Innan frosten

The expectations were high for the new Wallander series. The most expensive Scandinavian production - 13 films in total - and a conscious change of style to the previously filmed Wallander films. The first one in the series, Innan frosten, is the only one of the new stories to be based on a book by Henning Mankell. The other 12 are brand new stories, written especially for the films. It is also the first time Rolf Lassgård doesn't play the role of Kurt Wallander, he is replaced here by Krister Henriksson. Despite some of the negative reviews it has received in Sweden, in Finland it has been well accepted. After having seen Innan frosten in its first week in cinemas I am very pleased with the result.

Innan frosten, or Wallander - Innan frosten as it's named in the opening titles, tells the story of a murder investigation in which detective Kurt Wallander (Krister Henriksson, "Reconstruction") tracks down a sadistic killer that seems to have connections to a religious sect. These are people that are ready to burn a flock of swans to death just to get a vignette on their web site, not to mention what they are willing to do to those that are not true believers. To make matters worse for Wallander, his daughter Linda (Johanna Sällström, "Under ytan") graduates from the Police Academy and joins the Ystad police force. Already on her first day she puts herself in a situation that could be life-threatening, something that her father isn't very thrilled about. In resolving the crime they are joined by the new recruit from Stockholm, Stefan Lindman (Ola Rapace, "Tillsammans"), who was the lead character in Danslärarnes återkomst (The Return of the Dancing Master), an another Mankell bestseller.

I think the producers made a terrific choice with casting Krister Henriksson in the role of Wallander. In this story Wallander has lost weight, tries to live better (despite the occasional glass of whiskey) and really tries to be more of a father to his daughter than he's been before. Wallander is older, more calmer and very much different than he's been in the previous films, so I don't think that Lassgård would've done as a good job as Henriksson. Also, the change of the visual output is more like the Beck films with Peter Haber, with the exception of dark city landscapes being replaced by the countryside nature of Ystad.

Wallander - Innan frosten is a well made and very entertaining thriller that keeps you interested throughout the story, although that is something you by now expect from Swedish thrillers. The cast is excellent and live up to their characters. Krister Henriksson's portrayal of Wallander is very solid, and gives high hopes for the ones yet to come. Johanna Sällström is also very reliable as Linda, who might be less experienced but even more eager than most of her colleagues. Of the supporting cast Niklas Falk ("Så som i himmelen") stands out as the leader of the religious sect. His character believes in the holy word, but seems to have a heart of darkness inside him.

Innan frosten (Before the Frost) is well worth to be seen. It's not a classic of its genre but the best of its kind at the moment.

**** 1/2 (4 1/2 out of 5)

I went to see this movie mainly because my father paid. I haven't read the book, so I didn't know the plot line before seeing it.

The beginning creates interest right away and after that it just rolls on. In into the story comes all the characters and the subplot (Linda's relation to her father) is quite cliché, but it becomes apparent that it is needed to help the story.

The story has a lot of loose ends, and a while in I didn't understand how some parts were connected to the others. In the end, most of these ends are tied together, but some are still strange and never gets a real explanation. Most of the parts that were meant to be scary, or at least raise the pulse of the audience wasn't that scary, as most things were quite predictable.

Anyway, I enjoyed this, they managed to tie most of the loose ends together, and it was a quite interesting story, but nothing I'd pay to see at the cinema.

5/10

Innan frosten (roughly translated to "before the frost" – don't worry, it doesn't make sense in Swedish either) is the kind of by-the-numbers, middle-of-the-road police thriller that we get a few of every year here in Sweden but might have some sort of exotic appeal elsewhere – at least that's my theory of why the equally unoriginal The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo became such a hit abroad. At the same time, while it is extremely safe, it does offer 90 minutes of decent entertainment, and perhaps one should not ask for more.

Based on a novel by the rather politically oriented author Henning Mankell, Innan frosten deals with religious fanaticism and vaguely with gay marriage and abortion, which is a decently interesting topic. Moreover, it is hilarious how the casting unflatteringly managed to find so many people who naturally look like crazy fanatics. To spice things up further, the plot also involves the complicated relationship between the inspector Kurt Wallander (a great Krister Henriksson) and his police daughter (the talented, late, Johanna Sällström). Unfortunately, it is overall handled rather clumsily, but there is one terrific scene in which their relationship reaches its culminating point.

Stylistically, the film does little more than what is required, and again, perhaps you should not demand more than that. However, the opening image of burning swans flying through the air is quite striking, and it also features some rather nice images of nature. Finally, the aptly adequate finale concludes what is still probably one of the best films of the series, even if it does not spur any afterthoughts, exactly.

Having just watched the same episode in the Branagh series, there are elements of strength. The problem is that in this one, we don't get the real foundation for the relationship between father and daughter, leading to the horrors he creates. I know guilt has great affect, but we should be let in on some of the goings on. We get to meet Wallander for the first time. He is unfriendly, impulsive, distant, and a bit mean. We get to meet Linda, his daughter, who has just passed her exams and graduated from the academy. Of course, Dad forgets all about it and doesn't attend. He has all kinds of excuses but she is having none of it. As for the case, people who are committing classical sins. having test tube babies, having abortions or performing them, etc., are being murdered by someone. The father was at Jonestown and is nutty as a fruitcake. This makes for an interesting plot. The downside of this is, as another reviewer has pointed out, that the police are about as incompetent as they can be. The mess up the most basic protections possible. There is a van, loaded with explosives. At the very least it should have been disabled. It is left and the bad guy jumps in and takes off. There are at least five times in this episode where sheer stupidity reigns. Nevertheless, the characters are beginning to develop, so let's give it a chance.

I went to see this movie with my girlfriend without having read the book (or any books from the author) before. Basically, I knew nothing about the characters and the story, which usually is a good thing. I won't reveal any details since it would ruin the movie.

The main characters are a father and daughter; the first a veteran cop and the other a newly graduated cop. Despite problems within the family, they must work together to solve a series of crimes, which all seem twisted and religious.

The character build-up was OK, and the first 3/4 of the movie was actually surprisingly good. The plot was quite good, with some nice twists. The end has some flaws which in my opinion brings the grade down a notch.

Conclusion: a better-than-average Swedish thriller with some suspenseful and thrilling parts, but with a so-so ending. Grade: 3.5/5.