Hemligheten (17 Jul. 2010)

Eleven-year-old Johannes is found dead in a barn after he has been sexually abused. Lindman is charged with telling the father, whom he knows from a local shooting club, but is taken off ... See full summary »

Director:

Stephan Apelgren

Writers:

Stefan Ahnhem, Henning Mankell,

Stars:

Krister Henriksson, Johanna Sällström, Ola Rapace

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Krister Henriksson	...	Kurt Wallander
Johanna Sällström	...	Linda Wallander
Ola Rapace	...	Stefan Lindman
Fredrik Gunnarsson	...	Svartman (as Fredrik Gunnarson)
Mats Bergman	...	Nyberg
Stina Ekblad	...	Karin Linder
Chatarina Larsson	...	Lisa Holgersson
Ulf Friberg	...	Lasse Bengtsson
Claes-Göran Turesson	...	Ulf Rickardsson
Ing-Marie Carlsson	...	Britta Holm
Anders Ahlbom	...	Roffe Liljegren (as Anders Ahlbom Rosendal)
Lennart Jähkel	...	Greger Frankman
Sven Strömersten-Holm	...	Klas Gråstedt (as Sven S. Holm)
Rolf Degerlund	...	Åke Andersson
Hampus Edfeldt	...	Stefan - 11 years old

Storyline

Eleven-year-old Johannes is found dead in a barn after he has been sexually abused. Lindman is charged with telling the father, whom he knows from a local shooting club, but is taken off the case for previous unprofessional contact and pursues his own investigations. The prime suspect, a man seen chatting to Johannes at a supermarket, is found dead but his neighbour, an ex-policeman, had already arrested a similar child killer years earlier. As the investigation continues, it is clear that child pornography is involved, reopening old memories for Lindman.

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Plot Keywords:

investigation | police | father daughter relationship

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Official Sites:

SF [se]

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish

Release Date:

17 July 2010 (Italy)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Yellow Bird Films, Yellowbird Productions

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

User Reviews

Deep tragedy as Stefan crosses paths with a bad cop from his past

This was the review in which I had planned to give a special mention to the superior acting skills of 41-year old Ola Rapace who plays Stefan. In this episode we gain some insight into why his character has behaved the way he has in earlier episodes and we are with him in a very intense struggle in this one. I can only hope that Mr. Rapace finds opportunities in his craft, be they on film or stage, to continue to hone and deepen his already remarkable skills. Somehow he reminds me of one of Ingmar Bergman's crew, namely, Gunnar Bjornstrand, in terms of capacity to handle many different kinds of roles. Rapace displays in this series at least a more fiery and passionate kind of man.

This is the strongest Wallander episode in this series yet, in several different ways and an excellent episode to mark the close of the first season.

It's a psychological thriller in which we find out before the police do who has committed the murder of a young boy who was the victim of sexual abuse and we wonder if the police can discover a particularly clever murderer. It's a terrible tragedy for Stefan in several ways. The story touches upon the tragedy of men who molest young boys.

Further, the writing captures the conflict falling upon Kurt's shoulders in living up to responsibilities while also acting humanely and throwing away the rulebook. Kurt follows the rules, and if there is a theme in this episode that stands out, it is just that: follow the ethical rules or you end up in a total mess. And the script captures the psychological strains placed on police coping with criminals whom they may come to detest. In this one, Nyberg's cool tenacity helps save the day, and so does Linda's. Kurt takes a back seat.

As the season closes, a hand of applause for the entire company of players present in every episode plus the many fine actors who appeared in each episode. Somewhere in Sweden are some acting schools, I guess, and if so, they are doing an excellent job. But then did we not already know this from the cinema of the past? Yes, but it is good to see it continued in this millennium.