Review: Wallander: Disappeared – Wallander: Disappeared (2013)

Director: Leif Magnusson | 90 minutes | crime, drama, thriller | Actors: Krister Henriksson, Charlotta Jonsson, Signe Dahlkvist, Douglas Johansson, Mats Bergman, Fredrik Gunnarsson, Malena Engström, Sven Ahlström, Marianne Mörck, Gustaf Hammarsten, Liv Mjönes, Anna Wallander, Claudio Salgado, Isabella Lindquist, Sita Vermair, Gabriel Flores Jores , Emelia Hansson, Johanna Flymén, Claes Hartelius, Barbro ‘Babben’ Larsson, Catherine Jeppsson, Hanna Nilsson, Johan Svensson, Monica Lindroth, Anette Sevreus

When a little girl disappears, the grumpy Wallander can get back to work. In his well-known style, the inspector chases the kidnapper and gets the chance to rectify something from the past.

Wallander’s suspension is lifted at the beginning of this episode. Now that he has his service weapon back, the people of Ystad can sleep soundly again. However, the rest is short-lived when Ella Svedberg disappears without a trace on the way to school. When officers fish her bicycle out of a river, panic sets in. A large search yields little. The concerns pile up after a new morbid tragedy. The discovery of a pen brings Wallander back to the past and an unsolved case. What do these two cases have in common and where is Ella?

“The Killing” hunts one murderer over several episodes. A series like Wallander requires the screenwriters to set up a complicated structure every time to end up with the perpetrator. It is therefore understandable that the plug will be pulled after this fifth season. We cannot get rid of the impression that the grind has set in. If you pay close attention, you can discover a kind of formula and that will hurt the viewing pleasure. After half an hour we had already figured out what was going on. The story seems to have been plucked from the better manual for the whodunit.

At the end, tension finally sets in and the denouement fits seamlessly into current events. Moreover, we are happy to see that there are still certainties in life. Krister Henriksson’s impeccable acting remains a joy to watch. We don’t want to think too much about it yet… but how we are going to miss our Swedish law enforcement officer.