Wow! Such a good movie.

Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

Charming and brutal

it is the rare 'crazy' movie that actually has something to say.

Compared to the other five in the CRIMES OF PASSION series, DEATH IN A COUNTRY CHURCHYARD had a pronounced lack of dramatic action, as well as a rather contrived denouement.The ingredients are all there: it's Christmas Eve, and Puck (Tuva Novotny) attends a family gathering. All plans for the festive season go awry when local store-owner Arne (Reuben Sallmander) is hacked to death with an ax. The tale unfolds by twists and turns, as Eje (Linus Wahlgren) has a flirtation with Arne's widow Barbara (Katia Winter), while ten-year-old child Lotta (Ella Fogelström), a would-be detective, finds herself involved in some distinctly unsavory proceedings. Meanwhile Lotta's father, the local vicar Tord (Jacob Ericksson) tries to forestall Christer's (Ola Rapace's) investigations in an attempt to uphold the Christian spirit of the times, but at the same time conceals a guilty secret.Christian Eklöw and Christopher Panov's production unfolds as a series of undramatic set-pieces, involving a considerable amount of plot-information exchanged by the characters. Most of the action takes place off-screen; the most we get to hear are screams from Lotta and Barbara. This type of structure forces viewers to pay particular attention to the plot, otherwise they might miss something that helps to explain why the murders were actually committed. Nonetheless there are still a considerable amount of red herrings here, few of which appear to bear much relevance to the story.TRAGEDY ON A COUNTRY CHURCHYARD has plenty of atmosphere; the snow- covered landscapes, the musty country churches; the cottages with roaring fires. On the other hand the production itself is rather deficient in terms of action. Even Christer has to cope with an unaccustomed disappointment, as he manages not to end up with a girl at the end of the drama.

It is Christmas Eve and Puck, Eje and her father are staying with her uncle, a vicar, and his young daughter Lotta… inevitably it won't be the peaceful family gathering they'd hoped for. In the evening a woman knocks on the door to say that her husband is missing and in the ensuing search Puck and Lotta find him… murdered. Christer is soon on the case and many suspects arise; an elderly woman who may have been blackmailed, the housekeeper who knew him before moving to the town, a local 'hooligan' and even his not-so-grieving widow. There is also the matter of some stolen church silver which may, or may not, be involved in the case. While the investigation progresses Eje gets friendly with the widow which leads to Puck getting somewhat jealous even though, as far as we know, nothing happened between them.This, the sixth and currently final episode in the series, features another enjoyable story with plenty of suspects… even if one assumes from the start it won't be a member of Puck's family. The suspects and their motives are gradually introduced and explained until eventually the killer is caught. The subplot involving problems in Puck and Eje's relationship were well handled and followed on nicely from how we've seen Eje tolerate Puck's close friendship with Christer in previous episodes. As in earlier episodes the main cast to a good job; especially Tuva Novotny and Linus Wahlgren as they play Puck and Eje as they argue over Eje's involvement with the widow. The rest of the cast were pretty good to; I was particularly impressed with young Ella Fogelström's performance as Lotta; she made the character believable rather than over precocious even though in many ways her character was like a young Puck… always curious and present when two bodies were found. Overall this was a solid episode; it is just a pity that at the time I write this it is the final instalment in the series… hopefully there will be more one day.