Wallander (TV Series) The White Lioness (2015) User Reviews

A very different case for Kurt.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 8/10 · 24 May 2020]

Wallander lands in South Africa for a conference, but gets entangled in a local case, involving a missing Swedish woman.

It's a very unusual story, the Swedish setting adds a bleak, dark layer, that atmosphere is of course absent here, instead we have the bold and dramatic imagery of Africa. We have the contrast of the very poor South Africa and the very affluent Sweden.

Branagh's great, wonderfully straight laced, I love that he doesn't play the hero here.

Bonnie Henna is tremendous as Sergeant Grace, incredibly charismatic, she really does steal the scenes.

8/10

Flawed politics but a good story otherwise

[janrdoh · 8/10 · 23 August 2016]

I rather enjoy seeing foreign made shows set in South Africa just to see how badly they get it wrong. Now don't take this the wrong way I did enjoy the show but the way it was portrayed was a little off putting for someone who lives there.For example Kurt wandering around in Kayaletsha unmolested and even going into a pub.If you are a white guy alone good luck with that,not to say you would be killed or anything but you would know you aren't supposed to be there.Second thing was the obvious pro ANC dialogue through out especially in a city where there is not much love for the ANC. The most annoying of course was the part where the female Detective mentions that a white youth had attempted to shoot a black politician. Yes many black ANC politicians were killed during the local election but that was all done by people within the party removing their opposition and people not happy with who the party had elected to stand as Councillors.Not once was a white, Indian or Coloured person ever caught or accused of perpetrating those crimes. If you can overlook the biased politics in the show the rest of the story is great and well worth watching.

Kurt gets involved in a case in South Africa

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 23 May 2016]

This, the first episode in the final season of the BBC's version of 'Wallander', opens far from protagonist Kurt Wallander's home town of Ystad in Sweden; instead we see a Swedish woman. Inga Hedeman, driving to a remote farm in the Western Cape in South Africa. She sees a man she hasn't met before then isn't seen again. By coincidence Kurt is in Cape Town for a conference and is asked to talk to the woman's husband as his complaints about the investigation are actually impeding it. He goes to see him along with local police officer Sgt Grace Mthembu and is given a map to the farm Inga went to; there is no sign of her but he does find two severed fingers! It also becomes apparent that the map doesn't match the address had given to the police… was this just a poorly drawn map or was she deliberately sent to the wrong place? Kurt continues to investigate and finds himself being shot at in Khayelitsha Township and kidnapped from his hotel! During this time he learns that there is far more to the case than one missing Swedish woman; somebody is plotting to assassinate a prominent black politician… Will Kurt and Grace be able to find the assassin before he strikes and will the man behind the plot be identified?

This episode was a rather unusual way to start a new season; setting it in South Africa took away the series' main unique selling point… namely the fact that it is Swedish. Anybody who missed the opening and hadn't seen previous episodes could be forgiven for not realising that Kurt was Swedish!

That said I did enjoy the story and liked the setting; the scenery was impressive without feeling like it was sponsored by the local tourist board and the urban scenes had a vibrancy as well as a sense of danger. The case was intriguing and it was fun to see Kurt somewhere so different… although it did seem a little unlikely that he'd go into Khayelitsha on his own to look for somebody with known gang links! Kenneth Branagh continues to impress as Wallander and guest star Bonnie Henna did a fine job as Grace; it was a pity her role wasn't bigger. Any drama set in South Africa runs the risk of becoming cliché with references to the 'bad old days' but here we see that no race has a monopoly on being good (or bad). Overall this was a fine episode with plenty of tense moments; however even though I enjoyed the South African excursion I look forward to the series returning to Sweden.

The White Lioness

[Prismark10 · 7/10 · 22 May 2016]

The late novelist Henning Mankell was interested in the plight of immigrants. We see this over the course of the Wallander stories. Various immigrants of whatever nationalities being exploited. In one of the adventures the villain regularly goes over to Africa to exploit vulnerable people over there. Mankell was a humanist and frustrated and angry with the inequalities and exploitation prevalent in Africa. He himself had spent a lot of time in Mozambique.

This is the final series of the English language version Of Wallander. In this episode we see him jogging in Cape Town. Keeping fit is not something we have seen him do before. He is in South Africa attending a conference but son becomes involved in a disappearance of a Swedish lady. Her husband is agitated and blames the local police of dragging their feet.

