The Bridge - Season 3 (2015)

After two hugely successful and critically acclaimed seasons (and numerous remakes around the world) THE BRIDGE (aka BRON / BROEN) returns minus one of its leads (the reason for which will be obvious for anyone who watched THE BRIDGE II and if you haven’t then you should) and a new set of problems for Swedish detective Saga Noren (Sofia Helin). 

When the murdered body of a famous female gender theorist (and owner of Copenhagen’s first gender-neutral school) is found arranged as part of a grim and bizarre tableaux at a Malmo construction site, Saga is called in to investigate. Teamed this time with a female representative from the Danish police force it’s not surprising that the two of them don’t hit it off. When an accident renders her new partner incapable of continuing the case, Saga gets teamed with Henrik (Thure Lindhardt) who has a complicated back story of his own. When Saga’s mother turns up saying that Saga’s dying father wants to see her, we start to learn more about Saga’s own grim past.

It would be unfair to reveal any more of the plot of THE BRIDGE III, and it would actually be quite difficult as well, suffice to say that the writing is as complex and razor-sharp as ever, leading the viewer off at tangents into any number of complicated sub-plots without ever becoming confusing. The pressures on Saga in this one are pretty much overwhelming, not least from her own colleagues who are  all-too-aware of her responsibility for Martin’s fate at the end of series two. 

People familiar with the look of THE BRIDGE will no doubt be pleased to hear that Season III looks as bleak, grey and washed out as the first two seasons, with the usual emphasis on Ikea-minimalism to interiors. Acting is excellent across the board but special mention must go to Helin, whose portrayal of Aspergers-suffering detective Saga is nothing short of astonishing. Subtle and nuanced, this is one of the finest characters to grace modern crime television in many a year.

Arrow’s three-disc Blu-ray or DVD set comes with an hour long making of, plus an on-stage interview with Sofia Helin. If you’ve not yet caught up with THE BRIDGE, they’re also bringing out a special BRIDGE TRILOGY nine disc box set for those lucky people who have yet to discover this unique and excellent piece of Scandinavian crime drama. 

Arrow Films released THE BRIDGE SEASON III on Region B Blu-ray and Region 2 DVD on 21st December 2015

The Bridge - Season 2 (2013)

A grim, bleak crime thriller with a washed out photographic palette to match, the original series of THE BRIDGE was hyped as the first ever creative television collaboration between between Denmark and Sweden, combining the talents of the Danish producers of TV successes THE KILLING and BORGEN, and the Swedish team responsible for WALLENDER. It’s no surprise, then, that the plot took place in both countries, with the Oresund Bridge that connects them playing a vital role. As a result, police officers from both countries became involved in the case, led by blonde Asperger’s sufferer Saga Noren (Sofia Helin) on the Swedish side, while laid-back, scruffier, recently vasectomised Martin Rohde (Kim Bodnia) heading up the Danish team. These two characters, in a classic ‘Odd Couple’ pairing, provided the driving force that got us through ten episodes of an increasingly complex plot that involved murder, media manipulation and a lot more that you should really discover for yourself if you haven’t already seen it. The show was a huge success, made major stars out of Helin and Bodnia, and was remade for countries where people have trouble reading subtitles. 

THE BRIDGE SEASON TWO kicks off with a reminder of the climax of the first story, then abruptly cuts to ‘One year and one month later’. There are echoes of Fulci’s ZOMBIE FLESH EATERS as an unmanned sailing vessel runs aground against one of the supports of the Oresund Bridge. Down in the cargo hold are five trussed-up young people in extremely poor health. A couple of them are Danish, which gives investigating officer Saga Noren (Sofia Helin again) the opportunity to call in her old Danish partner Martin (Kim Bodnia again, looking slimmer and greyer) to help. Martin is still suffering from the events of the first series but sees working with Saga again as a form of therapy. Soon, however, events take a complex turn that I’m not going to reveal here as it would spoil the fun. 

As with Season One, the unrelenting grimness of THE BRIDGE may be a bit much for some, with the colourlessness of the setting making everything feel even bleaker. The term ‘Nordic Noir’ has been coined to describe the new Scandinavian wave of televised crime fiction, but if anything, where THE BRIDGE is concerned, ‘Nordic Bleached’ might be a more appropriate term. Once again it looks as if the whole thing was shot in winter, and even the interior design of people’s houses and workplaces feel like a showcase for Ikea minimalism but with all the colour washed out.

If for some reason you find yourself with Season Two in your hands before you’ve seen the first series, it’s not all that difficult to catch up. But Arrow have released a very nice box set of both series together for the uninitiated. There are no extras, but Arrow’s Blu-ray offers a very nice transfer. 

Arrow Films released THE BRIDGE Season Two on DVD & Blu-ray on 3rd February 2014. The double-pack of both series came out  on both formats then as well.