The six hour-long episodes of the Danish TV serial The Spider (original title Edderkoppen) were released as an English-subtitled two-disc DVD
set in the UK last summer, fifteen years after their original broadcast, as
part of Arrow Films’ “Nordic Noir” strand of crime dramas. Unlike more famous
Danish shows such as Borgen and The Killing (with which it shares a number
of principal cast members), The Spider is not a contemporary thriller but a
period piece, set in 1949, a time when Denmark was still suffering the
after-effects of the Second World War, with many everyday items still subject
to rationing. The central character, Bjarne Madsen (Jakob Cedergren), is an
idealistic rookie journalist on a left-wing newspaper, who becomes preoccupied
with investigating a local ring of black marketeers presided over by the
ruthless Svend Aage Hjalmar (Bjarne Henriksen) – “the Spider” at the centre of
this web of crime. Bjarne is aided by veteran crime reporter H C Vissing (Bent
Vejding), who takes him under his wing, but they find their enquiries
obstructed at every turn by corrupt police officers, who are in the pay of
Hjalmar.
Partly based on true events, the story is set
against the background of a nation struggling to come to terms with its wartime
past, when some people joined the resistance to oppose the Nazi occupying
force, while others became despised collaborators, creating tension within
local communities and even individual families, as shown when Bjarne’s cocky
collaborator brother Ole (Lars Mikkelsen) – curiously named after the series’
creator, director and main writer Ole Christian Madsen – returns from a period
of effective exile in New York with a wad of cash, intending to set up a jazz
club.
This is a very well-made serial, with strong central
performances, high production values and good direction, creating a very
authentic-seeming period atmosphere. Unfortunately, it is really let down by its
scripting. The characters are clichéd and one-dimensional, the situations
hackneyed and predictable, and the plotting disjointed and implausible. The end
result is that, although The Spider has an interesting setting and an
intriguing premise and is very pleasing to look at, sitting through all six
episodes becomes really rather a trial.
Arrow Films’ DVD presentation of the serial is a
bare-bones one, too, with no extras whatsoever. So, overall, this is sadly not
a release I can recommend.