Wallander finds out that she got lost due to an incorrect map and ended somewhere in the wrong time and the wrong place. This place being used for target practice for the possible assassination of a rising ANC politician who plans to halt lucrative tourist development schemes.

Kenneth Branagh as usual plays Wallander as subdued, even pained. He is now a grandfather but still has little reason to be cheerful. The series has always been slow burn like many of the Scandi crime dramas. There are some nice set pieces. A more intimate one was the party scene in a cop's house. It was very much like a small party I have been to, I felt Wallander's behaviour very relaistic just look at the way he washes his hands and drys them on a paper towel. I was alo impressed with the big crowd scene gathered for the political rally at the end of the episode, it is a kind of epicness usually found in cinema films. It also allows Mankell's thoughts to weave through the episode where even those politicians who fought against oppression can get corrupted.

Thankfully, little connection to the boring novel

[trey-yancy-572-763547 · 9/10 · 8 July 2021]

The book is about Wallander stumbling over a murder and various odd bits of evidence and sending a telex. He never leaves Sweden. There is no South African woman detective. In fact the book is extremely boring. A good seven chapters in the Africa section could be pulled and never missed.

What we have in this episode, however, is good entertainment. It is far better than the book. Far better.

Great first episode of the 4th season

[gmorgan51-158-682165 · 10/10 · 10 May 2016]

What a great first episode to begin UK Wallander's fourth season (The White Lioness). It was so nice to see that Kurt had actually shaved and had his hair cut. But seriously, the passion, compassion and sensitivity, not to mention courage, that Wallander showed in assisting the investigation in South Africa was, in whole cloth, awesome. Not only was it a good story in itself, but the episode also gave us a brief glimpse of the negative impact that greed can have, even on former do-gooders who start out with, probably, the best of intentions. And I know it's not a popular theme or idea these days, but the episode also gave us a brief glimpse of how far South Africa has come since the abolition of the racist and brutal system of apartheid, and, more importantly, how far there is yet to go.

Kudos to Kenneth Branagh (did you see his performance in the 1991 TV movie "Conspiracy?" If not, treat yourself and watch it), to the late novelist Henning Mankell, to screen writer James Dormer, and to director Benjamin Caron.

On Location

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 20 May 2016]

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.

Bubble Burst: Wallander The White Lioness (#4.1)"(2015)

[bkolhede · 5/10 · 9 May 2016]

I love the Wallander Books as well as both the Swedish & BBC television versions...up to this point. 'The White Lioness' is probably my favorite of all the Wallander books. So I was anxiously awaiting last nights Wallander on Masterpiece.

I was extremely disappointed with the end product. Branagh was as solid as ever, but he didn't have much to work with.

The screen adaptation was a shell of the great novel. Not the least bit suspenseful i can understand a perceived need to make it contemporary, not centering it on the possible assassination attempt to either de Klerk or Mandela......but it was so dumbed-down. Such a shame.

I hope another writer and production company like Yellow Bird take this story on and do it justice.

Not Worth the Wait

[Erik-Movie-Reviews · 1/10 · 9 May 2016]

Compared to Wallander Seasons 1 to 3 the first episode of Season 4 was a major disappointment. There was very little continuity with the other Wallender episodes or any of the other Wallander series cast. If this was the only episode of Wallender I had seen of this series I would definitely have stopped watching. Very Slow and Boring.

After waiting a few years for the final season, I was hoping for a well thought out and performed episode. There is the possibility that the other Episodes of the final Wallander series 4 will be better, but I am not very optimistic. It is not clear if the Story was weak or just the acting or performance. Instead of having a Swedish policemen in South Africa it might have been a better idea for Wallender to remain in Sweden.

Limp Version of the Swedish Classic

[l_rawjalaurence · 4/10 · 21 June 2016]

Take a leading British actor with a knighthood, put him in moody detective thriller, move the action to South Africa, and there you have ... a major disappointment.

Compared to the Swedish original television series, when Ralf Lassgard played the detective as an overweight, moody personality, who often vented his frustrations on possible suspects, Branagh cuts an anodyne figure. He is frequently photographed in close-up looking worried, but we never know really why he should feel like this.

The plot is pretty unmemorable, with a denouement that can be most charitably described as implausible. Definitely not worth wasting an hour and a half on.

Decent acting but a hackneyed plot

[rusoviet · 3/10 · 10 February 2019]

...that's been don e numerous times and the 'revelation' falls flat. I also found it strange that when Branham first meets the Swedish spouse of the missing wife he doesn't even use a smidgen of Swedish