[SKRIVA] BBC:s Kurt Wallander
- From: Ahrvid Engholm <ahrvid@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <skriva@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 26 Jul 2009 03:42:04 +0200
(Skrev nedanstående för en engelsk publik, men ni får del av det nu också. Det
är förstås intressant, tänkte jag, för engelsktalande att höra hur en svensk
uppfattar en engelsk inspelning av en svensk bok... --AE)
I have now seen three episodes of the BBC version of the crime stories about
Kurt Wallander, the southern Swedish police detective made popular in a series
of books by Henning Mankell. These books have - just as with Stieg Larsson, and
indeed a number of other Swedish crime writers - become internationally
popular. I believe all the Wallander novels are available in English, and I
understand that the books are particulary popular in Germany.
Kurt Wallander is stationed in the southern Swedish city of Ystad, in the
beautiful province of Scania just a short ferry trip away from e g Germany, and
thousands of German tourists come to Ystad to walk the guided Wallander tours.
(Just as now thousands of foreigners, particulary Frenchmen, come to Stockholm
to follow the guided Stieg Larsson tours.)
The BBC Wallander is actually the *third* version of the Kurt Wallander
stories being filmed. In my opinion, the best version is still the films shot
with the Swedish actor Rolf Lassgård (I don't know how many they made, probably
half a dozen - there are ten books in the series, though a late eleventh is
unexpectedly announced for publication in August).
The BBC version is the second best.
The third series of TV films is a strange beast. It's a Swedish-German
co-production totalling 25 (!) episodes, all feature length. There are only ten
books (well, an 11th coming) so they added 15 new manuscripts "outlined" (or
the outlining "overseen by") Henning Mankell, "in the spirit" of the other
books or something like that. The lead is here played by one Krister
Henriksson, a competent actor, and though it's all very well filmed I feel that
something of the spirit of the books has been lost.
I'd say that the stories about Kurt Wallander falls neatly within the tradition
of Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, the writing couple who made an international
breakthrough in the 1960s and 70s with their novels about the police detective
Martin Beck. (They e g won an Edgar.)
The hero, with both Mankell and Sjöwall/Wahlöö, is melancholic middle-aged
policeman with family problems, drinking slightly too much, he has to watch his
weight, etc. And both book series try to illustrate social problems. You know,
Sweden, the happy half-socialist "welfare state", and then these crime writers
show up to tell everyone that everything isn't so dandy after all. (In my
opinion, the concept of a half-misfit crime investigator combined with social
commentary has been overused to the extreme after Sjöwall/Wahlöö. Two thirds,
or something, of all Swedish crime novels fall withing this genre.)
The BBC version feels very strange. The episodes are all filmed in Scania, and
in Ystad, but since it's an English project everyone speaks English. Wallander
flashes his badge, which says "polis" (Swedish for "police", as you might
guess), and when they pick up a newspaper it has Swedish headlines. But they
all speak English.
I suppose that was the only way to do it. Just pretend that everyone in
Sweden speaks English (which they do, but to tourists). The BBC version is very
beautiful. The camera work is excellent. You can see lots of the quaint little
city of Ystad. We find beautiful shots from e g some beechwoods (where some
people are murdered, not unexpectedly). We see typical Swedish houses, with
typical Swedish furniture. The shots from the huge fields of rapeseed are much
better in the BBC version than what I remember from the Swedish Rolf Lassgård
version.
And Kenneth Branagh, who plays Wallander, makes an absolutely wonderful
interpretation of the role. I for instance remember a scene when a girl he has
in his care is murdered and his eyes are all read and he is crying - it's very
touching and convicing.
But there are a couple of problems. The plots have been stripped down so they
are difficult to follow, and they haven't been able to fully catch some local
Swedish atmosphere. One episode starts on a Midsummer Eve, which is the second
biggest holiday in Sweden (after Christmas) but Midsummer is portrayed as
nothing special, just a little picnic. The central offices of the Ystad police
is seated in something that - dammit! - looks like a local train station. A
Swedish police station wouldn't look like that. (And pronounciation of local
Swedish names are strange. E g Wallander becomes WALL-ander, while Swedes would
say Vall-AND-er; note "sharp" V.)
Here are short info about the three episodes I have seen:
Episode 1 - Sidetracked: A young girl burns herself to death in a field.
After that there are a series of murders, including one of a former minister of
justice, where the victims scalps are removed.
Episode 2 - Firewall: A man dies of an suspected heart attack in front of an
ATM machine. Two girls are arrested for a murder of a cab driver. These things
show to be connected and lead two a deeper conspiracy.
Episode 3 - One step behind: Three youngsters are killed in a beechwood.
Wallander's colleague Svedberg is murdered at home, which seems connected to
the first murders. More murders follow, all according to some plan that
Wallander is always one step behind.
They are absolutely worth seeing. I wish you could see the Rolf Lassgård
versions too, but that will probably never happen. (A difference is that while
Branagh is more quiet and emotional, Lassgård is rough and angry.)
It is a rare tribute to the success of Swedish crime fiction that BBC has
chosen to film Henning Mankell. But the Swedish crime writers have for a number
of years been rather successful, both home and abroad. You've heard of Stieg
Larsson, but he's not alone. You could for instance try the books by one Johan
Theorin (available in English or on its way), who is also an sf fan. Or Jan
guillou, Camilla Läckberg, Liza Marklund, Åsa Larsson, and others.
--Ahrvid
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