Varg Veum - I mørket er alle ulver grå

funny thing is i gave this film a 9 at first without conferring to the first reviewer's score, but after i found the score was rated at 9, i decided to give this film a 10. yes, this is a really good Varg Veum film, very well performed, directed and the camera team also did a great job, showing us the beauties of Hungary. this film is full of all the great ingredients of how a movie could be great not just mediocre. i've followed this great series for years whenever i could get a chance to see any one of them. this series together with the other great TV series, 'Wallander' have allowed me to know more about Sweden. while 'Wallander' have changed the actors to play the main character, 'Varg Veum' still keep the great actor so far, and i am glad to grow old with him. this episode is a bit different from the older ones i have seen, a notch higher and better, although love, betrayals, friendship, murders, manipulations and some other human weaknesses are still the unavoidable recipe's ingredients. i enjoyed this episode greatly.

From the very first minute I thought: yes, this is my part! Really good shoots at the beginning, it smelled a bit like James Bond with Pierce Brosnan. Varg went for skiing with his old pal Even Nymark (Jon Øigarden). Even is an ex soldier, now working as a guard in the Armakon company, producing weapons. During Even's shift there is an explosion, which caused the death of most board members. Even is pointed out as a causer of the explosion. Varg checks out his flat and begins the investigation on his own. He finds some suspiciously looking papers and Even's partner, Elise (Ane Dahl Torp). In the mean time he ends up in Budapest, where my favourite scene with Hamre takes place.

The turning point of that movie took the some charm of the whole production. Normally this was the moment when I was doing the facepalm and saying "yes, of course!". This time I was suspecting one solution and still hoping that it won't happen. In the end, the movie has really good first part and decent scenes with Hamre, nothing more.

From somewhere around 2007 or 2008 thru (at least) 2012, a bunch of Varg Veum "movies" were produced, the lead role being played by Trond Epsem Seim.

I will be honest with you that I am a huge fan of these Scandinavian mystery series, as is evidenced by other reviews I have written.

This series is challenging to watch. First, what we have are 90 minute movies and any given one will likely put you through the wringer, emotionally. Second, Varg is a private detective and he is also like a first responder: running toward danger rather than away from it. As a result, he is often getting beaten up (sometimes badly). The violence can be painful to watch. Third, the plots can be complicated and for non-native speakers, keeping track of numerous characters difficult.

The writing is excellent. The acting is fantastic. Trond Epsem Seim is magnificent as Varg. His reluctant "partner" on the police force (or is that foil?), Hamre, played by Bjorn Floberg is really great as well. The two actors have a chemistry that clearly shines through the production. Their scenes together are fabulous.

Varg is a strange one. I'm tempted to read the books these movies are based on to see if his character is based on them, or if the quirkiness is a function of the production. He wears his heart on his sleeve, so to speak. And he goes through life pretty much constantly pissing everyone off, although as Hamre points out in one of the movies -- he is always forgiven.

I think of this as a television series rather than separate movies but unfortunately IMDB thinks of them as movies so I pretty much randomly chose one of the movies to hang this review off of (although granted this was a particularly good movie with a very unexpected ending).

So yeah, there are lots of plot twists and turns in this movie and the others. You need to pay attention and not get complacent, otherwise you'll lose the story.

I think through the lifecycle of all the episodes that at least I have access to, they get better and better over time. The last one (Kalde hjerter (Cold Hearts) directed by Trond Epsem Seim) is really excellent and (thankfully!) ends on a happy note (being familiar with the genre, I was expecting something different).

I recommend these if you like mysteries and are not opposed to some violence, and am grateful, as always, to MHz Choice and my streaming subscription for being able to watch them. The subtitles don't bother me at all and are, in fact, an art form of their own, I think. Being reliant on the subtitles in no way diminishes the story.

The reason I have given this a 9 instead of a 10, to be honest, is that I am not a huge fan of the music. If that's what you'd call it. It seems to be a lot of percussion and I frankly just don't enjoy it. I found myself turning the volume down at times just to avoid it (good thing there are subtitles!).