Knit to This
Polar Park
Walter Presents is a curated collection of not-English-language television series, a mix of European police procedurals and thrillers and period costume dramas, that takes up a lot of real estate on the PBS Passport streaming service. That’s where I found two favorites: Astrid and Munch—both set in Paris. Sometimes, though, I dip in and dip right out. Glum Nordic detectives solving glum Nordic crimes in dim light while enduring alienation and dysfunction in their personal lives—not for me, except when the glum Nordic detective is played by Kenneth Branagh.
Recently, with a Major Sweater on my needles and trying to talk myself out of a third viewing of The American Revolution, I took a halfhearted roll through Walter Presents. I gave a chance to a 2022 French series called Polar Park, and guess what: it’s a winner!
Set in a frozen mountain town near Switzerland called Mouthe, Polar Park at first felt too fanciful. I like my cinéma more vérité, you know? The crime scenes left behind by a serial killer are elaborate tableaux of famous paintings, yeah right. And who just happens to be in town for this unlikely killing spree? A bestselling murder mystery writer, David Rousseau, who has made the long drive to Mouthe to see a monk about his mom, who died without mentioning to her son something that a son would want to know. So: plot and subplot are neatly set up, and off we go.
However improbable it all is, it works. It’s witty, well-plotted, and darkly comical, with a sprinkling of spine-chilling moments. Halfway through, there’s a revelation that makes you wonder how we are going to fill three more episodes, now that we know this thing. But the twists keep coming, and it holds together. There is violence, but it’s a bit like a hammy haunted house: it would be intolerable if we didn’t all tacitly agree that it’s totally made up for purposes of entertaining us, which it does.
David Rousseau is played by the dashingly downcast Jean-Paul Rouve, an actor and director who’d be a household name if our households were in France. Everyone involved in Polar Park is wonderful: actors, writers, set designers, costumers. The subtitles are great and didn’t distract me from my 3 x 3 ribbing.
Forget my bleating about Walter Presents, I hope there’s another Polar Park season coming!
Postscript. Talk about burying the lede! Polar Park has a ton of great handknits, not surprising given the snowy setting, but delightful nonetheless. The pièce de résistance is a charming patchwork blanket shown above, but there are also sweaters, hats, scarves, and mitts galore, all bona fide handknits. You may even be able to identify patterns; clearly someone on the Polar Park production team is a knitter.
We just finished season 2 of Blue Lights, the Irish police (“peelers”) series on Britbox, loved it! So thanks for this rec, looking forward to it!
..There’s a season 3 that I just finished. That’s 6 more episodes to watch before you get to Polar Park. I LOVE Blue Lights and was so disappointed to realize I’d just watched the last episode! It’s been reupped for at least 1 more season, though.
You can watch the old david simon (the wire) , Homicide. It is about the baltimore police department but since it was made for regular tv, leaves out the cussing.
I found it on either tube or pluto.. one of the free with commercials apps.
It is fun to watch and some of the actors are quite familiar.
If you liked this you’ll probably enjoy “L’Art Du Crime” (The Art of Crime). It’s a French language policier where a detective and art historian team up to solve crimes related to specific works of art. Streaming on mHz.
This is a MUST watch! Though I must rely on subtitles, it is a wonderful rich watch;
Sounds like a winner! Interesting and original setting, plotting acting And knitting, too! Alas, if it is not on Netflix or network TV, we won’t be watching it, we are tired of paid streaming WITH commercials. Netflix has them, too, but we do need one TV source without long, detailed drug ads. And sooner or later many excellent shows do end up there. So I am crossing my fingers about this one! (You’re right about that blanket!)
PBS Passport doesn’t have drug ads
This program is one of hundreds on the PBS streaming app PBS Passport, the best streaming deal in the business. No ads, tons of programs from the USA and all over the world, and it comes as a gift with a $5 per month sustaining contribution to your local PBS channel.
People who support their local public TV channel may already have it and just need to set up their account on the streaming app!
Thank you for this recommendation Kay, and for your absolutely spot on description of Scandinavian Noir….my absolutely favorite genre, both in books and TV.. Glum, you hit the nail on the head!
