I was not going to write about the Scandinavian series “The Bridge”, perhaps I will do it later, but in the meantime I will tell about its American clone, which with Diana Kruger in the title role.
This series is one of those numerous remakes that are already overflowing with streaming services, but the remake is discordant. After all, Martin Scorsese’s The Departed, if you don’t know, is a “reissue” of Hong Kong’s Double castling, and 12 Monkeys. Terry Gilliam is based on the French short film "Rise Strip" - there are many examples of high-quality alterations in the history of cinema, only outright slag, as befits the law of Theodore Sturgeon, even more. But this series is just one of those remakes that are not bad at all.
Let’s start with the fact that already in the first season the series, although mainly follows the plot canvas of the Danish-Swedish original, but the writers already allow themselves quite serious liberties. One branch with a cynical journalist who did not die, playing his small role, but turned into one of the leading characters, which is worth it, and the line with the widow of a millionaire also brought many surprises. And the further - the more the remake moves away from the original source, which paints it very much.
The Scandinavian Bridge connects Denmark and Sweden, which are different countries, but generally not very different from each other. Therefore, the conflict is built more on the interaction of the main characters – Sagi Noren and Martin Rude – whose inner worlds are built on completely different principles. The saga is a person who does not know how to lie, clearly fulfills the law to the last letter, doing everything right, despite the psychological nuances of these actions. She does not think about the feelings and experiences of people, her main goal is justice. Clearly, she doesn't get along with people. Moreover, she simply does not know how to do this, and some natural things for an ordinary person, such as laughing at an anecdote, not telling the whole truth, breaking the instructions for the case, lead her to a stupor. Martin Rude, her forced partner - the soul of the company, a balagur and womanizer, at the same time sincerely loves his wife and four children, easily agrees with people, regardless of their age, gender or social status. Constant contradictions between the main characters and, despite this, gradually developing friendship, changes in characters (they mutually affect each other – not only Martin on the Saga, but also vice versa) – this is the psychological core of the “Bridge” of Europe. In addition to the existing high-quality detective component, this additional layer of narrative makes the series just great.
In the American version, there is also a conflict of characters, but not so much brought to the fore. Here the bridge symbolizes the confrontation on a deeper level: two cultures, two national paradigms. The bridge connects not neighboring European states that have existed for centuries in the same cultural space; it stretches between the United States and Mexico, with all the ensuing consequences. That criminal promised land, which exists in American film reality for more than a year, and where all criminals seek to escape from the States (except those who scratch from the authorities to Canada or Alaska), appears before the viewer in all its glory, it is enough to make sure by looking at the title credits of the series. Desert, sand, cacti, crosses on graves, tequila, mustachioed assholes and cool macho, drugs, dens and prostitution, werewolves in epaulettes that were not sold to the mafia, but are themselves, harmoniously integrated into the drug cartel police unit.
Topics that are not just casually voiced, but are plot-forming for the American “Bridge”: corruption, double standards of the US government (“at least a flood abroad”), journalistic ethics, psychological rehabilitation of victims of crime and their relatives, the impotence of justice, lynching, the work of social services, unmotivated violence – this is not a complete list. And all this is excavated with the help of a honed scalpel of a detective story. Strongly knocked down, dynamic, multi-layered. In general, the series is at the level - you can watch and not be ashamed of it.
PS. The show boasts the first interesting work of Diana Kruger, who previously did not have to go beyond the role of a “beautiful woman with a spiritualized face”; another of the acting pleasures – unexpectedly different from himself, Matthew Lillard (who played the role of the same journalist – a cynic, an alcoholic and an egoist), who is better known for the roles of the stupid friends of the main character, the most noticeable of his appearances on the screen – Luke in “Obsession” (picture also, by the way, with Diane Kruger) and a teenage maniac in Kraven’s “Craven’s” role of the second season – Frankiete.
I watched The Bridge and couldn’t wait for the original Bron/Broen. Moreover, I would never have known about the American “Bridge” if not for the original.
The pilot episode was bright, inspiring to watch the whole season. And teasers. The teasers were great. Yes, the differences were visible, obvious and natural - there was no point in doing 1:1. Instead of Sweden-Denmark, we have the U.S. and Mexico, the cultural difference, the incendiary Spanish and drug trafficking that is so well known to viewers on Breaking Bad.
Alas, expectations were not met.
