedish with a potato in their mouth. Some Swedish men have said they see a pretty Danish woman and she doesn't seem so pretty once they hear her accent. Personally, I think Danish is sexy.
 

speedysteve

Legend
This is true. I've heard both Danes and Swedes say this. More than one Swede has told me that Copenhagen Danish sounds like someone trying to speak Swedish with a potato in their mouth. Some Swedish men have said they see a pretty Danish woman and she doesn't seem so pretty once they hear her accent. Personally, I think Danish is sexy.

Haha, Kira from Black Widows?
 

Mike Bulgakov

G.O.A.T.
Norwegians understand swedes and danes very well. The swedes dont understand either well i think.
The funny thing is that they can resort to speaking English. Danes have the best English skills of any country where English isn't the official language. They learn it in school, beginning at a young age, watch America movies and television shows, and listen to American and British music. Swedes are almost as good as the Danes with English, and Norwegians are a little behind the Swedes.

As an aside, a Swede once told me that he can't listen to a Norwegian speak without laughing, because of the intonation on words and sentences. They could tell him the most serious and sad story, and it would sound like they were trying to tell a joke to him.
 

onehandbh

G.O.A.T.
The funny thing is that they can resort to speaking English. Danes have the best English skills of any country where English isn't the official language. They learn it in school, beginning at a young age, watch America movies and television shows, and listen to American and British music. Swedes are almost as good as the Danes with English, and Norwegians are a little behind the Swedes.

As an aside, a Swede once told me that he can't listen to a Norwegian speak without laughing, because of the intonation on words and sentences. They could tell him the most serious and sad story, and it would sound like they were trying to tell a joke to him.
I came across many Danes in Copenhagen that have better English than Americans I’ve met.
 
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junior74

Bionic Poster
Yes by and large.
Norwegians and Swedes do understand each other to a greater extent than Swedes / Norwegians do with Danes.
Regional difference apply.

It depends on where you grew up and what exposure and practice you have.

Someone who has lived their entire life in the North of Sweden and only spoken their dialect would in my experience struggle greatly with Danish.
Even Stockholmers by and large do.
My wife from Nyköping needs subs on Danish stuff.

I can understand a fair bit having worked their a bit ages ago, and sat through all episodes and series of The Killing and The Bridge etc :)

If a more general Scandinavian / slower speed is adopted it gets much much easier.

The Danes don't even understand eachother :D
 

TheGhostOfAgassi

Talk Tennis Guru
This is true. I've heard both Danes and Swedes say this. More than one Swede has told me that Copenhagen Danish sounds like someone trying to speak Swedish with a potato in their mouth. Some Swedish men have said they see a pretty Danish woman and she doesn't seem so pretty once they hear her accent. Personally, I think Danish is sexy.
The swedes LAVER KUN BALLADE!!!

Everyone knows that :cool:
 

speedysteve

Legend
Beck is back.
Series 7.. probably already been on Scandinavian TV..

I'll have to suffer the Eng Lang subs..

and it's with that Wildling leader bloke from Game of Thongs as I like to call it :)

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speedysteve

Legend
2nd episode of Beck and I'm getting into it more.

The brain is back on the force again..

There's a lot of recycling of actors in Nordic drama.
For instance one of the lower ranked police investigators in Beck was Alex (think that was his name) the computer nerd in Black Widows.
One of the other characters in this episode was the Northern (Norrländsk) police woman in Rebecca Martinsson..
One of the chief suspects was in Gåsmamman (mother goose).

The Wildling leader (Game of Thrones) makes a cool Police inspector :)

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My rating 8.5/10
 
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speedysteve

Legend
Got another one..

Midnight sun or Midnattssol in Swedish

In Swedish with a bit of French too. Set in the far north.

The French policewoman assigned to the case asks.. "when does the sun go down?" The answer, "in a few weeks" :)

The opening scene murder is rather implausible, any engineer / physicist knows the vibration would be too destructive.
But I am prepared to look through my fingers (as it were) and enjoy the Northern landscape and Swedish.

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