Jour polaire

I watch a ton of foreign murder series. All the "big" name ones, and tons of mediocre, not so great ones. Midnight Sun was gripping.

I enjoy when I watch a series and learn about other cultures at the same time. A big part of this story involved the "Sami" people. The Sami people (also Sámi or Saami, traditionally known in English as Lapps or Laplanders) are an indigenous Finno-Ugric people inhabiting the Arctic area of Sápmi, which today encompasses parts of far northern Norway, Sweden, Finland, and the Kola Peninsula of Russia. ( hat tip to Wiki). The series has a mix of French, English and Swedish, so you do need subtitles. I enjoyed the mix.

I had never heard of these people, and it was interesting to do a little research and learn. I felt the actors were top notch. Some of these reviews complained when one of the policemen makes an early exit from the show. I was disappointed as well, but the other policemen grows on you. ( Trying to avoid spoilers, so no names).

The French actress, Leïla Bekhti is mesmerizing. I would like to see her in more series available for a broader market. The rest of the actors were very good, right down to the town people. I am usually able to guess the murderer/s quite early on, since I watch so many shows like this, but this one keeps you guessing.

There are many layers that unfold as the story continues, and you are not sure what is going on exactly.

I enjoyed that. Also there were some new and gruesome ways to murder people in this show. It is not the same old, that is for sure. This was not the usual dark setting of many Nordic series. The scenery is beautiful. It is always sunny. The are in the constant sunlight period of the region.

I binged watched this over two days. Sometimes with some of these shows that unfold more slowly, you get into the rhythm better with binge watching it.

I enjoyed that this show was not depressing. Which is a surprise maybe since people do die in gruesome ways. Some of these tend to be so dark and sad with their main characters. These main characters had back stories, but were more hopeful in tone.

I find it refreshing to watch the slower pace and the use of silence to make a point, and punctuate moments. This tends to not be the way of American shows, that is for sure! I highly recommend this. It was done by the same writers who did "Swedish/Danish TV series Bron/Broen or The Bridge". which is amazing.

After a French national is murdered in Sámi territory in north Sweden, troubled investigator Kahina Zahdi (Leïla Bekhti) is sent out to investigate. She quickly learns there's a lot more at play.

The small local police force is faced with the task of solving a gruesome murder, unheard of in the otherwise sleepy mining community. And when lead investigator Rutger Burlin (Peter Stormare) unexpectedly takes his leave, the investigation suddenly lands on the shoulders of the somewhat clumsy public prosecutor Anders Harnesk (Gustaf Hammarsten), whom hardly anybody holds in high regard. Tensions only worsen when it turns out the French murder is only the tip of the iceberg, which puts both the mining community as well as the Sámi on edge. There's even a minor role for the Kven people.

Midnattssol offers an interesting window into Sámi culture, while succesfully contrasting the beauty and tranquility of the northern Swedish landscape and its six-month daylight with the dark cruelty of a troubled mind. While the mystification of Sámi customs may be a bit overdone, with at times incessant traditional joik singing and visions of reindeer, having a nåjd (Sámi shaman) make unexpected jokes lightens the mood sometimes.

The series touches on quite a few issues, such as racism, the treatment of minorities and their fight for basic rights, acceptance of (homo)sexuality, the bonds between parents and children, greed, honesty, revenge, and international relations. Almost all main characters grow and develop considerably during this multilingual drama, and they all have their own issues to overcome.

As a viewer, you really find yourself divided between the mining community and the Sámi, the motives of the murderer and the (not so innocent) victims, which in itself also reflects the inner turmoil of lead investigator Harnesk, who is half Swedish, half Sámi himself.

Small wonder both Hammarsted and Bekhti were nominees for Outstanding Actor and Outstanding Actress in a Drama TV Series at the Montecarlo TV Festival, and Midnattssol won the Kristallen Best Drama of the Year award.

Nice detail: the town of Kiruna does exist in real life, and it really plans to move in its entirety a few kilometres because of the iron mine.

This is a series which requires concentration as there are several story lines intertwined. Going back in time to where the story started is the start of a fascinating journey to the present events and it is told in a thrilling way... As a huge fan of Scandi Noir such as The Bridge, Jordskott, Trapped,The Tunnel, we binge watched this show on SBS on Demand in Australia over three nights and couldn't get enough of it... Haunting music, magnificent scenery and a cast who were fantastic especially Leila Bekhti, Gustaf Hammerson, Richard Ulfsater and Iggy Malmborg. In addition to the fine acting add some scenes that really made us sit up and take notice - this is Scandi Noir on steroids... Loved it!

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.

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.