Jana - Marked for Life

When a high-ranking head of the Swedish Migration Agency is found murdered in his home, the list of suspects is long. As assistant prosecutor, Jana Berzelius steps into the investigation. She is young and brilliant but struggles against terrible nightmares due to her childhood as a war refugee. When the suspect's body is found, Jana recognizes something on his scarred body. The further into the investigation she gets, the more she realizes that it has to do with herself. Sometimes I can feel that the filming feels too dark. Don't know if it's deliberate but it feels barren? The acting from Johan Ulveson is not good at all. Reacted several times already in the first episode that he acts like a beginner in front of the camera! The series is not the best I've seen, but not the worst either. Like that..

Nonsensical plot, second rate production....what was with all the water at every scene change? Amateurish. Lost count of the holes in the story, more frequent and bigger than our local potholes.

Acting was often clunky and unnatural. My credulity was strained too many times;Jana should have been removed from any investigation early on as she was clearly a disturbed and damaged character. I blame myself for wasting so many hours hoping that it might get better.!

Not deserving of the category scandinoir; please, do not consider making series 2 or more!

There is only so much drivel a person can absorb in one lifetime!

Okay, this series has some major flaws. First, the way her adopted parents treat her traumatic childhood - I mean the level of ignorance displayed is a little hard to believe for highly educated, affluent people. Very surprising, given her adopted father's profession. I mean, no real effort given to find out why she was traumatized. I mean, come on..... Second, the treatment she received for her trauma. Why so secretive?

And, finally the biggest problem with the series and why I believe it lead to the many negative reviews. The series is just to short for the storyline being covered. I believe several of the mental leaps that you have to make and lack of fleshing out of the main character are due to it only being six episodes. Both a complex main character and storyline needed that.

So be prepared. If you can ready yourself for these, then you'll have a very enjoyable experience.

Jana Markta för livet is basically about facing the ghosts of the past. It is based on the first book of Emeli Schepp's Jana Berzelius novels. Jana Berzelius is the leading character portrayed by Swedish actress Madeleine Martin. I liked the way how Madeleine Martin is acting and she does not make you irritated. Norrköping is beautiful and it is fascinating to watch the dark atmosphere. August Wittgenstein is great as usual. His performance was great at the Das Boot series. Although there are some plot holes, the series is worth watching. I assume that there may be a second season. I will certainly watch it. Finally, I do not think that Madeline Martin needs too much makeup. They should reserve her natural beauty.

This Swedish crime drama is centred on Jana Berzelius, a young woman who is just starting out as an assistant public prosecutor in the town of Norrköping. Her first case proves to be rather personal; Hans Juhlén, the head of the immigration board has been murdered shortly after he had approached her for help. Not just that he helped her get adopted by a prominent family when she was found by the harbour as a child. The investigation will open old wounds and expose decades old secrets.

I thought this was a solid enough addition to the Nordic Noir genre. The story is suitably gripping with some decent twists and turns... as well as quite a few genre clichés. The cast does a solid job bringing their characters to life. I know 'noir' means black but things are often a bit too dark as rooms are under-lit. On the plus side there is plenty of tension, especially towards the end. Talking of the ending; many details are wrapped up but a few are left open suggesting we might get more seasons; if we do I'll certainly be watching. Overall I'd say that this isn't a must see but is still an enjoyable watch.

These comments are based on watching the series in Swedish with English subtitles.