Plot
The basis was the original, but the creators of the American generously added their own flavor. But what the creators of the original fit into 10 episodes, the Americans stretched to 13. Thirteen! Of course, without adding action. Endless snot, suffering that makes you 10 more tired. Especially knowing who the killer is, the ending is incredibly boring.
And more. Somehow, having completed the side storylines and the main one, the second main one was somehow not completed until the end of the first season ... and decided to shoot the second one.
Characters
Secondary new and “analogues” from the original are good in their own way. Marco was even more interesting than his counterpart, which somehow justified the label “macho”. Martin Rode was brilliant, but it is difficult to imagine him in the role of the kind of man to whom any woman would give herself up on stone.
But Sonya. Sonya... sorry for the ellipsis, but decided to view it because of the acute lack of Saga Noren in the body, and this did not get.
The saga is an alien, square-nest, strong-willed and steel, but in some situations behaves with the sincere immediacy of a five-year-old girl. She knows her place in the world. It is noteworthy and the face of the actress – Sofia Helin – scars that only add... charm even.
Sonya, played by the beautiful Diana Kruger, is also an Asperger cop, but she is nervous, doubtful and very emotional for a person with such a diagnosis. Actually, her disorder was not mentioned, but she does not look “different”, namely, just a person who has problems with the perception of the outside world from a lack of communication at some stage of growing up.
Next we were waiting for the second season
From the first episode, it was clear that we were waiting for a completely different situation than in the second season of the original. The chic Eleanor (Lola "Run Lola, Run"), again a bright pilot episode ... but then began the form obscurantism.
It seems that not just every episode, but every 10 minutes of the series were written by different writers and each “saw in its own way”. Logic was buried somewhere in the second episode.
The plot lines broke, did not dock with each other absolutely - there were some evidence, which was safely forgotten after five minutes. What is the dialogue between the two heroes in the car, which lasted almost two series, while the rest passed a day or something?
The ending is a little more than complete. Out of habit, it was expected that we would find out the denouement next season, but the series ended.
A remake of the Swedish-Danish Bridge, sometimes free, sometimes verbatim and in every gesture repeating the scenes of the original version. More dynamic, less social. And of course, what is not and cannot be on the US-Mexican border: echoes of the Bergman-Trier style of northern cinema. Have you noticed that even in Ingmar Bergman’s colorful film Fanny and Alexander, not only is there no sky, but even blue is excluded from the scale? In the original Broen - ugly faces and figures, faded colors, brownish-gray semitones, comic without comics, viscous, uncompromising psychology and, most importantly, it is an ever cloudy sky, scattered dim light. People who do not know how to enjoy, depressive deficit of emotions - this is transmitted equally verified acting and sunless landscape around, ergonomic artlessness of interiors. But this is a style, a special style of the northerners - like an empire chair: you either like it or don't like it, but there is integrity, consistency.
Americans have their own style. Comic dialogues between ignorant Mexican gangsters, southern estates, cool beauty of women's faces, a little detached, mannequin - this is mixed with a macabric plot, breaks the unity of style with ornamentality and grotesque. The viewer needs to laugh, show the bright underside of the cloud. It may not be style, but standardized impotence, but this is it.
Another thing is acting. Two central characters, a young woman and an experienced aging man, investigate a string of murders. The Broen saga suffers from autistic dysfunction, lack of empathy, emotional contact even with loved ones. Completeness and clarity of character remain in the memory very vivid. Martin is a tattered bon vivant, a good cop, but an irresponsible lover, husband, father. The saga does everything right, according to the letter, form of statutes and handbooks, Martin is a potential and often real transgressor of formal rules. This pair is poorly reflected by the American remake. Sonya, who replaced the Saga, is a traumatized person, catastrophically unable to choose the right tone, behave appropriately, and clutching at formalities, like the beaten and thousands of times incorrect maxim “Talking the truth is easy and pleasant.” But it seems that Sonya is driven by circumstances in a situation where she is forced to tell the truth unpleasant to her for lack of a better way out of the situation. It seems that the norms of the American series do not allow to play the leading role of an autistic character, this is for Rain Man, but not for a detective, where the power, not the weakness of the guardians of order, should prevail, and, apparently, politically incorrect - to make impossible demands on an unhealthy person. Of course, Matthew Gabler played a similar character in the crime series Criminal Minds, but it was only one character from the team and still not paramount, besides – with a clear tendency to improve and improve. In the team, a slight abnormality will still go away, and maybe even useful: “Are you still an effective team?” As a result, Sonya from the American “Bridge” is just a confused character, neither fish nor meat, either an infantile neurasthenic, fighting off injury, or an unsuccessful attempt by a vulnerable woman to put herself on equal terms with brutal “sams”. As for her Mexican partner in the investigation, Marco, this is the generalized type of good Mexican, not taking bribes, but with the usual calm knowing that everyone else takes and is worth it. And the character is a quarter of a finger deep, and facial expressions, which are capable of lizards.
