The Chestnut Man (Kastanjemanden)
The Chestnut Man (Danish: Kastanjemanden) is a Danish crime series released on Netflix on 29 September 2021. The series was created by Dorte Warnøe Hagh, David Sandreuter, and Mikkel Serup, is directed by Kasper Barfoed and Mikkel Serup, and is based on the book of the same name by Søren Sveistrup. The series stars Danica Curcic and Mikkel Boe Følsgaard as Naia Thulin and Mark Hess, who investigate the murders of several women involving a mysterious chestnut figurine left at the crime scenes.[1][2][3]
The Chestnut Man (Kastanjemanden)
One October morning, a young woman is found dead in a playground in a quiet suburb of Copenhagen. One of her hands is missing and above her, there hangs a small figurine of a man made out of chestnuts. All pretty chilling, but things become even more complicated when the police find mysterious evidence on the chestnut man that points to a girl who went missing a year ago, and that girl just so happens to be the daughter of an important politician.
Danica Curcic and Mikkel Boe Følsgaard star as Naia Thulin and Mark Hess, the detectives assigned to investigate the case. As more bodies and chestnut men pile up, the two cops begin to connect the dots on an expansive mystery. It's a thoroughly enjoyable show, told across six episodes, and has already attracted a lot of attention on Netflix. If you've already watched the series and you're hungry for more, we've got you covered. This handy list has seven of the best shows similar to The Chestnut Man that you can watch for more murders, mysteries, and haunting stories.
The very image of the chestnut figurines at the center of The Chestnut Man is enough to draw comparisons to True Detective, especially its first season. Created by Nic Pizzolatto, the HBO series is an anthology with each season dealing with a completely separate story.
What is very different from the expected for a true Scandi noir is that visually it has a far warmer colour palette. The Chestnut Man takes its cue from the season and the story to delve into autumnal hues in its visual design. There are still the expected greys, blues and black but ever-present, and dominating these are shades of brown (especially chestnut) ochre, reds, yellows and greens which reflect the foliage shown in the overhead shots of the forest. Not only locations and sets but also the costuming continually use these colours. This is a radical departure from the usual muted, washed-out tones of your usual Nordic noir.
The Chestnut Man opens with horrifying images of a whole family slaughtered in their home, discovered by a soon-to-be-retired policeman sent to investigate stray farm animals. This opening sequence sets the tone, dark and unforgiving, and looms over the episodes, unmentioned until its significance is revealed much later in the series. The sequence ends with one clue as to how it relates to the future serial murders, when the policeman finds a room filled with chestnut men.
In present day Copenhagen, these chestnut men are the calling card of a mysterious serial murderer left next to the mutilated bodies of seemingly unconnected women. The chestnut men further link the murders to another year-old case of a missing girl, Kristine Hartung, the daughter of politician Rosa Hartung, which is considered by the police as solved. A man named Linus Bekker confessed to her murder.
And despite its title, the titular character is a menacing killer who leaves behind something extremely creepy at the scene of a murder he committed. Here's the official synopsis for the show: "At a grisly murder scene sits a figurine made of chestnuts. From this creepy clue, two detectives hunt a killer linked to a politician's missing child."
"One Autumn day a few years ago I came to pick up my youngest in kindergarten and I saw the kids assembling chestnut men while they were singing a children's song: Chestnut man, do come in, Chestnut man, do come in" Sveistrup explained. "To me, the invitation sounded creepy even though the context was so innocent. Or maybe exactly because the context was innocent. Anyway, I decided to follow my anxieties and use the small doll as a signature on a scene of a crime."
After calling this in to the police, Marius heads down to thee basement where he finds Astrid, the other foster child, hiding under the table. The only trouble is, Marius is knocked down by an ominous figure behind him. Dotted around the room are numerous chestnut figurines, which the camera keeps its focus on as as the sickening sound of blood spattering can be heard.
