I have to say that Branagh's interpretation of the Swedish detective is quite bland. He seems to have little emotion, especially one of joy. The book character is interested in music and is able to laugh at times. While at a law enforcement conference, Kurt finds himself embroiled in South African politics after a white woman disappears. It is not as simple as finding out what happened to her. It involves cover-ups and reprisals. It also brings in the element of power. One normally thinks of the blacks versus the whites in this country and the issues related to Apartheid. But here, there is something involving a wealthy black man that hypocritically puts him in bed with the evil element. Kurt works with a young, black South African female cop. As is his wont, he launches himself into danger without carefully considering the consequences. The down side is the aforementioned lack of personality. A fair comment would be that taking the Swede out of Sweden sort of sterilizes everything. Not a bad offering, but kind of far afield.
