Bridge over troubled water

I have just finished watching the Swedish/Danish TV series "The Bridge" and it has been one of the best programmes that I have watched for a while.

A detective thriller, it has a plot that kept you guessing until the last couple of episodes (there were ten in all) and then it played out as race against time.

Set in Sweden and Denmark, it featured the Øresund Bridge, which effectively links Malmo and Copenhagen, on which a body is found and as the investigation proceeds, this links the Swedish and Danish police forces to the crime. 


The two lead detectives are Saga Noren, an attractive, blond Swedish female officer and Martin Rohde, her Danish counterpart, who looks like the British MP, George Galloway!


Initially they find it hard to work together (Saga files a formal complaint about Martin after they first meet!) but as you would expect as the series develops so does their working relationship. The fact that Saga is virtually incapable of small talk leads to some wonderful scenes as they drive around both cities. Martin has a complicated personal life and this is initially shown as he tries to work having just had a vasectomy and then discovers that his wife is pregnant (again).


It's hard to describe the plot without giving too much away, but it revolves around a killer who is setting a series of traps/puzzles to make a number of socio-political points about varies injustices and spins on from there. 


The programme looks fantastic with the director of photography using lots of washed out colours and effects and both cities look wonderful, particularly at night. There is also a modern soundtrack which adds just the right amount of tension when required. 


As it's in Swedish/Danish, you have to turn off computers and phones and concentrate on the sub-titles. That also helps with the complex plot, so you don't miss things either. 


It's still on the iPlayer and although at ten, one hour episodes, it's a sizable commitment, but it's worth every minute.