Equinox is a Danish series released in 2020, created by Tea Lindeburg. A journalist search for clues about a group of students (including her sister) that vanished 18 years prior.
Hello, there! I’m dos Santos, and this is Ulven Reviews, with Movies and series from all over the world and all eras. Today we’ll talk about the first season of Equinox, beginning with a plot summary, through the review, and finishing with a symbolic Rating. Here we go!
Astrid (played by Danica Curcic) lives in a little Danish town where she works in a radio program. One day a caller on the radio says he has information about the disappearance of her sister, Ida (played by Karoline Hamm), almost two decades before. He claims to be Jakob, one of the event’s survivors.
Ida literally vanished from a bus together with her high school colleagues during the celebration of their graduation. Only four people didn’t disappear, her friends Jakob (played by August Carter), Amelia (played by Fanny Bornedal), Falke (played by Ask Truelsen), and the bus driver Torben (played by Peder Holm Johansen).
After the call, Astrid goes back to Copenhagen, where everything took place, to further investigate and, maybe, finally find out what actually happened to her sister and the rest of the kids.
I kinda liked it. Equinox brings us an intriguing and dark mystery that kept me engage and curious until the very end. And everything uncovered by an investigative work of a journalist deeply involved with the case, I really love investigative journalism stories.
I enjoyed how the series dealt with natural, human issues, like family relationships. And inserting supernatural and folkloric elements, like the myth of the Goddess Ostara. It worked for me. None of these aspects felt out of place.
I loved the eerie atmosphere of the show. The mood of the series is usually very sinister and sad, including the aesthetics of it. Some very disturbing things occur in the series, enhancing this feeling.
There were already some things that didn’t make sense throughout the show, but the conclusion is where the series disappointed me plotwise. The problem is not with the mystery but with some arcs that were left hanging. I can’t be more specific because of spoilers.
A strong point, among my favorites, is the acting, especially Danica Curicic’s. I read that she’s best known for the series The Mist, which I haven’t watched yet, so I only knew her from the Norwegian series Nobel.
I’ll talk more about her role in Nobel when I review it. For now, I’ll only say her role is not as prominent. So, when I saw her outstanding performance in Equinox, it was a pleasant surprise. She’s marvelous in every single scene.
Karoline Hamm is my second favorite. She’s believable, fits the character completely, and made the scenes set in 1999 even better. 1999 also has the great Viola Martinsen, who plays the 9-year-old Astrid, and besides her young age, she doesn’t disappoint at all.
The characters individually are not great, though, and the one I like the most was Ida. She’s frail-looking, so others expect her to be afraid and unenthusiastic but she always shows bravery and leadership.
Astrid is not the best of the characters. We can say she’s a very persistent woman, but that’s about it regarding her qualities. The most compelling thing about her is the link with other characters.
There’s a parallel between her journey and Ida’s. And the relationship with her mother and son. She was neglected by her mother, and now she’s neglecting her son for almost the same reason.
That brings us to the father. Dennis (played by Lars Brygmann) is a great supporting father for the girls, the complete opposite of their mother. However, later he becomes the trope of men in horror movies, who never believe in anything. That was a little annoying, but in general, he a kind and soothing figure.
Another one I liked was Henrik (played by Alexandre Willaume). He was a teacher of the missing highschoolers, who comes up during Astrid’s investigation. He’s very gentle, humane, but there’s always something suspicious about him.
The cinematography was absolutely gorgeous and compelling. It has a smooth look, and even when things are messy and gritty, it’s concise. By the way, the scenes on the island are the best looking, especially the camera movements and effects in some key moments.
This first season of Equinox was really admirable for the most part. Unfortunately, some aspects of the ending and the lack of better characters didn’t allow the show to fly higher. I’ll give Equinox 6 Moons.
That’s it for now.
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Dos Ratos 