Wallander (TV Series) Innan frosten (2005) User Reviews

A film I could easily recommend to watch

[nickesven2003 · 7/10 · 13 October 2005]

I was quite surprised to see some of the negative reviews of the film on this page. Not having read the book, I actually thought the film was very enjoyable on several levels: the father versus daughter relationship is entirely credible; the daughter versus old friends story; and finally the actual plot centered around the twisted sect. Seemingly unimportant information was picked up later in the film giving significance to details in a very clever way. The pace of the film is quite good, never a dull moment, suspense is OK if not at the highest level, acting is good to. I can agree with some of the reviewers that Kurt Wallander is a more complex character than what has been portrayed in this particular film, not to blame Krister Henriksson, the 90 minutes didn't allow it. Hopefully the whole palette of his personality will be exposed in the films that will follow. Overall, a film that I would easily recommend to rent or watch on TV.

Decent Swedish cop thriller

[Magenta_Bob · 7/10 · 5 February 2012]

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.

Disappointing

[atik10 · 6/10 · 5 February 2005]

Despite a promising prelude, especially with the use of real(?) documentary footage, the movie fails to build on the good start. The old cliché of police movies; the troublesome relations of the father and the daughter, both working as cops in the same police station is just one example of how tedious the storyline is.

"Innan Frösten" seems like a quickly shot TV-episode. The characters lack depth and the story moves too fast.

I like the Wallander novels but this movie does not do any justice to the complex character of Kurt Wallander. I don't think that Krister Henriksson is at all that unsuitable for the role of Wallander, it's the lacking script that makes the legendary policeman look shallow.

Ola Norell on the other hand looks way too young to be Stefan Lindman, I'm not sure but I think this is because they wanted to create more electricity between Lindman and Linda Wallander, if that's the case it certainly did'nt work for me.

Pretty good, better than 5.3

[mnystedt · 7/10 · 1 July 2005]

As I write this, the movie has a 5.3 out of 10 rating. I think it deserves better. I haven't read the book, but I've read some other Wallander books and seen some of the previous movies. Although I really like Lassgård as Wallander, Henriksson does a really good job and we should stay away from comparing them too much. They are different actors making their own interpretation of the role. Johanna Sällström does a good job as Wallander's daughter and there's a lot going on between them that I hope will get explored more in future movies. It's beautifully shot and generally speaking of pretty high production quality. Since they are doing 13 movies in pretty short time you could suspect it would come across as rushed and cheap, but I don't think that's the case with this one. Perhaps because it's the first and maybe it'll get worse as we go along. The supporting actors are of high caliber and do a good job. The story is a bit strange at times but they keep it together and going well and there's really no boring parts. So, in short, not the best Wallander-movie made, but I enjoyed it, and I think most other viewers will as well.

Quite good thriller

[donfalcon · 7/10 · 14 January 2005]

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.

Ambitious yet mixed blessing

[suchenwi · 7/10 · 18 September 2008]

This TV movie, "pilot" of the Wallander series, came on DVD with German Vanity Fair, 18 Sep 2008. I found it quite intense in some points, and questionable in others.

Good points first. This is "Wallander", but less Kurt than his daughter Linda (like the book, as far as Wikipedia tells - I only read Firewall). Conflict of generations is a natural consequence, and the father/child relation is reflected at least twice (the baby by artificial insemination, which later redoes Moses, and the unborn child in Anna, who again misses her long-lost father). Then we have the Christian fundamentalist sect, which uses terror (starting with setting swans afire) against what they consider sin: abortion, artificial insemination, gay marriage. A link to Jonestown is repeated multiple times, but wasn't so plausible to me.

And that leads us to more implausibilities. Coincidence just happens too often. Linda returns to Ystad, can't stay with her estranged pa, so moves in with Anna and meets the fatherless baby at a spoiled beach picknick. And gets to meet every point in this almost geometrical construction.

It somehow serves the story-line, but is it plausible to snipe-shoot the driver of a cruising van loaded with explosives? (The van stops nicely, ready for later timed explosion in open field.) I give this 7/10, partly because of nice Swedish details, and memorable scenes like the hanging in the church or the gay wedding, but at the end I'm not convinced - too much geometry, too little glimpses of reality... (there were some, like the stolen bike scene, but I'd wished for more.)

Horrible

[stensson · 2/10 · 16 January 2005]

This Swedish police movie contains everything that is bad in the genre and runs it once again, but in an almost amateurish way. If I say that the superintendent's daughter, with a fresh exam from the Police Academy, arrives at her father's police station, you know the rest. There are conflicts and cliché on cliché on cliché. After less than half an hour you know who've done the bad things and who will do it in the future. If you get frightened of the jump scenes, this must be your first action movie.

Krister Henriksson is far from the level of his predecessor in these films, Rolf Lassgård. Johanna Sällström fights hard against the script, but doesn't win the fight.

I thought Henning Mankell, the man behind the books about this superintendent working in a small Swedish town, was radical but he seems to be just "radical chic". Let's hope he gets a lot of money for lending his copper to this crap.

