Originally published December 21, 2015. Updated April 14, 2018.
Villordsutch reviews The Bridge: The Complete Season 3…
The Bridge has just finished its third season on the BBC and with that it quickly follows onto a rather impressive boxset release from Arrow Films. This true Nordic Noir series – based in both Sweden and Denmark – returns to show the other Nordic Noir productions why this really bears the crown.
For those that are unaware of The Bridge, the TV show centres around the Danish and Swedish police forces that border the Øresund Bridge, which crosses the Øresund Strait. Due to crimes being committed that on occasion link both countries, the forces need to collaborate. What we get to witness is the teaming of the socially awkward, clearly on the autistic spectrum, Saga Norén (Sofia Helin). Though she suffers greatly from being unable to relate to witnesses, victims and colleagues she is an outstanding detective. As she lost her last partner in series two (not wanting to spoil how you can find out for yourselves) she is assigned initially a Danish female detective who due to a brutal incident rapidly departs the investigation. Joining the series then is a new Danish partner, Henrik Sabroe (Thure Lindhardt), who on initial appearance seems to be a bit of drug-taking polyamorist.
Our main story in The Bridge: The Complete Season 3 deals with a number of brutal murders, with the bodies being left in poses across the city with parts of their anatomy missing, starting with a heart, hand, penis, eyes, the list continues. We discover as the series moves along that all of these crimes may be related to pieces of artwork owned by a multi-millionaire Freddie Holst (Nicolas Bro). Also located within each victim is a burn mark, hidden in their mouths, which is a number relating to the Babylonian alphabet and also linked to a recently discovered code.
Saga Norén (Sofia Helin)What is truly fantastic about The Bridge is that the above description of Season Three is completely and utterly glib. To really explain what has happened within this show, to describe the numerous delicate threads that are brought in together that weave such an amazing tapestry, I’d need pages to take you all around this season; that’s even before I’ve had time to praise our actors.
Sofia who plays our lead Saga is outstanding, brutal with her observations and honesty due to her disability, however showing the hurt of distress fantastically when she’s informed that she may have just unintentionally caused somebody’s suffering. Watching Sofia deliver panic – with her eyes alone – when her mother arrives, to go from her normal emotionless mask to the eruption of uncontrolled emotion, is gripping. Then we have Thure Lindhardt who at the start of the series you see him as a womanising, drug-taking shit of a man and you quite frankly despise this person, then in the flick of a page within a file you suddenly see everything quite differently – you see Thure has been portraying something tragic on the screen; both actors need to have their praises sung here.
The Bridge: The Complete Season 3 should be a Nordic Noir boxset that you buy today and when you get it home you can then proudly brag about it to your friends.
The Bridge: The Complete Season 3 Blu-Ray is available to buy from Arrow Films here.
Villordsutch likes his sci-fi and looks like a tubby Viking according to his children. Visit his website and follow him on Twitter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng&v=ymcu7eigVyg
