Arctic Circle

The English dubbing in this film is so atrocious that it reduces the appeal of the entire story. The dubbing cast sounds like it's reading from a sixth grade English class script. Not paying any attention to the what the words say or mean because they think that a full stop Is at the end of each line on the paper. A few irritatingly read two words at a time, like the SNL spoof of Captain Kirk. Add some annoying speech impediments plus a lack of expression or emotion in the dubbed lines and you're left with most of the tension and atmosphere reduced. I've heard more animation from people reading a menu than those supposedly going through tense and emotional scenes.

The story is intriguing - sex trafficking, a dangerous pathogen and cross border tensions should provide lots of intrigue and drama. The expressions and body language of the actors (some ofvwhom I've been impressed with from watching other Finnish dramas with subtitles) indicates that they are infinitely better than the talentless dubbing cast- in fact, it sounds like there are about six people in the dubbing cast, with each reading several characters. Badly. Part of the problem could be that the dubbing actors are not native English speakers, which would account for both the wooden delivery and the lack of flow.

The atmosphere, settings and scenery provide an air of menace that emphasizes the isolation of a sparsely populated place and the claustrophobia of a small village, despite showing vast tracts of pristine white landscapes.

Ironically, the main character chastises an older cop for using less than flattering terms for sex workers, but the entire casts uses Lappland, which is viewed as derogatory towards the indigenous Sampi or Sami people who live in the very northern parts of Norway, Sweden and Finland.

I really want to see what happens so I will endure the increasingly irritating dubbing to find out.

Maybe Plex can do what Netflix does, offer the viewer the option of watching non- English shows dubbed or subtitled. For maximum enjoyment l, go for the subtitles.

I just finished both seasons of Arctic Circle ("Ivalo"). I liked it. Yes, there were some strange twists of plot that strained credulity and were quite farfetched. That said, the drama was marked by good acting, sympathetic characters, an engaging storyline, and gorgeous Nordic vistas. I was going to give it a seven, but the surprises that unfolded late in the second season caused me to add a point and bump it up to eight.

Arctic Circle met my criterion for a good drama: I cared about all the major characters. Lina Kuustonen was a strong lead as policewoman Nina; both her sister Marita and her ex (and baby daddy) Esko became sympathetic characters as the story unfolded. And I can't say enough about actress Venla Ronkainen, an actress with Down Syndrome, who played Nina's special needs daughter, also named Venla. Often I find that kids in dramas don't add much to the storyline. But Arctic Circle was the exception. Venla was possibly the most endearing character I've ever seen in a drama. She played an important role in the flow of the action, and lit up every scene she was in. The actress was great. I don't know if she'll ever act in another production, but she did herself proud with her performance in 16 episodes of Arctic Circle.

As I write this, I have no idea whether there will be a third season, but I would watch it.

Well, officially it is Finnish-German production, but most of performers come from Finland and most events take place there as well (more precisely, in Lapland near the Artic Circle), so you get, above all, a picture how life in those harsh conditions go on and what potential dangers and risks can appear.

If/when some virus is included, then it is always "food for thought", but in the modern fast developing technology - you never know; what was unimaginable a decade ago, can be a reality now, etc. All in all, as "pure crime stuff" was included, I had nothing against this inclusion (usually I am not into non-human death inducers).

As for the cast, all main performers were unknown to me, but there was a strong and nice team-work, no character "shining" above or at the expense of others. It is more to my liking than the use of same actors-actresses in similar series, causing confusion or reducing the thrill if they tend to play similar roles as well.

Based on the ending scenes, I am looking forward to the potential Season 2.

PS I have to admit that I liked Seasons 2 and 3 even more - perhaps due to more versatility and other degradation factors than virus. The inclusion of more international performers has also broadened approach and geography. And, well, it was okay to watch snow and blizzard if there is over +20 degrees Centigrade outside... :)

PPS Season 4 is a somewhat odd and protracted mixture of mental issues, science and religious fanaticism... I can´t say that those topics speak to me too much. Thus, a kind of decline from Seasons 2 and 3.

(How is it that mine is the only review here? That's just mental.)

While the British TV makers are farting about with blurry vision, wobbly cameras, pointless flashbacks, insane diversity quotas, incomprehensible accents and disco-volume 'background' music, the Finnish (and the rest of Europe) are quietly making riveting TV drama the way it should be made.

Nobody is crying or shouting... people are making sensible decisions and every camera has a working tripod that anchors it to the floor. It's truly awesome to see television like this and you really have to wonder why the UK have lost their touch when it comes to quality crime drama.

Anyway... Russian prostitutes are showing up in Lapland dead, or nearly dead. The one thing they have in common is the virus they share... and the infection runs deep into this ice cold rural area.

This has attracted the centers for disease control in Germany and Helsinki and experts are sent to figure out what's going on.

The local police team up with the Russian cops and the bio experts bring in their own teams of investigators. Nobody is sharing information, so of course, the situation deteriorates rapidly.

Watching this drama unfold is simply a joyous way to spend time. The dialog is about half in Finnish and half in English. Top notch TV and a master class in how television drama should be made.

This series started out strong, but then it got tangled up in it's own convoluted and unbelievable plotting. The actors and actresses are great, and especially the child actress Venla does a great job. The sense of family really comes across. The filmography is incredible and the beauty of winter in Lapland comes across wonderfully. These are the reasons I'm giving this a 6 instead of a 5/10.

But if you could give an outstanding award for plot holes and ridiculousness, it would go to this series, I'm sad to say. I lost interest after the halfway-point and barely watched the last two episodes.

What is most irksome is how the lead characters are excused all their flaws--the German man cheats on his wife and the whole storyline is about her being a "psycho crazy woman". To give the depiction of her mental breakdown some balance, perhaps his cheating could've been in some way even mentioned, but it's literally never addressed and he's depicted as the victim to her inexcusable mental breakdown while he is heroically trying to save lives. Nina's character has a similar problem, her actions as a police officer in the last episodes are not believable and for her to be barely reprimanded for them is irksome.

Overall, not a very good watch.