Rebecka Martinsson

The teasers before the title credits got me interested each time and how each story played out kept my interest. The characters were given real depth and quirks - Some of them are shown to be quite imperfect and therefore very human. I really like the format of 4 x 90 minute contained stories. Afterwards, I found myself looking up several of the cast member's back catalogue and that's always a good thing. Quality stuff.

The atmosphere and ambient of gloomy but astonishing Norther part of Sweden, has been achieved fully. Thats why I watched this show. Also, minimalist, but still very compact police station crew is excellent. The main inspector, Ana-Maria Mella, local with three kids at home, but still with all skills necessary for the police inspector, is a brilliant character. The other supporting characters, who all don't talk much, but say whats necessary, are all well done. The only real misfit, for completely unknown reason, badly written and poorly conceptualized character is the lead character - Rebecka Martinsson, who is wage and unclear from the beginning, but still not a mysterious at all. It seems she is a girl who has everything, a spoiled, educated, rich, who simply despises everything due to some traumas from early life, and finds her fulfillment in solving murders . However, we don't see why and how someone who had lost her parents early in life, and had to struggle heavily to achieve something, would behave like a spoiled careless diva, who wonders around and does what pleases her. Also, nobody understands how all of a sudden a corporate layer age 28 can become a chief criminal prosecutor, and how come she is qualified for that. It seems that her character is simply badly written and badly incorporated in the plot. Also, the acting in itself fails in this cases - no charisma, no chemistry at all between the actress and her role. In general, good show, with a wrong lead character. The authors should think about it.

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.

British police procedural(s) get pretty predictable after awhile. So I try Rebecka Martinsson and I really liked it a lot. Being minimalist in concept, scenery, dialogue, and acting is refreshing after the endless chattiness of the Brit shows. I agree with other reviewers that the actress who plays character Maria Mella (Eva Melander) is the acting class must watch BUT I thought Ida Engvoll was excellent. All the details concerning her back story are a bit irrelevant since the episodes don't really hinge on those (much). Sweden (in this series) looks cold, brooding, a bit mysterious (diving for Nazi plane?) and beautiful and that also describes Rebecka Martinsson. Engvoll correctly underplays her character a bit instead of overplaying it, like so many of the British coppers do. Hope there is a season 2.