We were kept very busy in November as we caught up on shows we hadn’t had the chance to watch yet this year. We also started to test drive the brand new streamer Viaplay UK, which truly is heaven for any fans of Nordic film and TV series’.
Film
A Taste of Hunger | VIAPLAY UK
For a start we have been totally mesmerized by this incredible film poster (below), and it is certainly one of our favourites of the year. We were delighted to see that this film has made it to UK audiences through the new streamer Viaplay UK, giving us the opporunity to finally watch it and after a patient wait.
Seeing Nikolaj Coster-Waldau back in his home country and speaking Danish was great, and the chemistry with his co-star Katrine Greis Rosenthal was fantastic.
The story is told in segments that throw you back and forth in time as the couple try to get their new restaurant business venture a Michelin star, not an easy feat, and one that takes its toll on them and all those around them.
TV Show
1899 | Netflix
Okay, a bit controversial as this is isn’t technically a Nordic show, however, it features a sprawling international cast, including a strong cast from the Nordic region.
1899 comes from the German creators of Dark, and has to be one of the most complicated puzzles since we tried to figure out that first season of Lost. It is rather great fun and once you get hooked there is no turning back!
Where Were You? | Viaplay UK
The first show we dived in on with new streamer Viaplay UK was Where Were You? A Danish drama focused on a young adult audience but which still manages to keep you totally hooked as an adult viewer too.
Nils Holst Jensen is the director and here he has an incredibly talented young cast handling a very tragic incident when one of their friends is raped and the fingers start to point as to who was responsible. It is part who-dunnit but also focuses on the aftermath of such a heinous crime, and the impact on both the victim and their friends.
Set out over seven episodes which are roughly twenty minutes long, what you techinically have here is your own feature film – we spoke to the director about his work on the series which you can read HERE.
What we watched on Viaplay
It’s our first month having a brand new streamer which features a fantastic selection of films and TV shows! We kickstarted our voyage into the streamer with the TV series Where Were You?, and then caught up on some films including the excellent A Taste of Hunger, Games People Play, and a re-watch of one of our absolute favourites – In Order of Disappearance.
We have only scratched the surface too, there’s plenty more to watch and even more being added onto the streamer!
Nordic News
Thordur Palsson’s ‘The Damned’
We were excited to learn about a new English language film directed by Icelandic director Thordur Palsson. The film, titled The Damned, is based in Iceland during 1880 and tells the story of a young widow called Eva (played by Odessa Young) who is faced with a horrendouc dilemma.
Does she save the passengers of a nearby sinking ship but then risk the lives of her own village due to a current food shortage? As everyone begins to suffer from their guilt Eva begins to have terrifying visions.
Palsson had previously worked on the excellent Valhalla Murders, so we are really excited to see his new feature which we hope to see released in 2023.
Disney+ joins the Nordic TV Series bandwagon
Once upon a time we struggled to find Nordic TV series’ – with only a handful showing on a few streamers and terrestrial TV, and we wondered whether things would ever change. Now we are entering 2023 with almost too much choice with the introduction of Viaplay UK, Netflix ramping up their series and now even Disney+ who will be creating their adaption of the book To Cook A Bear.
Reza Bagher will be directing the series which tells the story of a Sami boy and a Pastor who look to discover who is behind the multiple killings of young girls. The village believes it is a predatory bear but the unlikely detectives believe something else more sinister is afoot.
Vibeke Lia, Director of Programming & Production, at The Walt Disney Company Nordic & Baltic said:
“To Cook a Bear has everything we want to offer our adult audience: a deep, rich story set in a truly grand Nordic Noir scenery. I am confident it will find its way to the hearts of audiences in and well beyond the Nordics, and we can’t wait to bring it to them.”
‘The Åre Murders’ adapted as Viaplay series
Back to some Nordic Noir and the news that Viaplay will be adapting Swedish bestselling book ‘The Åre Murders.’
The series starts filming in Spring 2023 and focuses on a detective who heads to Northern Sweden for a break from both her personal and professional life when she gets dragged into the investigation of a girl’s disappearance.
Author Viveca Sten commented:
“It feels great that this story will now be a series on Viaplay! When I started writing the books in Åre during the coronavirus pandemic, I never imagined they would come to the screen so soon. I hope and believe that ‘The Åre Murders’ will be just as successful as ‘The Sandhamn Murders’ and I’m particularly looking forward to participating as an executive producer.”
Hilmar Oddsson’s ‘Driving Mum’ takes home Grand Prix Award and Best Score at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival
Earlier this month we got to see a preview of Hilmar Oddsson’s wonderful new feature Driving Mum and we also got to speak to the director, you can read that interview HERE. We were delighted to learn that the film won the Grand Prix and Best Original Score at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.
What’s coming up in December
Winter is around the corner, and with that comes some more dramas AND some light-hearted fun!
- Troll arrives to Netflix
Roar Utang, the director behind the hugely successful disaster film The Wave, and also the most recent Tomb Raider movie, is back to his Norwegian roots with this brilliant action and adventure film. The film sees Norway in big trouble when an explosion in the mountain wakes up a mythical creature…Troll is released on the 1st December – a perfect way to kickstart the month!
- Seaside Hotel Season 4 comes to Walter Presents
We confess to not being fans of this series, simply because it isn’t our cup of tea, but we are well aware of the huge fanbase this series has worldwide. Viewers will therefore be delighted to hear that the series is back for its fourth season on Walter Presents from the 2nd December!
- Partisan Season 2 comes to Walter Presents
We were huge fans of the first season of this series – at times comical, as well as strange, and brutally violent, it really stayed with us (especially with a fantastic performance from Fares Fares). Here in season two there are a lot of familiar faces, such as Sopia Karemyr who returns, joined by the excellent Nanna Blondell who is looking into a murder linked to the secret community.
- A Storm for Christmas comes to Netflix
Per-Olav Sørensen has been possibly the busiest man of 2022 – having already brought us Royalteen and The Playlist he is back once more before the year is out with this festive dramedy which sees a variety of characters stuck in Oslo airport 24mhours before Christmas – will they make it to their families and loved ones?
