Finds from Europe, and Classic Crime, Cops, and Heroines of Literature

reviews by Sharon L. Shervington

There is so much content available these days on cable and the web that it is surprising that new disks from Europe include some of the freshest and smartest content viewers can find.

I’m talking about European political dramas, cop shows, and more, many of which are just coming onto the U.S. market now. Another good choice is PBS, which is releasing everything from classic gift sets to documentaries on disk.

A good choice for Women’s History Month is the PBS Classic English Literature Collections, which are well worth purchasing, and with the latest productions of such gems as Jane Eyre, A Room with a View, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, and Great Expectations.

The second volume, just released on disk by PBS Direct, is great for the collector. The new set has a very recent version of The Mystery of Edwin Drood, starring Matthew Rhys and Tamsen Marchant, playing a choir director and a woman devoted to the same man. A mysterious half-Indian couple arrives just in time to help sort out a soon-to-be-deadly mystery involving opium addiction and hidden lineage.

The story takes as many hairpin twists and turns as any good Dickens plot. This lesser-known final work of the author is sure to find its place among the well-known canon. Dickens is also showcased in a well-received remake of Great Expectations starring Gillian Anderson, one of four films in the first collection, and it is fabulous.

Although I have never been a big Jane Eyre fan, its layered charm has worked on me over the years. The production in Set One is now my favorite interpretation of this classic. It is anchored by a spot-on performance by Ruth Wilson, who is easily recognizable in a new classic distributed by BBC Worldwide: Luther, starring Idris Elba.

Without being in any way insipid, the other performances provide a rich setting for the title character in a tactile and lavish film. And look for Francesca Annis, always well worth watching no matter how vacuous the character she plays.

Recently out from BBC Worldwide is the darkly beautiful Jane Campion series Top of the Lake, about a detective played by Elizabeth Moss of Mad Men. Ms. Campion is known for her carefully framed and composed visuals, and the New Zealand setting here meets her requirements. In moments, the camera moves from lush, heavily forested slopes to meadows and plains of barren scree. Crime, family, drug-dealing, and sexual abuse figure prominently and make for interesting juxtapositions with the landscapes—and everyone will enjoy a shocking twist at the end.

Ms. Campion is also known to showcase actresses, and Ms. Moss delivers for her. Her portrayal of an embattled detective who has come back to New Zealand to care for her dying mother is memorable; there is a remoteness to it that has the flavor of an old-time Hollywood star.

The film begins with a 12-year-old pregnant girl walking into a freezing alpine lake; understandably, the character is highly sympathetic throughout. There are several strong male roles, but overall they are less likable than the women. Also, this is a must for Holly Hunter fans, who will enjoy seeing her in the role of a cultish guru.

The Paradise could not be a more different, but no less lavish production, and also contains a good share of strong parts for women. Joanna Vanderham plays a girl from the country who comes to the city in search of a new life. She intends to move in with her uncle who has a small shop across the street from the posh Paradise department store.

When she is invited to join the staff of the emporium, her loyalties and skills are tested to their limits. Look for Elaine Cassidy as the manipulative fiancée; she also stars in the updated A Room with a View, which is in series two of the Classic English Literature Collection. This is presented in eight one-hour episodes.

For those who like binge-watching, pay attention. Borgen, the Danish political drama, and Spiral, the French criminal justice/cop show, are hard to turn off. They both have English subtitles, which surprisingly are easy to adapt to within one episode.

Borgen series three has just come out on disk from MHz Network and follows the adventures of Birgitte Nyborg, who in series one became Denmark’s first female prime minister. In this series she is a highly paid speaker in the private sector. Katrine, the television journalist, and Casper, Birgitte’s former spin doctor, return. They have broken up but share custody of a young child. This is a well-paced, intelligent political drama that strikes a fine balance between the personal and the political.

Spiral will also keep you riveted. Set in Paris, it has four main characters, each handling one aspect of a criminal case, thus giving a more complete view of the process than is customary in American television. There is the principled prosecutor, Pierre Clement, who is present at the crime scenes; Police Captain Laure Berthaud, a demanding dynamo to her loyal troops; the lonely, justice-driven Judge Roban, and gorgeous but corrupt lawyer Josephine Karlsson.

The audience also gets a grim but fascinating view of how the milieu works on the careers, personal lives, and psyches of these characters. This gritty view of Paris’s criminal underbelly tackles topics like sex trafficking and drug cartels. Very graphic violence and lingering close-ups of corpses mean this is definitely not for children.

Perfect for Women’s History Month, but important at any time of the year, are two documentaries from PBS Direct. Makers: Women Who Make America, is a cultural study of women in America that focuses on how the country has changed since the women’s movement. There are many interviews with prominent feminists such as Marlo Thomas, Melissa Harris-Perry, Gloria Steinem, and many others who stress that the work is not yet done.

Women, War and Peace comprises four one-hour documentaries, narrated by Hollywood stars like Matt Damon and Alfré Woodard, and about how war is waged differently today than in the past, and how women both lead and bleed disproportionately.