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

HER LAST STAND. SARAH LUND RETURNS IN 'THE KILLING' SEASON THREE

Could THE KILLING's final season storytelling prove too high a price for even Sara Lund (Sofie Grábol) to handle? Image: DR 1 TV.

Sales of Faroese jumpers are likely to got through the roof again-and just in time to help desperate Xmas stores sales figures!-with the arrival of the third and final thrilling case for clever and intuitive Detective Sarah Lund to investigate, back into the dark and chilly streets, warehouses and high tech power worlds of Denmark in Forbydelsen-or THE KILLING for us Average Joe's in the UK. Having created the new term of Nordic Noir with it's two previous well-crafted and critically acclaimed seasons, whose success have also made it the envy of its TV making rivals and inspired a wave of imitators not just in native Denmark but worldwide (including the US's very own, only partially successful, re-make), THE KILLING's lead star Sofie Grábol, a noted thespian of her native land and now a well deserved television sensation and attractive sex symbol outside the series, along with its distinctive creator Soren Sveistrup, promise that the show will go our with a resolute and satisfying high-quality bang fireworks cocktail of drama, thrills, mystery and murder.

This time out, our heroine is about to celebrate her 25th year of ups and downs as a police officer- the only career she's ever known and loved, of which she's pretty much sacrificed everything in her life in the line and sake of her duty- when she's called to action investigating the mysterious and seemingly random death of a sailor, whose body is found in a scrap heap. What follows over the next ten weeks is a collision course return into the unstable mixing realms of social and political agenda, and its resultant grey palette of emotions, revelations and ideologies. The heart of the worlds financial institutions-already a hotbed of scum and villainy if I ever I saw any!- comes under Lund's almost fearless microscope and then into the very corridors of the Danish Prime Minister no less! In her prior rocky dealings with state and power brokers she has already fallen foul of her country's own security service and its paymasters, resulting in the death of one of her detective partners. Now, on the fierce eve of the country's all-important election, is it possible that, this time around, she may have strayed too close to the fire in her dogged pursuit of the truth?

Trailer: Forbrydelsen 3 (The Killing Season 3) - YouTube
The Killing (DK) Season 3 starts on 17 Nov 2012 [BBC4] - See description for music - YouTube

Despite a few preposterous story and character moments here and there- drawbacks that come with the need to create a controversial and powerful tale capable of living up to heavy viewer expectations generated from the original smash-hit premiere- the second season of the KILLING, with its military theme and the cover-up linked to Danish soldiers in Afghanistan, was solid and entertaining, but ultimately lacked the emotional involvement of the previous story, as well as proving far too short, coming to a close just when it was getting interesting. It's story-telling roots more centre stage in Denmark, with it's people and multi-layered, recognisable problems, here's hoping that this final, surely emotional run, really does live up to it's promise when it starts on the UK's BBC 4 channel from 17th November.

Coming soon to UK Blu-ray and DVD...

More on THE KILLING SEASON THREE here: The Killing creator Soren Sveistrup: Sarah Lund will go out on a high in series three | Radio Times

Sofie Grabol, aka The Killing's Sarah Lund: 'I took off my, jumper and my gun, and cried all, the way home' - Features - TV & Radio - The Independent

Sofie Gråbøl: 'There's not going to be a fourth Killing' | Television & radio | The Guardian

UK FACEBOOK page for the series: Forbrydelsen II (The Killing) BBC Four

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...