Before the frost there was a murder....

[kai81 · 9/10 · 26 January 2005]

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)

A great movie

[1984rapture · 7/10 · 14 August 2017]

Cults have always been a fun topic in a movie, and it was well executed in this one. The Wallander movies have always been great, and so have the books. It gives off a creepy atmosphere but it also intrigues. The casting is great as usual. Being interested in true crime, it really excited me when they had Jonestown featured in the movie, as well as its history. The bad part was that they featured a "survivor" of the massacre and that it was a Swede.

Dreadful

[pinegard · 1/10 · 17 January 2006]

This is the first movie in the new Wallanderseries and is based on the book with the same name. And it went completely wrong.The policemen/woman in this film behaves like morons and I can't understand how they did make it trough police academy. Embarrassing mistakes and on top of it all a ridiculous plot aiming to please some minorities in society (they can'not have gained anything by this) I don't blame the actors or the photo - but everything else stinks! I feel also there is a lack of flow in this picture that easily could have been avoided by lengthening/cutting i the right places. Next episodes must be far superior if Í'm going to watch this series.

A great introduction

[Tweekums · 9/10 · 29 July 2010]

Having seen the more recently made BBC version of Wallander I was curious to see the Swedish version when it was shown on Television soon afterwards. At first it seemed a little strange as it is based on later stories where his situation has changed somewhat, the biggest change is that his daughter Linda has joined the police and in this opening episode she moves to Ystad after graduating. Almost as soon as she gets there we learn that things are not well between her and her father Kurt; this wasn't helped by the fact that he missed her graduation. He invites her to live with him but she decides to ask a friend if she can stay with her instead.

The case this week opens in a rather macabre way when two swans are set alight and filmed as they try to fly away. A woman witnesses this but she is killed before she can report anything. When she is reported missing Kurt accompanies Linda to her daughter's house and he says that they will start an investigation if she hasn't returned by the morning. Linda thinks they should start looking straight away so heads off to where the woman was going and finds her body. Rather than being impressed with her police investigative skills Kurt reprimands her for going off alone. Soon after there is a second murder, this time an abortion doctor is abducted and hanged in a church. She was clearly targeted and soon a video of the crime is posted on the internet. It becomes apparent that the crime is some how related to the Jonestown massacre that took place in the 1970s and that the friend Linda is staying with is connected to the people concerned.

This was a great introduction to the series; I've seen it three times now and still enjoy it. This is largely down to the quality cast, especially Krister Henriksson who plays Kurt Wallander and the late Johanna Sällström who played his daughter Linda, it is a tragedy that this fine actress died so young. The story was gripping and had several tense moments. There were also some more humorous moments such as when newly transferred Stefan complains about an over-zealous traffic cop who stopped him to Kurt not knowing that the policewoman in question was his daughter. Even though I had to rely on the subtitles, as I don't understand Swedish I enjoyed this more than the British version.

A Reasonable Beginning

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 16 November 2015]

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.

Stupid Cops

[dgz78 · 5/10 · 15 October 2014]

***Big Spoiler Alert***

I've seen all the Branaugh, Lassgard & Henrickson versions and while I like them all, their Wallanders are all very different. And while this story has the same title as the Branaugh version it's different enough to keep me interesting.

But while I never expect the cops in Ystad to act like the Strike Team on The Shield, you would hope they use their brains.

Two cops come across a van with explosives in the woods while their searching for a kidnapped baby. Instead of disabling the van while they follow the baby's cries, they just walk right past it.

Then the cops shoot the driver and stop the van. Of course then one of the cops lets the female passenger get her gun and they drive off toward a church they want to blow up. Man, how hard is it to catch a criminal.

Of course the church is being guarded by police with rifles and they get a call the van is coming their way. So what do the cops do? Well of course they go into the packed church and tell everyone to leave all the while getting stuck in the middle of the crowd. Maybe they could have set up on the road to shoot and disable the truck as it's coming toward the church? Instead some of the people were sitting ducks in front of the church right next to the road.

I can overlook the anti-religious theme, I've watched enough Morse and Lewis to almost expect it. But if this were a realistic depiction of the police in Sweden the criminal community of Europe must be flooding in there because they don't have to worry too much from the police.

If you can get past how much more depressing the Branaugh Wallander is, his version is more interesting and less frustrating. Henrikkson is a less volatile and moody KW but carries the role OK.

Ystad, Sweden

[jotix100 · 6/10 · 7 July 2010]

Having read Henning Mankell's original novel in which this episode in the "Wallander" series is based, we were expecting a somewhat faithful adaptation. The writers, Per Berglund, Stefan Ahnhem, and Henning Koch, had a daunting task of bringing the essence of the novel into a ninety minutes format, something that proved to work against the overall success of this chapter in the "Wallander" series. Director Kjel-Ake Andersson did what he could with the material he was given to bring a story that made sense.

