Tag: thure lindhardt

“The Bridge” Season 4 – TV series review

Sofia Helin as Saga, in “The Bridge” Season 4. Director: Rumle Hammerich. Photo: Jens Juncker. Produced by Filmlance International AB. Courtesy of MHzChoice

“The Bridge: Season 4” is likely the final chapter in this crime drama from Sweden and Denmark. As before, it’s based on a complex crime scenario at their border affecting both countries, providing another round with a new menace for Saga (Sofia Helin) and Henrik (Thure Lindhardt) to confront. That’s hard to get off the ground, since Saga has been in jail for the eight months since Season 3’s events for allegedly killing her allegedly psycho mother. Since her release occurs in the first episode, it’s no spoiler to inform you that she’s cleared and returned to duty, albeit with some difficulties. Even knowing that, the method of getting there is intriguing enough for a good watch.

For the usual eight episodes, the cop combo and their bi-national team deal with what appears to be a serial killer. That’s in doubt because the manner of dispatching each victim differs (most of them have more of a signature style, at least in the realm of fiction), and there’s no discernible pattern of how they’re targeted. As the season progresses, multiple suspects ebb and flow, along with numerous theories about the killer’s or killers’ motivation. The murders are dramatically staged, but mostly occur off-screen, with the gory details shown rather discreetly to keep the faint of heart from turning away.

Along with the main crime plot, the season delves deeper into the natures, backstories and personal lives of several principals than was the case in the first three seasons. That makes the overall tone even more somber than before. Perhaps that’s due to the influence of the few new writers added to the prior staff. I recommend holding off on this season until you’ve seen the others, due to the considerable carryover in all the character-arc subplots. Bingeing is also preferable because of the large number of players and issues swirling around before anyone figures out which of them are relevant to this killing spree. There are also several surprising developments affecting many of the principals. Here’s the link to my review covering seasons 1-3 to refresh your memory, or provide some insight on what to expect:

“The Bridge: Seasons 2 & 3” TV Series Review

Since Season 4 aired in 2018, it seems likely to be the finale. Without details, I can advise there are no cliffhangers or loose ends detracting from a sense of closure. It was presumably written to end on that laudable note, expecting it to be the last hurrah for this celebrated, oft-imitated series. The characters and their audience deserve no less.

“The Bridge” Season 4, mostly in Danish and Swedish with English subtitles, is available streaming on MHzChoice starting Tuesday, Jan. 30.

RATING: 2.5 out of 4 stars

Sofia Helin as Saga, in “The Bridge” Season 4. Director: Rumle Hammerich. Photo: Jens Juncker. Produced by Filmlance International AB. Courtesy of MHzChoice

Tribeca 2012 Review: EDDIE – THE SLEEPWALKING CANNIBAL

EDDIE – THE SLEEPWALKING CANNIBAL is a fun little dark comedy that will surely find a nice audience although it might not rise to a level of cult phenomenon that one might think based on the deliriously twisted plot. Lars Olafssen is a former well-known artist who lost his muse 10 years ago. Finally content with not painting anymore, he takes a small teaching gig in Koda Lake, Canada where he ends up also having to care for Eddie, a seemingly harmless handicapped adult played perfectly by Dylan Smith. Eddie was traumatized as a child by the death of his parents so he no longer speaks. He also has a tendency to wake up in the middle of the night, shed his clothing down to his tighty-whities and eat people while still asleep. This would be horrible if not for the fact that seeing Eddie’s carnage somehow triggers a creative response in Lars, leading him to start painting again.

One of the things I absolutely hate about movies set in the art world is that often people are depicted as creating their so called masterpiece and when you see the artwork, it is nothing special. A large part of EDDIE is Olaf’s paintings yet they are given the golden briefcase treatment, meaning we never actually see them. This is one of the many things the film gets right. It knows exactly what to show, as evidenced by the very brisk pacing and perfectly short running time. While the film may not always be nonstop hilarity or thrills, it is certainly never dull. I do agree with some other people’s sentiments that the film gets better the bloodier it becomes but I think the restraint from showing much gore at first works thematically as both Eddie and Olaf strive towards their magnum opus. There are a lot of other little details in the film that work equally well, such as the running joke of the radio DJ commenting on how each of the classical music pieces played throughout the film directly correlate to tragedy and scenes of death.

Rather than spoil any more surprises, let me just recommend checking out EDDIE when it finds some sort of a release. This is a damn fun film and despite the outlandish concept, it is easy to relate to especially for creative types. There’s no telling how far some artists will go to get their muse back…

Jerry Cavallaro – @GetStuck – JerryCavallaro.com