Post by Brad Nelson on Jun 13, 2022 14:48:40 GMT -8
Bäckström is actually right now on Acorn TV. Given that Acorn TV is very similar to Britbox, I'm going to review it here.
Kjell Bergqvist plays Evert Bäckström, a murder investigator. This Swedish series started in 2020 and there is apparently a season two from 2022 that hasn't come to the streaming services yet.
IMDB sums him up as an "Unscrupulous and arrogant murder detective ." Arrogant, yes. A bit dodgy? Sometimes. But "unscrupulous" is completely wide of the mark. His scruples are very solid. He's just not beyond maybe taking a cut here or there. I'm really not sure though what series the asshole who wrote this was watching.
This is not the most fast-paced crime drama. And it can lag a bit here and there. But the characters are good and the central story is quite solid, if unremarkable (by today's overbearing standards). Best of all (and this is why I watch foreign language films), it's not stamped from the same mold as the kind of cliched junk you find on Netflix or any other mainstream American channel.
The political correctness is at a minimum. And I can't think of any virtue signaling. The only character who seemed to be sort of an affirmative action character was that of Adam Olzzon (not the character's real last name) who is some kind of Slavic character. Given the destructive and ill-advised immigration that Sweden has undertaken over the years, his character probably isn't technically out-of-place. But he just seems to be the inserted "ethnic" element.
Otherwise, most of these are Swedes doing Swedish things. Elvis Stegmar is excellent as the child actor playing Bäckström's sidekick (yes, really...sort of), Edvin. Again, it would be impossible for an American production to present a character like this. Either he would be too precocious or too something. But the kid and the character are just right.
Bäckström is surrounded by antagonists who turn protagonists, or vice versa. There are certainly plenty of office politics here. And this Swedish production has a way of playing women in professional roles where they, A) Don't look silly trying to play the role, or B) Don't have the vibe of a ball-busting female. Unlike American production companies, Sweden doesn't seem to be stuck forever in 1965 where women are still burning bras. It's easy to accept the women cops as competent and deserving to be there rather than just as a means to virtue signal or to balance out the cast.
While watching this first season, I swung around several times on Bäckström. I liked him. Then I didn't like him. Then I was lukewarm. I won't tell you how I ended up. But I will keep my eye out for the second season.
IMDB sums him up as an "Unscrupulous and arrogant murder detective ." Arrogant, yes. A bit dodgy? Sometimes. But "unscrupulous" is completely wide of the mark. His scruples are very solid. He's just not beyond maybe taking a cut here or there. I'm really not sure though what series the asshole who wrote this was watching.
This is not the most fast-paced crime drama. And it can lag a bit here and there. But the characters are good and the central story is quite solid, if unremarkable (by today's overbearing standards). Best of all (and this is why I watch foreign language films), it's not stamped from the same mold as the kind of cliched junk you find on Netflix or any other mainstream American channel.
The political correctness is at a minimum. And I can't think of any virtue signaling. The only character who seemed to be sort of an affirmative action character was that of Adam Olzzon (not the character's real last name) who is some kind of Slavic character. Given the destructive and ill-advised immigration that Sweden has undertaken over the years, his character probably isn't technically out-of-place. But he just seems to be the inserted "ethnic" element.
Otherwise, most of these are Swedes doing Swedish things. Elvis Stegmar is excellent as the child actor playing Bäckström's sidekick (yes, really...sort of), Edvin. Again, it would be impossible for an American production to present a character like this. Either he would be too precocious or too something. But the kid and the character are just right.
Bäckström is surrounded by antagonists who turn protagonists, or vice versa. There are certainly plenty of office politics here. And this Swedish production has a way of playing women in professional roles where they, A) Don't look silly trying to play the role, or B) Don't have the vibe of a ball-busting female. Unlike American production companies, Sweden doesn't seem to be stuck forever in 1965 where women are still burning bras. It's easy to accept the women cops as competent and deserving to be there rather than just as a means to virtue signal or to balance out the cast.
While watching this first season, I swung around several times on Bäckström. I liked him. Then I didn't like him. Then I was lukewarm. I won't tell you how I ended up. But I will keep my eye out for the second season.