Review: Wallander: Het gemis – Wallander: Saknaden (2013)

Directed by: Agneta Fagerström Olsson | 90 minutes | crime, drama, thriller | Actors: Krister Henriksson, Douglas Johansson, Charlotta Jonsson, Malena Engström, Mats Bergman, Fredrik Gunnarson, Stina Ekblad, Leonard Terfelt, Signe Dahlkvist, Sven Ahlström, Marianne Mörck, Elisabeth Carlsson, Henrik Norlen, Johan Hedenberg, Mitcho Batalov, Danica Curcic, Bengt Braskered

The murder of a young hooker brings Wallander into contact with a ruthless woman trafficker. The girl’s body has been hacked to pieces and is discovered by accident. It is of all Bea, the inspector’s new flame, who makes the lurid discovery. Immediately she is introduced to the gloomy world in which her lover resides.

Research shows that the girl came from Eastern Europe. The main suspect is a young model photographer. Tigran Perski lures his girls to Sweden under false pretenses and earns big money by prostituting them. Perski, however, always turns out to be too quick for the strong arm of the law. But is this case as simple as it seems? Wallander is forced to travel to Moldova to visit the girl’s father. There it appears that the daughter has deposited a large amount of money. Its origin remains a secret but is the key to unraveling this mystery. The quest leads to a shocking climax.

Henning Mankell has always paid attention to social problems in his books. In “The Missing” a point is made clearly about the exploitation of women. This episode is quite hard but at the same time very relevant. Leaning back on the sofa is not an option this time, the facts are too confrontational for that. Nevertheless, the screenwriter deserves a lot of praise for the boldness and complexity of the story. This is called advanced krimi.

Wallander, meanwhile, has also found the courage to consult a doctor. But the stubborn person is still in denial and brushes aside all suggestions. When he nearly causes a collision, daughter Linda begins to suspect that her father is hiding something. The result of a doctor’s examination makes him realize that life does not spare him either. No one can beat the time.