My French is terrible and Paris doesn’t even make my top ten cities I would like to revisit but French foreign films are the easiest for me to watch. Language is weird.
Ooh la la! Formidable! It sounds wonderful—thanks for the recommendation. I may have to cast on an appropriate project to accompany it (a patchwork cardigan with 3×3 ribbing?).
Oh my gosh, this looks fabulous! Thank you, Kay!
And the soundtrack for the trailer is perfect. Takes me back to another place in time.
I love it when I can pass along your viewing recommendations and when asked where I heard about it, answer “from my favorite knitting blog”:)
Add “Marcella” (Netflix) to the list of series to see. Three seasons, 24 episodes – all while we await the return of The Pitt and, hopefully, many more episodes of Dept. Q. Oh – and the new Peaky Blinders movie (theatre release, shortly followed on streaming). So much productive knitting time – and lots of stockinette to go with reading subtitles.
Happy New Year to all. Wishing health and peace to our world…..
I’m with you on the Nordic Noir. It always seem to start with the visual of a body underneath the ice. I look forward to trying Polar Park!
All crimes solved in offices with no lighting, all cops return to homes suffering from the same odd absence of lamps, all elderly people are stony, bitter, and actively dying… the rules of the genre are funny and sometimes I’m even in the mood for it!
I love Scandi noir! The Border (Finnish) was amazing, as was The Bridge (between Denmark and Sweden) and Deadwind and…at least one I’m forgetting.
Also, there are four series on Netflix: Criminal: UK, Spain, France, and Germany. They all have the same set (the interrogation room and the room from which they watch the interrogations, and fascinating suspects as well as relationships between the police. I have watched them many times; the first one was UK with David Tennant, just to give you a tease. 🙂
Thank you! I didn’t know about Criminal, I’m on episode 3 already; it’s really absorbing. Waiting for David Tennant to show up…
I had Astrid on my list, but thank you!! The other two now are too. They look great!!
I also love to knit to detective stories. I just finished re-watching all the Miss Marple series. They are all so well written and I liked Geraldine McEwan as Miss Marple the best.
You evil woman! I have fallen down the rabbit hole!!!
Not even sock knitting can accompany watching this series.
I must see all episodes, and will. But I will stagger my watching with boring stuff that will allow me to knit.
Thanks for the tip, as watching Jean-Paul Rouve is a treat!
Hahahaha- I love my gloomy dysfunctional Scandinavian detectives!! Branagh is the only one I can’t stand – too emote-y
So, am I the only person that can’t knit and read subtitles at the same time?
No
I’m stuck there, too ☹️
We’ve watched both Mountain Detective and Murder in the Mountains series on Walter Presents, but my knitting has suffered so much!
For that reason alone, I enjoy British mysteries more. It’s a struggle without subscription services other than PBS Passport.
Nope. I’m with you. Can’t do that either!
Actually, I can’t even watch tv and knit!
Lupin, on Netflix, was excellent (Omar Sy was superb in the main role, and the supporting cast were all wonderful also). In French with English subtitles, set and filmed in Paris. Three seasons, we have watched them all about three times over!!
I really like the Walter presents shows.
The plots are better and more interesting. Not so dependent on heaving bossoms and steamy nights.
The first one I got hooked on was Paris murders.
I misspelled bosom
If you haven’t already, try the Danish series, Seaside Hotel. A little kitschy and campy, but binge-worthy, nonetheless!
I am surprised no one has mentioned Shetland yet, even if it is on Britbox, and not PBS. I agree PBS is excellent and the passport well worth signing up for. Bordertown (Finland) and The Bridge (Denmark-Sweden) are favorites of mine too. I also enjoyed Sorjonen, the follow up to Bordertown and the US version of The Bridge with Diane Kruger and Demian Bichir, even if that one replaced knits with warm-weather tanks and khakis. Currently watching reruns of The Closer for lack of better current noir.
Thanks for this! I hadn’t heard of PBS Passport before, so checked it out after reading this article. I had no idea what I was missing out on! Promptly made a donation to my local PBS station and spent the day watching the first two episodes of The American Revolution while pulling out carpet from what will be my sewing room. Now, off to more American Revolution while working on knitting my sweater 🙂