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Veronika - Season 1
Are Swedish series long-winded?
The much-watched A Nearly Normal Family (En helt vanlig familj) was described in the VPRO guide as exciting but also long-winded. The question is, what can we expect from a Swedish or Scandinavian series? The answer: little action, hardly any humor, but well-developed plots, compelling characters and always a drone shot with a bridge above a fast-flowing river and a pine forest.
Against this background, Veronika certainly does not disappoint. Veronika (Alexandra Rapaport) is a police inspector who suffers from constant hallucinations that she tries to suppress with pills. But what happens when the hallucinations largely correspond to real events? The story does indeed get off to a slow start, but I wouldn't classify that as long-winded. On the contrary, the calm structure is part of the genre. As is often the case with Scandinavian series, it concerns murdered children.
Veronika is not exactly Miss Sunshine. This is partly due to her hallucinations, but it also has to do with the Swedish national character. Without wanting to generalize, I can say that the Swedes are not the most expressive people in Europe. Just look at the way the national anthem is performed by Swedish football players and fans and then by passionate Italians at an international match between Sweden and Italy. A greater contrast is hardly conceivable. What also doesn't help is the lack of daylight. In Sweden there is less and different light than in countries closer to the equator. This becomes clear when you compare series with bright daylight such as Dexter (Florida) and Breaking Bad (Albuquerque) with Scandinavian series such as Ragnarok or Lilyhammer and Veronika.
All this leads to a somewhat gloomy atmosphere. At first glance that seems an unattractive prospect, but it is actually the strength of Scandinavian series and therefore also of Veronika. Veronika can be characterized as a series with the motto 'first talk and then shoot'. For the 'shoot first and then talk' series we have to go to the action series from the US. What is often paid more attention to in Scandinavian series is the family bond and mutual relationships. Veronika is married to the somewhat mystical Tomas (Tobias Santelmann). They have two children, Liv (Sarah Rhodin) and Simon (Eddie Eriksson Dominguez). Simon in particular is bothered by Veronika's capricious behavior. It makes him anxious. There is little to criticize about the acting. The storyline is developed at a leisurely pace. The atmosphere is well supported by the ominous music.
Special attention to the last two minutes of the series. The final scene is fascinating and a lesson in how to end a series or a season. It reminded me of the end of the After Life series in which you see protagonist Ricky Gervais walking away with his wife on one side and his inseparable dog on the other. First his wife disappears from view, then his dog and then himself—a beautiful image of transience. Veronika is about something different, but if you want to know that, you have to go and see. There will reportedly be a second season, but no release date has been announced yet.
I'm going to start the final season of Curb your Enthusiasm now for some humor and light therapy.
I enjoyed the atmosphere and the story. Veronika gets a well-deserved 7.5 from me.
The much-watched A Nearly Normal Family (En helt vanlig familj) was described in the VPRO guide as exciting but also long-winded. The question is, what can we expect from a Swedish or Scandinavian series? The answer: little action, hardly any humor, but well-developed plots, compelling characters and always a drone shot with a bridge above a fast-flowing river and a pine forest.
Against this background, Veronika certainly does not disappoint. Veronika (Alexandra Rapaport) is a police inspector who suffers from constant hallucinations that she tries to suppress with pills. But what happens when the hallucinations largely correspond to real events? The story does indeed get off to a slow start, but I wouldn't classify that as long-winded. On the contrary, the calm structure is part of the genre. As is often the case with Scandinavian series, it concerns murdered children.
Veronika is not exactly Miss Sunshine. This is partly due to her hallucinations, but it also has to do with the Swedish national character. Without wanting to generalize, I can say that the Swedes are not the most expressive people in Europe. Just look at the way the national anthem is performed by Swedish football players and fans and then by passionate Italians at an international match between Sweden and Italy. A greater contrast is hardly conceivable. What also doesn't help is the lack of daylight. In Sweden there is less and different light than in countries closer to the equator. This becomes clear when you compare series with bright daylight such as Dexter (Florida) and Breaking Bad (Albuquerque) with Scandinavian series such as Ragnarok or Lilyhammer and Veronika.
All this leads to a somewhat gloomy atmosphere. At first glance that seems an unattractive prospect, but it is actually the strength of Scandinavian series and therefore also of Veronika. Veronika can be characterized as a series with the motto 'first talk and then shoot'. For the 'shoot first and then talk' series we have to go to the action series from the US. What is often paid more attention to in Scandinavian series is the family bond and mutual relationships. Veronika is married to the somewhat mystical Tomas (Tobias Santelmann). They have two children, Liv (Sarah Rhodin) and Simon (Eddie Eriksson Dominguez). Simon in particular is bothered by Veronika's capricious behavior. It makes him anxious. There is little to criticize about the acting. The storyline is developed at a leisurely pace. The atmosphere is well supported by the ominous music.
Special attention to the last two minutes of the series. The final scene is fascinating and a lesson in how to end a series or a season. It reminded me of the end of the After Life series in which you see protagonist Ricky Gervais walking away with his wife on one side and his inseparable dog on the other. First his wife disappears from view, then his dog and then himself—a beautiful image of transience. Veronika is about something different, but if you want to know that, you have to go and see. There will reportedly be a second season, but no release date has been announced yet.
I'm going to start the final season of Curb your Enthusiasm now for some humor and light therapy.
I enjoyed the atmosphere and the story. Veronika gets a well-deserved 7.5 from me.
About author, Jan Brugman
Jan Brugman (1962) has been an avid series aficionado from his youth with a wide range of interests, from the sweet-and-sweet Nashville to the raucous bloody Vikings and everything in between is eagerly binged. He is interested in history, sports and walks a lot with his dogs through nature. Series can come from anywhere but still the U.S. predominates. His preference is for series behind the paywall because they are not censored by the puritanical American networks.
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