Le crime à la racine

My cuppa. I love international dramas and especially Scandinavian (Beck, etc).

I watch this with subtitles - never dubbed. Please watch it with subtitles if you can.

This is Swedish and it is luxurious how it unfolds for us along its four episodes. Brilliantly done covering many years and very poignant. At first the makeup may seem a bit odd - trying to make the main characters younger than the actors are but you quickly accept it.

The focus is on the development of genealogical forensics (if you've watched the documentaries on it you'll know it has revolutionized police work).

In this case it's taking place in the EU, which has far stricter controls than the U. S.

At any rate this is based on a true story and it's fascinating stuff. The two main characters are acted so well. And in fact all the acting is fantastic.

The four hours fly by and this becomes a rare thing (for me) that I wished it was longer. I did not want it to end.

Speaking of the ending there's a very nice twist as to who the murderer is, which I greatly appreciated. I love clever endings.

I gave it a 9 and not a 10 because there's a bit of an insidious agenda about people who live alone - loners - being messed up. It's a weird and disturbing bias. And it bothered me quite a bit. It's almost "racist" in a way - that "loners" are not quite right. At one point in a discussion they actually say it out loud: that there is something wrong with "loners".

But don't let that get in your way of enjoying this! Highly recommended!

A poignant, subtle and well-paced Swedish true crime drama. There is sadness permeating every scene in the four episodes but it's captured in a very thoughtful way so it never feels like misery p*rn. The series doesn't ring sensational at any point and I thought it has been done with a lot of respect for the real people behind the story, including the families and the police officers.

Great performance by all the actors from beginning to end. I found the understated urgency and perseverence of the lead detective really touching and well acted. Overall, I watched it all in one day and felt on the edge of my seat to the very end.

For a drama that was dubbed (and I think the same people dubbed several characters in this one) The Breakthrough was surprisingly watchable, and it seemed well acted.

So many of these sort of crime dramas are padded out, but this was just about the right duration.

It was based on a true story, so we knew the ending wouldn't be contrived, even if it was somewhat tame.

There was a eureka moment of course, but it was really all about the process, and the strain on those involved trying to solve this crime, and those hoping to see it solved.

In most crimes that take many years and DNA advancements to solve, there are the 'if onlys'. If only the police had pursued certain lines of inquiry, or investigated potential suspects, more thoroughly at the time. This was one of those.

As a fan of Scandinavian TV and films, I thought this show was really well-made. I am not Swedish so I wasn't familiar with this story (I was too young when it happened to have seen it on the news) so it was surprising to hear that this is Sweden's 2nd largest case in history.

It is atypical for a Nordic show in that there is very little action and few characters outside of the main cast of about 4 actors. There are no big name stars or pointless, dragged out filler scenes or dialogue. There's a lot of detail that shows how the case developed and the writers were wise not to make us wait 10 episodes before getting to the arc of the plot. The show is more about the story and less about the actual characters beyond short bursts of their personal lives.

The acting is better from the families, whose lives we don't get to see too much of. This was fine since I think subplots can take away from the main points of the show. It was slower than many Hollywood productions but I appreciate how this was actually a mini series with 4 episodes and not anything longer!

I'm a big fan of Scandinavian crime dramas. They do crime as well as any...just top notch! This is a serious and relatable human drama. The actors / actresses are top-notch, especially the lead character. Very compelling plot and some lovely cinematography.

Apparently based on a true story. I wasn't familiar with the story but truly sad for the families of the victims.

I also loved the soundtrack for the series. Melancholy, emotive but fitting for the series and characters. As I said, the actors are excellent and draw you into their pain of loss. Sorry to repeat but oddly there is a minimum word count required for a review.