Pedophilia is at the center of the last installment of the first "Wallander" season. It was one of the best developed chapters in the Swedish series about the work of Henning Mankell.
As the episode begins, we watch a young boy being photographed by an adult. It is obvious the boy does not want to be photographed at all, which triggered something in our mind about this being a case of sexual abuse of that child. This scene is the key to understanding the dark secret someone has kept within him for such a long time, and unfortunately, this young lad's life will end in tragedy.
When a boy is found dead in a ditch, the Ystad police is notified. The fact that the boy has been beaten to death does not prepare Kurt Wallander and his men for the discovery that, not contented with the killing, the perpetrator had sexually violated the victim as well. The murdered child is the son of Lasse Bengtsson, a young father that happens to be Stefan's friend. It is determined the boy was killed by a blow to his head with a hard object and white fibers are found around the bullet wound.
The investigation takes the police into several areas. One man that seems to know a lot about the nature of the crime is Roffe Liljegren, a retired member of the police force that whose work dealt with trying to infiltrate himself into known pedophile groups in order to break their pornographic rings. Roffe points the detectives to a man, that might have something to do with the murder, since he is a known pedophile. When the police arrive at the country cabin the suspect owns, they find the man dead from a gun shot.
Stefan Lindman, a loose cannon, feeling bad about his friend Lasse, begins to do a lot false movements that irritate Kurt Wallander. His erratic behavior leads to his temporary suspension. One night, arriving in a drunken state at Linda's house, she makes him stay and sleep on the sofa. She notices Stefan's wound and asks him about it.
The police determines the young boy was slain in one place and transferred to the ditch where he was found. The police thinks he was loaded into a van and dumped at the site. Their efforts to locate the vehicle proves elusive. Linda suspects Roffe is more involved in the murder, than he admits, something that leads her into a grim discovery about Stefan and that ultimately implicates the criminal and solves the mystery.
A good finale for this surprising Swedish series. The episode was directed by Stephan Apelgren, a man that contributed to the success of "Wallander" with his take on the inspector and the Ystad police force. Written by Sefan Ahnhem and Stefan Thunberg, the action is well paced as it deals with solving the puzzle of Stefan Lindman, the tormented detective that made a lot of mistakes in the way he constantly provoked the ire of Kurt, and helped alienate himself from his colleagues.
Krister Henriksson and Johanna Sallstrom give affecting performances. It is the first time we actually see a human side to Kurt's stoicism, as well as Linda's passion for Stefan, something that put her at odds with her father, and boss. Ola Rapace, who plays Stefan, had some good moments. Same could be said about Anders Ahlbom, an good addition to anything in which he is asked to contribute, as proved by his recent appearances on a couple of films based on Stieg Larsson's novels.
Ystad, the small locale where the action takes place is captured by the cinematographer, Peter Mokrosinski. The musical score is by Adam Norden.
As the episode begins, we watch a young boy being photographed by an adult. It is obvious the boy does not want to be photographed at all, which triggered something in our mind about this being a case of sexual abuse of that child. This scene is the key to understanding the dark secret someone has kept within him for such a long time, and unfortunately, this young lad's life will end in tragedy.
When a boy is found dead in a ditch, the Ystad police is notified. The fact that the boy has been beaten to death does not prepare Kurt Wallander and his men for the discovery that, not contented with the killing, the perpetrator had sexually violated the victim as well. The murdered child is the son of Lasse Bengtsson, a young father that happens to be Stefan's friend. It is determined the boy was killed by a blow to his head with a hard object and white fibers are found around the bullet wound.
The investigation takes the police into several areas. One man that seems to know a lot about the nature of the crime is Roffe Liljegren, a retired member of the police force that whose work dealt with trying to infiltrate himself into known pedophile groups in order to break their pornographic rings. Roffe points the detectives to a man, that might have something to do with the murder, since he is a known pedophile. When the police arrive at the country cabin the suspect owns, they find the man dead from a gun shot.
Stefan Lindman, a loose cannon, feeling bad about his friend Lasse, begins to do a lot false movements that irritate Kurt Wallander. His erratic behavior leads to his temporary suspension. One night, arriving in a drunken state at Linda's house, she makes him stay and sleep on the sofa. She notices Stefan's wound and asks him about it.
The police determines the young boy was slain in one place and transferred to the ditch where he was found. The police thinks he was loaded into a van and dumped at the site. Their efforts to locate the vehicle proves elusive. Linda suspects Roffe is more involved in the murder, than he admits, something that leads her into a grim discovery about Stefan and that ultimately implicates the criminal and solves the mystery.
A good finale for this surprising Swedish series. The episode was directed by Stephan Apelgren, a man that contributed to the success of "Wallander" with his take on the inspector and the Ystad police force. Written by Sefan Ahnhem and Stefan Thunberg, the action is well paced as it deals with solving the puzzle of Stefan Lindman, the tormented detective that made a lot of mistakes in the way he constantly provoked the ire of Kurt, and helped alienate himself from his colleagues.
Krister Henriksson and Johanna Sallstrom give affecting performances. It is the first time we actually see a human side to Kurt's stoicism, as well as Linda's passion for Stefan, something that put her at odds with her father, and boss. Ola Rapace, who plays Stefan, had some good moments. Same could be said about Anders Ahlbom, an good addition to anything in which he is asked to contribute, as proved by his recent appearances on a couple of films based on Stieg Larsson's novels.
Ystad, the small locale where the action takes place is captured by the cinematographer, Peter Mokrosinski. The musical score is by Adam Norden.