Much more interesting role of the second plan – for example, the character Annabeth Gish, probably remembered by many in the last seasons of “X-Files”: an elegant nouveau, before which after the death of her husband opens the secret side of his life. Colorful cat Basilio and fox Alice - cruel, but hopelessly funny gangster Galvan and gangster mom Graciela. Actually, because of these additional storylines, the drama of the Scandinavian script is crumpled and slurred, and the development of the action is loose, but more action and bright episodic faces.
There is perhaps no country other than America whose filmmakers are so obsessed with the idea of “remascization.” It is one thing when remakes of old projects are created taking into account modern technologies. It is another matter when the production of filmmakers of other countries falls under the sight of filmmakers. It’s like the instinctive desire of Americans to prove that they can do just as well. That's just practice most often shows the opposite and this series created by Elwood Reid. If the practice of remake has long become something ordinary for cinema, then in the camp of series is rare and this series quite justifiably reflects all possible reasons. Definitely, the series turned out to be strong, but nevertheless it is in many respects inferior to its Scandinavian original. In this series, a clear claim to realism.
The blood and brutal violence in the series is just as much as necessary in the framework of the plot. Nothing more. Nevertheless, a considerable part of the tinkering in the overall impression of viewing is summed up not by these scenes of violence with a frank demonstration of mutilated corpses, but rather by the realism and coolness with which the creators of the tape demonstrate all this. Thus, the atmosphere of the series almost from the very beginning sets a very depressing, gloomy, devoid of emotions and quite cruel at the level of the psyche. In some places, even it becomes very difficult to watch. That, combined with the rather slow narrative of the series and its certain tension, clearly makes the viewer nervous. Not everyone will see it on the screen.
The main advantage of the series can definitely be considered the script. Not a linear plot with mysterious crimes, but rather the background that develops to the level of an individual character as the plot develops. After all, the series raising social themes can be counted on the fingers of one hand, and this series so completely touches a very topical problem in the relationship between the United States and Mexico. Time and again, reflecting on the screen the difference in lifestyle, economic opportunities and everything else. Perhaps the creators of the series and thickened the colors in the demonstration of tin in Mexico, but the general message of all this is obvious. Including the fact that the creators of the series fully targeted the topics of abductions of young girls in Mexico, numerous murders in a more open form, the constant traffic of drugs, weapons and illegal immigrants through various channels and, of course, the indifference of Americans to the lives of people from such neighboring lands.
This series aims to poke the viewer into the cruel truth that we deliberately try to ignore. Only justifying the abundance of their supposedly difficult problems. Be that as it may, this message of the series really captures and settles with a bitter sediment, somewhere in the heart. As for the linear plot about the killer, everything is too muddled, monotonous, slow and kind of raw. Even against the background of an abundance of parallel plots and their deaf connection with each other, this is only aggravated.
Diane Kruger is perhaps the main drawback of the series. Obviously, the heroine herself is quite unusual, but Kruger does not allow you to fully imbue even such a peculiar character with interest. Moreover, and frankly not playing his role. Although strange as it may seem, if at first it severely cut your eyes, then over time you even begin to get used to it.
The unambiguous advantage of the series can be safely considered Demian Bishir, who fully played the best role in his career. A very strong, thoroughbred and interesting character who wins even more due to strong play and brutal charisma. It was very nice to see on the screen Ted Levine and Annabeth Gish, from which so long there was no news. They played well and looked very colorful. I was also pleased with Matthew Lillard, who significantly departed from his usual comic roles and even pleasantly surprised by an unexpected role.
7 out of 10
The Bridge is probably one of the few shows with a very strong social theme in my memory. Quite cruel, depressing and heavy, but insanely intriguing and captivating with his realism.
