Directors: Daniel Lind Lagerlöf, Richard Petrelius
Starring: Sven Wollter, Lars-Erik Berenett, Thomas Hanzon, Eva Rexed, Ulf Friberg
Running Time: 265 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Van Veeteran (Sven Wollter) is a retired detective who comes unofficially out of retirement to help solve several cases in this Nordic crime drama. VAN VEETEREN Films volume 2 follows him and his colleagues in three episodes:
“Carambole”- Following a clandestine meeting with his lover a man kills a young boy in a hit and run, but does not escape unseen. The ensuing blackmail drama claims further victims, including Van Veeteren’s son, Erich.
“The Swallow, The Cat, The Rose and Death”- Münster (Thomas Hanzon) comes across the strangled body of a young woman in her home and surprises the murderer who is still on the premises. Though the murderer escapes, a rare book is found at the scene with a dedication by the killer.
“Case G”- Van Veeteren’s only unsolved case comes back to haunt him when the daughter of a murdered private detective comes to see him.
VAN VEETEREN is one of your your standard Nordic detective shows- a warning though, it’s slow and quite bleak (obviously), much like other Scandinavian crime dramas. It unfortunately doesn’t have that thrill of THE KILLING, which might be because it’s three hour and a half long specials isn’t a television series with twenty episodes.
Also, VAN VEETEREN is unconventional in that the viewers sometimes know who’s committed the crime from the beginning, and part of the “fun” is watching how the detectives uncover the truth. At times this is incredibly frustrating and unsatisfying- therefore the stories lack the “whodunit” part of a mystery.
The acting isn’t perfect- reactions are slow but the characters are relatable. Van Veeteren’s two collegaues, Münster and Moreno (Eva Rexed), have good chemistry that makes up for the sporadically acting. Disappointingly the first episode felt plotless- Van Veeteren doesn’t feature much but in the second and third stories he assumes the role of the older detective who leads Münster and Moreno.
Overall, if you understand and appreciate Scandinavian crime drama for what it is (a Nordic version of MIDSOMER MURDERS), then VAN VEETEREN is for you.
VAN VEETEREN FILMS VOLUME 2 is out on DVD on Monday 25th November
