(My first review on IMDb. This series deserves more than the 1 whiny review of the first episode mostly about the supposedly bad colour balance.)
I recently watched Season 1 - all there is so far, as of early 2018. Based on the voting for other series on IMDb, this should be mid 8s or higher. It's easily as good as writer Adam Price's earlier creation Borgen - which has justifiably raving reviews on here and is one of my all-time favourite series.
Thank you to him and everyone involved. This is an intelligent, profound, gripping series, addressing the most important things in life in a serious way, yet joy is never too far away. It's not essentially bleak or noirish.
Lars Mikkelsen is amazing as the troubled priest-patriarch Johannes. He's given space here to show what he can do, and he's astoundingly good. This will hopefully silence those who thought his brother Mads a better actor. The rest of Johannes' family are outstanding performances too. One son, a priest, goes to a war zone with the Danish army, and his life is forever changed. The other son, exuberant and somewhat ethically-challenged, goes travelling to the Himalayas with a friend, and his life is forever changed. Ann Eleonora Jørgensen as Johannes' long-suffering wife is also excellent.
I can't wait until the next season! I can't think of anything negative to say about it at all. It's about family, Danish traditions, religion (without being particularly pro- or anti-religion), one's values in life, kindness, happiness, betrayal, angst, personal transformations, one's calling in life, love etc. I read a very good Adam Price interview where he says the show was aimed to get people talking about religion, not to present any particular point of view. It's a fascinating look at religion, from many perspectives. Also there's a hallucinogenic drug party, a same-sex love affair, haunting visions, near-death experiences; can't go wrong.
Extremely gripping, emotional, funny, touching. In short: WATCH IT!!