I started watching the American version of The Bridge without knowingly seeing the Scandinavian original. Most likely, in order to be consoled by watching the original series in case of failure of the remake. Failure in the end did not happen, although without roughness the American product from FX did not do. The main advantage of the series should be recognized by the remarkable actor duet Kruger-Bishir. In some places, however, oddly enough, even outplays experienced Ted Levine, whose character causes perhaps the greatest sympathy among all those present in the series. The main disadvantage of “The Bridge” is its overly “slacking” plot with an abundance of deviations from the main theme and seemingly unnecessary branches. Really catching the series begins somewhere closer to the series like the eighth. Then the action enters the active phase, and the characters finally begin to manifest themselves and their characters to the fullest. Until then, Krueger has mostly been slow to go through versions as the corpses multiply one by one, and Bishir stretches like a lazy cat and talks about life on both sides of the border. After Bishir, the viewer begins to yawn. However, in the second half of the season, the pace accelerates sharply, and the main characters come out of a lethargic sleep. Unfortunately, the “social and political” background of the case declared in the pilot eventually comes to naught. The ending is partly predictable, but gives good (with a more careful attitude to the plot and characters) prospects for the second season. I once again concluded for myself that “maniac” stories are better served in the format of mini-series (with great skill this is usually done by the British in works such as “The Killing Code”), rather than stretching out into serials.
7 out of 10
I just want to say that I have not seen the Swedish-Danish version, so I will do without comparisons.
A dark series that pretends to be realistic. Mexican drug cartels, the helplessness of the Mexican police, the plight of people forced by need to become illegal immigrants. All this looks even worse in contrast to a prosperous America. In Mexico, several severed heads in a parking lot is a routine, in America, the death of one person is a tragedy! There are many such examples in the series. As Ruiz Sone says, “On the way from bowl to mouth, soup is spilled.” This applies to people who die while trying to cross the border, and to the victims of drug wars, and in general this metaphor can be applied to all people whose life in the border areas is valued no more than spilled soup.
And against the background of all this, the maniac, who in very intricate ways seems to be trying to draw attention to the problems of lawlessness in Mexico. Is that its true purpose, or is it just another little piece of a big puzzle along with other storylines, of which there are several in the series? Several storylines, which at first or did not intersect at all, or had only indirect contact, make the brain come up with possible plot twists, wonder how these lines will cross again.
I really liked the main characters. Diane Kruger just perfectly embodied the image of a girl detective with strange things. You look at her and never think that before you an actress who has not only a great experience in filming in the images of rock beauties, but also a famous supermodel. I think in the future, the creators of the series will immerse us even deeper into the strangeness of the personality of Sonia North and tell what skeletons are hiding in the closet of the main character. And for some reason I think that many will compare Sonia North with Lisbeth Salander.
Mexican police officer Marco Ruiz, played by Demian Bishir, a kind of honest cop who, despite the fact that everything around is corrupt to the core, has not yet completely lost honor and dignity, which is very advantageous from other Mexican police officers. He is a man who, under the yoke of circumstances, has to do what he does not want to do. His marital status and more mature years in relation to the heroine Diana Kruger, and the strange behavior of the latter, will not allow to develop a romantic line between the main characters. Ruiz is more of a father to Sonya than a future lover.
What did you like?
I didn’t like small details like Ruiz’s vasectomy and Sonya’s attitude to sex. How would you feel about a man who voluntarily castrated himself? All the more so, everyone around him knows about it and is constantly being teased about it! Well, if you need the main character to experience health problems, well, invent him a wound in the line of duty! If it is necessary that he was hacked at the same time, at least invent an accident when cleaning a service weapon!
About Sonya and her attitude to sex - she is already full of strange things, in general, sometimes you wonder how she was taken to such a position! But despite this, before the scene in the bar, it caused respect, and after the “degree” of respect fell somewhat. Her image was complete without these details.
The original Swedish-Danish version (Bron/Broen) is certainly good, the idea is beautiful, as is Sofia Helin in the lead role. But I liked the American pilot better. First, there is a favorite horror story with the Mexican mafia and corrupt cops.
Criminal Minds spent nine seasons at this reception alone. Third, of course, budget and quality. Unexpectedly, but did not like Diane Kruger in the lead role. Perhaps, if you do not see the original version, her game will seem great. But, in fact, she did not bring absolutely nothing of her own to this role and just somehow ineptly outplayed the Scandinavian heroine.
The Anglo-French “The Tunnel” will soon be released for the same reasons, but I probably won’t watch it anymore.