DNA

Great writing, good acting. Keeps you guessing. Worth a watch.

At first, Danish thriller 'DNA' feels routine, a police procedural set in (big thrill!) a DNA laboratory. But it soon develops into an engaging and tightly plotted story, in which the importance of DNA is not what we first might think. Indeed, the central story, centred on the Catholic church, felt true enough to make me feel genuinely angry at its fictional characters. As often when watching dramas from a small country, familliar faces soon appear, and Nicolas Bro (who was also in 'The Killing') plays his role well; Charlotte Rampling also features, playing a French policewoman. Overall, it's one of the better Scandi-dramas of recent years.

When a baby goes missing without a trace I am hooked anticipating that they will find it. But the script keeps throwing me off. Which policeman would bring their own baby on a 'missing child hunt' to work? Who would leave their baby in a babywagon outside on a ferry in a storm? Which police(wo)man would say: "have you ever seen this woman - your friend said you both didn't know her" and expect to get an honest answer?

So many errors in a decent plot is beyond me. I know we have a lot of good writers in Denmark and the actors to follow it up. But this is very amateure like. I can't say if it's the lines or the directors fault, but the actors have done so much better before, that this is really painfull at times for me to watch.

This series is centred on Danish police officer Rolf Larsen and investigation which uncovers baby smuggling in Europe. In a prologue we see Rolf investigating the disappearance of a baby; a lead takes him to Poland. Unable to get a babysitter, he takes his own child with him and she disappears during the ferry crossing... officially she fell overboard in a tragic accident. Five years later he is working in a rural area but is called back in following a similar case. He soon uncovers a problem in the supposedly error proof DNA data base and dares to believe his daughter might still be alive. While investigating the possible baby smuggling with French police officer Claire Bobin he runs a parallel, unofficial, investigation into his daughter's disappearance. The case will see them investigating in Denmark, France and Poland. Intertwined with this we see what is happening to Julita, a young, pregnant Polish woman, who has sought help at a convent.

I enjoyed this mystery/thriller despite some obvious flaws. The prologue sets things up nicely giving our protagonist extra motivation to solve the case. This also provides an early problem as we are forced to believe that Rolf would leave his baby daughter in a pram on the deck of a ferry during a storm! If one can get past this early problem the story is solid; I liked how the story of Rolf's investigation is intertwined with Julita's story. The conclusion features some twists; some the viewer is likely to see coming while others are more surprising. Without going into detail I will say I liked the ending even though I doubt it would have played out like that in reality. The cast does a solid job although I can't comment on the delivery as others have as I don't speak the characters' native languages; their English is certainly better than I can speak other languages!

With its multiple nationalities much of it is in English despite there being no English characters; the rest is subtitled Danish, French or Polish.

I just finished the series and was deeply moved by the end. As a mother of a five-year-old I found the story incredibly painful and gripping. The storytelling was interesting and had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. It also raises an issue in society that should not be forgotten.