The plot soon thickens though when Thulin receives the results of the fingerprint dusting. Remember that chestnut man from before? Well, it actually has traces of Kristine Hartung on there. Given the girl is presumed missing, that seems impossible. In order to get to the bottom of this, Thulin needs to speak to Rosa. It seems like this case could well be connected to the threats Rosa has been receiving too.
In a quiet suburb of Copenhagen on a blustery October morning, the police make a gruesome discovery: a young woman is found brutally murdered in a playground, and one of her hands is missing. Above her hangs a small man made of chestnuts.
The Chestnut Man takes place in a quiet suburb of Copenhagen, where the police make a terrible discovery on a stormy October morning. A young woman is found brutally murdered in a playground and one of her hands is missing. Above her hangs a small man of chestnuts.
The premise follows young detective Naia Thulin (Curcic) and her partner, Mark Hess (Følsgaard) who investigate the brutal murder of a young woman in a playground, where a small figure made of chestnuts hangs above her.
The Chestnut Man is set in the quiet suburb of Copenhagen, where the police make a terrible discovery one blustery October morning. A young woman is found brutally murdered in a playground and one of her hands is missing. Above her hangs a small man made of chestnuts. The ambitious young detective Naia Thulin is assigned to the case, along with her new partner, Mark Hess. They soon discover a mysterious piece of evidence on the chestnut man--evidence connecting it to a girl who went missing a year earlier and was presumed dead - the daughter of politician Rosa Hartung.
The story takes us to the present day, where field homicide detective Naia Thulin is assigned a particular case for her expertise in the field. She teams up with annoying but persuasive detective Hess, who is in detention from his duty at Europol. On the orders of their superior Nylander, the detectives head to Husum to find the corpse of Laura Kjaer. She was beaten to death, and one of her limbs has been removed by an electronic saw. Hess discovers a chestnut figurine near the crime scene, and this is where it gets interesting.
The story begins when the mutilated corpse of a 37-year-old woman is found in a playground in central Copenhagen. The first officers on scene make an eerie discovery as there is a small figurine made of chestnuts hanging above the dead body. When the forensics team examine it, they find a fingerprint on the chestnut doll belonging to Kristine Hartung who had been abducted and murdered a year earlier by a pervert, Linus Bekker. Kristine's mother, Rosa Hartung is a popular politician who is still struggling with grief over the tragic demise of her daughter. Her remaining family will be shocked to the core when they hear the news about the fingerprint and their hopes are raised that little Kristine may still be alive. As the bodies begin to pile up and more chestnut men are found by the authorities in the crime scenes, it becomes evident that someone is targeting Rosa for some unfathomable reason.
Investigations of the 1987 case reveal photographs with several chestnut men. Several VHS tapes of the foster kids with recordings of sexual abuse inflicted upon them by Orum and his wife were found. It was theorized the Orum felt guilty and killed his wife and then shot himself. The foster kids that survived the tragedy were Toke and Astrid Bering.
Toke and Astrid Bering were first assigned to foster family, Petersen at Odsherred. Their sister Rosa Hartung lied about Toke sexually assaulting her which led the twins to be sent to the chestnut farm.
Simon calls Rosa to the chestnut farm to reveal the fate of Kristine. Thulin takes Simon to investigate further, unaware that he was the Chestnut Man. He captures them both and sets the house on fire to kill them. Hess arrives in the nick of time and saves both Rosa and Thulin. Simon was killed in a car accident as a thick tree branch impaled his chest.
In a quiet suburb of Copenhagen, the police make a terrible discovery: a young woman is found brutally murdered on a playground. One of her hands is missing. Above her hangs a little man, made of chestnuts. The case is assigned to young and ambitious detective Naia Thulin and her new partner, Mark Hess. They soon discover that a puzzling piece of evidence on the male leads to a girl who went missing a year earlier, and was presumed dead: the daughter of politician Rosa Hartung. 041b061a72