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During a blackout, the body of a woman is found in the middle of the Øresund Bridge, between Sweden and Denmark. Half of it belongs to a Swedish politician, the other half to a Danish prostitute.Trapped in no-man's land between two countries, a binational investigatory team is put together to solve the crime. Laid-back Danish family man, Martin, the laid back family man from Denmark, and Saga,the socially awkward singleton from Sweden, soon realise that they are chasing a dangerous killer with a serious agenda. (Arrow Films)
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The Bridge is an extremely precise genre spectacle in every respect. But in that lies my sole criticism of it. The screenwriting concept and genre focus are too obvious throughout the narrative with the eccentric duo of investigators, the interconnection of the case with the social issues of the day, the criminal genius and his elaborate plan, and ultimately the premise itself, which makes it clear that this is a Scandinavian co-production. Though in principle it is unfair to compare all Scandinavian crime productions to the ground-breaking The Killing (which of course was far from being the first internationally successful title of its genre; see Unit One, for example). But it is quite evident that The Bridge comes from the same dramaturgical roots and would like to have the same effect. Because of its exceedingly obvious contrivance, it will always remain “just” a genre series and will never be able to measure up to the complexity and emotional and ethical impact of The Killing, especially its climactic third season.
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Because I like to begin my reviews with flowery journalistic language, I can’t allow myself to characterise The Bridge as a series that will give you a chill. Not only with the coldness of the inhospitable environment, framed with chillingly perfect camerawork, but also the coldness of the interpersonal relationships. Though detailed psychological depictions do not play the lead role in the narrative, it is clear from the beginning that there will be no grand declarations of love or heart-rending embraces, which helps to highlight the fact that the one who is sick is not just the wanted killer, but also the society that produced him. In my opinion, Saga Norén is the most convincingly written and acted character with Asperger’s syndrome that I have seen so far, as she is an embodiment of that emotional impassivity. Thanks to her extraordinary scrupulousness, which sharply contrasts with the greater moral flexibility (and thus greater humanity) of the other characters, the series maintains a sense of detachment and never becomes so serious that it would start to be ridiculous (like Luther). At the same time, however, there is no exaggeration of the protagonist’s affliction or excessive effort to balance her inability to empathise against her brilliance as an investigator. Saga is fully devoted only to her work, from which she allows herself to be distracted only when she needs to satisfy some of her basic physical needs. Besides Saga, I found that the main value added of The Bridge is its attempt to present the killer’s deviant ideas in a more ambivalent package by placing them in a broader social context. At the conclusion of the series, its creators unfortunately turn away from diagnosing so-called advanced western societies toward personal traumas and very shallow motivations, which rather diminishes the plausibility of the plot (or perhaps I am merely underestimating the determination of Scandinavian sociopaths). However, I consider the expansion of the scope of the standard investigation to include what is happening in the globalised world to be a clever screenwriting move, as it leads us to assess smaller conflicts also from a macro-perspective. But the bold “from micro to macro and back” narrative structure also causes some outwardly important characters to serve solely for the purpose of drawing attention to more of the bad things happening in the world today (making of BDSM porn), after which they are removed from the scene. Just as the killer’s real motivation does not organically pervade the whole series and mainly seems to be the result of an attempt at an unexpected twist, the investigation itself develops in an oddly stumbling manner. It comes across as a series of partial revelations that are not closely interconnected, and the investigation actually starts over several times. Rather than it being overwrought, I would thus say that it has an inconsistent combination of individual motifs. The loose narrative is held together especially by the icy visual style, which affords no space for warmer colours, and the contrasting pair of investigators, of whom particularly Saga is a strong enough motivation for me to watch the second season. 80%
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I am writing this review after finishing the first series but at the same time I am also in the middle of the second series already which is no worse and is actually based on the exact same idea. The essence of the story is that there is a corpse on the European’s longest bridge between two countries. And since the corpse was found on the territory of two countries, one eccentric Swedish female detective and one also eccentric male Danish detective are in charge of the investigation. The best part is that they are both weathered by life and they both have their own lives with their own rules, addictions, problems and sufferings. Basically they are just normal people like all of us and it is up to the viewer if he likes them or not. But there is a breaking point during the investigation because there are not only scenes from the investigation but gradually some stories from detectives’ personal lives as well. Sofia Helin and Kim Bodnia are by the way excellent in their roles. You won’t find a couple of detectives who would be more natural and at the same time more distinctive than anybody else from for example any US crime series. The European production is much better in this aspect and it’s great that the Northerners used this to their advantage. With a mysterious Nordic atmosphere, which is underlined by a brilliant camera that focuses on Scandinavian austerity in architecture, this series simply cannot disappoint you.
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An instant favorite. I like Nordic crime dramas, and The Bridge is the best of the best. The series has an excellent atmosphere, a well-written story, and suspense that just keeps building up. I consider Season 2 to be the weakest of the three, but still worth no less than five stars. I was very concerned about Kim Bodnia's departure, but Thure Lindhardt was able to fill his shoes and had great chemistry with Sofia Helin. I hope that the creators will get talked into making a fourth season. The best line of all three seasons: "Saga Noren, Malmö police"."
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I didn't really appreciate the acclaimed Danish series The Killing, specifically its first two seasons, because I clearly felt their contrivance and considered them an artificial construct. The same can be said of The Bridge, and yet this series eventually captured my attention, despite my initial doubts, and with each episode, I enjoyed it more and more. I appreciated its social and psychological dimension, as well as its attractive characters. It is dark, uncompromising, consistently surprising, and overall an excellent work about how one embittered person can destroy their surroundings with their hatred. This is one of the peaks of contemporary television series production that can do without an excessively large budget. All it takes is quality screenwriting, clever directing, and excellent casting. Overall impression: 90%. /// I have just finished the second season and I must admit that it is as high-quality as the first one, maintaining its unique style and cleverly building on the previous narrative. I can therefore apply the same criticism to it, that it is an artificial construct, but very well executed, written, and directed. Simply a Nordic treat. After the second season, I feel like giving it 100%.
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