THE END OF THE ROAD? "WALLANDER' ENCOUNTERS 'THE TROUBLED MAN'

No stone unturned. Kurt Wallander (Krister Henriksson) wants answers in THE TROUBLED MAN. Image: YELLOW BIRD FILMS.

That long and bitter cold war between the superpower forces of East and West may seemingly be over, but its history and ramifications continue to make their mark on the civilized world, as Ystad based Detective Inspector Kurt Wallander, supremely and comfortably played by the likable, sometimes curmudgeonly Krister Henriksson, is about to find out, unearthing a dark secret from Sweden’s political history whist looking for a former naval commander gone AWOL, in the new feature-length movie based on Henning Mankell’s best-selling and intriguing mystery thriller: The Troubled Man. 

Adding more emotional ties to the story is the return of Wallander’s ex-police officer daughter, Linda, now played by Charlotta Jonsson, plus an intriguing appearance by popular US TV and film actor Len Cariou, as a mysterious figure either helping or hindering our hero in getting to the all-consuming truth.

Wallander, whose grumpy but lovable run of crime-chasing exploits has been such a relatable, international success for his creator, Henning Mankell, may have been consigned to a tragic and disturbing fate in the future, but he will (hopefully with his pet dog Jussie) return for six more addictive, darkly atmospheric and socially relevant feature-length adventures, working from newly conceived plotlines from the author, currently shooting in Sweden, and now confirmed as the very last series. WALLANDER, as both a book series and in its later TV incarnations, helped launch the Nordic Noir storytelling that has become so successful in the last five years, and we are all greatly appreciative of that fact.

Look forward to this well-crafted series arrival some point later in the year on the UK’s BBC FOUR.

Swedish Trailer for The Troubled Man: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPkjlsuli1M

More on The Troubled Man: http://www.screendaily.com/news/production/yellow-bird-kicks-off-new-wallander-film-series/5042791.article

SWEDEN'S NEXT SUMMER NIGHTMARE. 'WALLANDER' RETURNS...

Sweden's unique police officer, Kurt Wallander, as played by Rolf Lassgard, returns in a new case for UK viewers. Image:  YELLOW BIRD FILMS.

UK (and US) mass audiences may be enjoying Kenneth Branagh's often dark and miserable interpretation of "the Swedish Morse", Kurt Wallander, as originally created in the beautifully crafted novels of Henning Mankell, but the original European versions starring Rolf Lassgard and Krister Henriksson remain the best interpreations in my opinion, full of great acting, atmosphere, drama and interpreted twists and turns that don't feel forced, alongside cinematography that isn't over stylised but feels natural within the storytelling. The UK's BBC 4 have showed all of Henriksson's episodes (and will hopefully show the next batch of new 13 episodes currently being made, too), but not all of Larsson's run have been so lucky. Now, viewers get nearer to that ambition as the channel shows SIDETRACKED, showing in two parts starting this Saturday (28th July).

It's certainly one of the best of Mankell's novels-with a fiery start that got me ever more hooked on the character and Mankell's work in general in the early 2000's- and has our crusty detective in a terrifying cat and mouse game, as well as in a sometimes very tense race against time, to capture a dangerous tomahawk/axe wielding murderer calling himself Geronimo, after the famous American Indian warrior. This dark prowler of his unsuspecting victims, himself born from terrible circumstances and an air of modern day horror that remains chillingly prescient in our life and times, has a method to his madness in whom he chooses, stalks and eventually slays. Branagh's story adaptation, in a more condensed one and a half hours, proved disappointing in it's BBC 1 premiere a few years back, so I'm hoping for better here...