Midnight Sun

This century has seen dozens of fine examples of Nordic Noir, particularly from Denmark and Sweden, but its wings have spread and presently many other countries are eager to shine or at least participate in the glory - like France here; on the other hand, for the sake of wider audiences and localities, the Nordics themselves need views and characters from aside.

Midnattssol has giftedly combined the opportunities based on above, and the result is an intriguing narration with interesting references to the past, versatile twists, beautiful nature, and maintenance of tension and thrill to almost the very end. The leading performances are not the finest - plus pity that a wonderful actor, Peter Stormare, was cut out so early - but, on the other hand, it enhances realism and pays attention to team efforts rather than a single solo (although the French lady is very keen on pursuing this :)). And last but not least - magnificent landscape, with daily life and difficulties of small Sami people, with what most viewers are not aware of.

Well, perhaps the wrongdoer was not too charismatic and the French connection remained somehow incomplete, but still, the series is worth watching - unless you are inured to fast action, lots of chases and betrayals. Life beyond the Polar circle has its own pace and angles...

I have watched a few series where there are more episodes than the plot could carry so the series becomes bogged down and boring. This series is the opposite to this. I watched two or three episodes per night. I had to force myself to stop watching. The writing is over the top great. They story is never predictable and there are to many story lines to follow to be boring. I will probably watch it again. I enjoyed the language mixture and most of the casting was perfectly done. The loose ends at the end are story lines that are still developing and will be for years to come. The Sami people deserve to have their story told and this production was an excellent start.

Just to add to the reviews already published - the series is really well made,the characters believable and for some reason there is a seamless movement from one scene to the other.The cinematography,music and set up is gorgeous and morbid. Clearly one of the best of it's genre.

This story is well constructed and the acting is superb.

But there are also a lot of other interesting elements in this series. There are the cultural differences. Not only between the French and the Swedes, but also between the Swedes and the indigenous people. The story is set in the far north of Sweden, so a large part of the year there is no night. So this is a problem for our French detective who is not used to that. Discrimination is covered, but it doesn't distract from the main goal of the story; caching the killer. I also liked the fact that the two main characters undergo personal growth throughout the whole series.

Everything is just right and all actions and events can be well explained by the characters of all the characters. And that says a lot when you start the opening scene of the series with a man tied to a propeller of a helicopter. After seeing the first episode I didn't quite know what to make of it. Such a bizarre murder, some dark sense of humour and right after that a really emotional scene. But after watching the second episode I got more into the atmosphere of the story and it got better and better after each episode.

In the last episode there is a rather long scene with only images with a music score. The music is so well made that it isn't melodramatic or inflame other sentiments. It is rather a moment of reflection. Something to think about without being moralistic.

This is the best Scandinavian detective series I've seen so far. And I've seen a lot. I can not think of anything that I didn't liked about it.

What a great show. Set in a beautiful town, the mystery deepens with each episode and will leave you on the edge of your seat. Character development has been done really well also. A must watch. Brilliant!