Rebecka Martinsson

Watched this series on the Acorn streaming service. Even with the subtitles I was surprised at how good a show it is. Some of the scenes are hard to take. This show was much better that anything on air here in the US. Highly recommend.

With continuous blooming of Scandi Noir, particularly from Denmark and Sweden, this decade has seen dozens of crime dramas focusing on events in smaller places, not in major cities, enabling to fill the scenes with the beauty of nature and emphasising the mood. The smaller the place, the more the focus on family and community ties, often paving the way for more or less concealed crimes, with the roots decades ago.

Another example of all this is the series Rebecka Martinsson where the leading character with the same name, a lawyer, has to deal with her personal issues and solve crimes which motives seem odd at first, if any - mildly speaking... People are mostly indrawn, living with their routines and modestly (in Swedish terms), but the wild nature in the middle of nowhere of/in Kiruna area is majestic and beautiful - at least to be enjoyed in front of TV, in a heated room :)

The series in question is more into the "old" approach, with 1 major case per 2 episodes, and it is only due to the main character that one might see the season in succession - for full comprehension of her motives and notions. Ida Engvoll is good, distinct (I have noticed and remembered her before, in other films), but she does often solo, her co-characters are often perfunctory, and the cases are not too interesting, plus the wrongdoers can be guessed too easily, too early (as they are performed by more known actors-actresses unlikely to appear in a brief role only). There are some twists and catchy moments, but still, I have seen many catchier stuff recently, e.g. Innan vi dör. Springfloden, where you are eager to watch all episodes "at once and promptly"...

This eight episode series, made up of four two part stories, follows Stockholm lawyer Rebecka Martinsson, who returns to her home town in Sweden's far north after the death of somebody she knew as a child. Initially it looks as though the woman, the local vicar, died in an accident but evidence soon suggests otherwise. Rebecka gets involved in the investigation, sometimes going beyond what is strictly legal. Various suspects arise but when the killer is identified it comes as a surprise and leads to a tragic conclusion to the first story. After the series opener Rebecka is offered a job working as a local prosecutor before her planned move back to Stockholm in the summer. Further stories involve the murder of a woman connected to a local mining company; the death of two divers exploring a Nazi aircraft and the murder of a woman whose family has suffered a number of tragic 'accidents'.

In some ways this is a fairly traditional murder mystery series with its distinct stories that are wrapped up in two hours; however the events of one episode do have effects on characters that last beyond that story. There are also some fairly dark moments that will shock anybody expecting a Swedish 'Midsomer Murders'. Ida Engvoll does a fine job as our eponymous heroine making her believable even when she was breaking rules. Rebecka may be the title character but there are others who are almost as important; most notably police woman Anna Maria Mella and dog handler Krister Eriksson; Eva Melander and Jakob Öhrman impress in these roles. There is plenty of great scenery to be seen without it feeling like it is being shown just to show us how beautiful the area is. Overall I'd recommend this to fans of Scandinavian drama who are looking for shorter stories than most such series that have aired here in the UK. I hope there is a second season.

These comments are based on watching the series in Swedish with English subtitles.

My wife and I had watched Season 1 years ago. We watched Season 2 and then went back and watched Season 1 again. We didn't remember the plots or who did it. The actress playing Rebecka in Season 1 is better than the one in Season 2. The episodes in Season 1 are also better scripted. We want to give Season 1 a 7.5 and Season 2 a 7.0, but we can't so the series gets a 7.0. We would recommend Season 1.

First episode didn't foretell just how interesting this series would become. Very dull first episode with weak cliffhanger ending. BUT, after that, the interest level of the stories really picked up for me. I almost didn't stick with this one, but glad I gave it a chance.

8 episodes are each 2-parters and self-contained stories with ongoing characters and some slight overlap for all 8

Hope to see a season 2, with possibly more suspense and thrills.