Huss - Crime by the Fjord (Season 1) - DVD

Content: The young policewoman Katarina "Kati" Huss (Karin Franz Körlof) comes fresh from the police academy to a unit in Gothenburg. Here she has a hard time as a freshman and as a woman anyway. The fact that her mother Irene Huss is a bigwig in the police force doesn't make things any easier for Kati. On her very first assignment, she makes a serious mistake that allows a killer to escape. In the course of further missions she can show what she is capable of as an investigator. But a certain distrust remains. Especially since Kati suspects that her new colleagues are hiding a secret about the riots during an EU summit, during which a colleague was thrown into a coma by a stone. As she copes with the difficult daily grind of being an investigator, she also reveals more and more of the lies that bind the team together. And at some point, Kati must ask herself if she is still loyal to her colleagues or if she should investigate them for the sake of her career....

"Huss - Verbrechen am Fjord" is a spin-off to the series "Irene Huss", which ran from 2007 - 2011 in Sweden and was also seen in Germany from 2009. The title character of the spin-off appears again and again in the new series, but is no longer played by Angela Kovacs, but by Kajsa Ernst. But that's not so bad - even if you know the original series - because here the focus is clearly on her daughter Kati, played wonderfully by Karin Franz Körlof. In five double episodes, she has to deal with arms dealing and violent husbands as a young investigator, has to go undercover to investigate a drug trafficking case, and becomes the victim of a hostage situation (in what is clearly the most exciting story of the first season). And on top of all this, Kati must also try to step out from under her mother's outsized shadow - which proves extremely difficult, especially in critical situations.

The double episodes each tell self-contained stories, with the mystery surrounding the incidents during the EU summit being addressed in each episode. Here the puzzle is gradually pieced together before it is resolved in the final double episode. It's exciting to watch Kati change over the course of the season - partly through the experiences she has, but also partly through very personal events. Even if not all cases are equally gripping, there are individual aspects in each story that make the whole thing interesting, involving and very worth watching.

But the series is not only about the development of the main character, but also about social issues, some of which are touched on here in a very realistic way. Emotionality is achieved very subtly, but not infrequently extremely intensely. This becomes especially clear in a short shot at the end of the first double episode, where a quick glance at the site where a corpse was found is enough to hit the viewer with full force in the pit of the stomach. We won't reveal why here - only this much: we see something that otherwise hardly evokes any emotion. In the dramaturgical context, however, it's just harrowing and sad.

"Huss - Verbrechen am Fjord" is, in its first season, a promising start to a crime series that we'll hopefully see more of in the future. Even though the story around Kati's team is brought to a close, the ending leaves plenty of scope for future episodes. If you like Nordic crime fare, this is a series not to be missed: Absolutely worth watching!

Picture + Sound: The picture of the DVD convinces with atmospheric colors and a decent overall sharpness. This never quite gets over good TV level, but can convince especially in brighter outdoor scenes quite. In darker moments, slight image noise can be detected here and there, but this only has a marginally negative impact. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is rather restrained, only in more action-packed scenes is there some movement in the surround. All in all, there is a deserved here: good!

Extras: Except for the trailer, the DVD has no extras to offer.

Conclusion: "Huss - Verbrechen am Fjord" is an exciting crime series from Norway, which stands out from the crowd of similar series of this subject with a gripping frame story and an interesting main character. The first season consists of 5 double episodes, from which two stories in particular stand out. Hopefully we will see more of this investigator in the future. The DVDs are technically well done, unfortunately there is no bonus material. Nevertheless, a very clear case of: Absolutely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp