I declare Monday theme day – So what’s the theme, sleuths? Answer at the end.
“Who’s peekin’ out from under a stairway
Callin’ a name that’s lighter than air?
Who’s bendin’ down to give me a rainbow?
Everyone knows it’s Windy.”
Dead Wind
If you like melancholy Fragile Finnish detectives and murder most foul with a Noirish bent, you’ll love Dead Wind (three seasons on Netflix). It Stars Pihala Vitala as a recently widowed detective (who is good in almost all she does) and her partner and eager detective. They just transferred from financial crimes Lauri Tilkanen. They, and the rest of the cast, have great chemistry as they plod through the minutiae that are murder while you get engrossed in their personal lives; these are just two of the strengths of this well-written, beautifully shot, and designed series that keep you paying attention.
Subtitles and Netflix. Director Rike Jokela
Wild is the wind
Okay, Netflix is rising with a great South African film and two guys who should be movie stars – Mothusi Magano and Frank Rautenbach (Bang Bang Club – I loved it) as detectives investigating the murder of an Afrikaner girl. Are they corrupt, and who is Mongo, the Russian? What’s the butcher and his wife plotting? What’s going on with the farm and Sonny Boy? There is plenty of plot, a whole bunch of prejudice, maybe a Nazi or two, and perhaps a serial killer. It’s not difficult to follow, and it’s a seamless and organic plot that should play well in the states. It’s in English, Afrikaans (similar to Dutch, the first language I ever spoke, and a million other South African languages – Lots of English and some subtitles. Again, tremendous and believable cast chemistry and the two leads are fabulous. If you don’t have massive personality problems, you should like it. It’s also in the theaters. Netflix is the distributor. Cool tracks by Chris Chameleon and directed by Fabian Medea
Wind River
I’ve proposed Wind River a few times, so watch it on Amazon, Tubi, Apple TV, etc.
Wind River is a 2017 Wyoming wild excellent crime film written and directed by Taylor Sheridan. It stars Elizabeth Olsen as U.S agents trying to solve a murder on the Wind River Indian Reservation. It also stars (We Own this City) Jon Bernthal and the always-great Grahame Greene. Like Wild is the wind, it looks at prejudice and racism along with the rape and murder of indigenous women. It’s a great story with a natural side trip toward social justice. Wind River was released in 2017 and ironically presented by the Weinstein Company (who removed Harvey’s name from the credits). A good story that would make a great pairing with Wind River for a double feature – Look up Thunderheart yourself.
What’s the theme, huh? Big shots.