The mass murder in Guyana by Rev. Jim Jones, plays a key factor in the story, although it is not too obvious when the clue appears to the viewer. The self righteous sect behind the burning of the swans, hanging of an abortion woman doctor and the almost drowning of an infant, was much sinister in the written page. In this version, it is somewhat tame in comparison.

Henning Mankell's pessimistic view of the Swedish society shows in this story. His Kurt Wallander is a complex man who now has to welcome his own estranged daughter, Linda, into the police ranks he is in charge of. That alone, is a conflict in the making because the kind of relationship father and daughter have shown each other. The appearance of Stefan Lindman is a distraction. The basic problem with the disappearing Anna is not fully developed, something that had more of a dramatic play in the novel.

The first episode in the season shows Krister Henriksson as Kurt Wallander. His reading on the character is closer to one's imagination of how the real inspector would have been in the flesh. Mr. Henriksson downplays the part to good results. We also enjoyed Johanna Hallstrom's Linda. Her conflict with the father appears to be real. Ola Rapace is seen as Stefan Lindman. Niklas Falk, a distinguished Swedish actor has only a small part as the leader of the sect.

Ystad is a small place, but in Henning Mankell's world it is a huge place where the most heinous crimes are committed by ordinary people for the enjoyment of millions of the genre.

Not bad, but nothing special either

[IceaFrost · 5/10 · 23 January 2005]

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

not very likely

[gooner-17 · 3/10 · 28 June 2005]

Hm well. I'm a big fan of Mankell. I've read most of his books and seen the movies. I haven't read "Innan Frosten" thou but I cant believe its as bad as this movie. It was utterly crap. No depth, no characters, no plot, no dialog and the actors, my God, are they really pros? That Sällström girl, shes not in my book, but some regard her as quite an actress but this?! Please give me a break. The directors willingness to shoot her mostly from behind dressed in her tight jeans, I am sad to say, saved this movie from getting a 2 from me. Now I just have to read the book so I can determine if its as bad as the movie. People, save yourself from wasting a good hour and a half, do something else, sew, make pottery I don't care, just leave this be.

Missing pages in director's book?

[kjepo · 3/10 · 29 June 2005]

This was the second Wallander film I've seen. In the first one (Mannen som log), Rolf Lassgård did an admirable job of portraying Wallander, but I was mildly irritated when the film ended in the complete opposite way: the villain got away!

So I was hoping that the new project with 13 films would be more true to the books, but Noooo.

In this film (Innan frosten, eng. Before the frost) - why does the director or script writer change the story so radically, and add stuff that wasn't in Mankell's book? The "new" material is so bad, almost to the point of embarrassing.

I'd be hard pushed to see another one in this series.

If you've read the book - don't watch the movie!

[simsim-2 · 3/10 · 12 August 2005]

I've read the book and despite knowing that the it's way too comprehensive to fit into 90 minutes of film, I gave it a shot. If you've read the book and want to watch the movie - don't! I finished the book in about two days, I couldn't put it down. It was exciting and upsetting. The movie is something else, in quality it's not as good as for example the Beck-movies, but still an okay movie. I guess that people who haven't read the book can enjoy this one as a quite good thriller.

So in my personal opinion it would have been a 1, if I hadn't read the book it would have been a 5, so I landed in between.

Am Ithe only one who didn't get Wallender

[wdfraser-253-537294 · 5/10 · 30 December 2011]

I watched Wallander on TV last night, I can't say I didn't enjoy it, it was actually quite a good story line. What spoiled it for me was I hadn't heard anything about Wallander and spent the whole of the episode wondering why everyone was speaking with an English accent and driving left hand drive cars, they all appeared to be British but it was obviously set in Europe somewhere. I noticed the police uniforms were not British police uniforms and all of the police spoke with a British accent. I found the whole thing confusing. Maybe I will enjoy it a bit more next time as I have read up about it on the net, for me it would have been a bit more believable if the actors had accents.

disjointed with thin characterizations

[citizen-charles · 3/10 · 28 November 2017]

Krister Henriksson as Kurt Wallander may grow into his part but he shows no sign of doing so in this, his first "episode'.

He barely has a handful of lines, the film lacks any mystery or suspense and we see none of the existential angst which is the hallmark of the Henning Mankell character.

Instead we get a very routine procedural, dull visuals in a film more about Wallander's daughter in her first job.

The Kenneth Branagh version of this story is more complex and emotionally impactful than this very thin telling.

Not as good as I was hoping

[GSK23 · 5/10 · 25 July 2023]

I figured that I should start with the original before going onto the British version. But.. I might move on to the British one sooner than expected.

I'm sorry, but the whole Jonestown thing was totally silly. As things unfolded and exposed, I had already guessed it ten minutes previously. Not exactly what I was expecting!

The characters are all distant and there's no feeling of connection with any of them. Maybe that will all fall into place with more episodes? I'm not going to give up, but this episode isn't pushing me too hard into the next one.

I'm truly surprised after reading all the really great reviews here. Maybe that put my expectations too high?