Kandidaten

This 2008 Danish thriller has now been issued on DVD with English subtitles to take advantage of the wave of enthusiasm for 'Nordic noir'. It is well worth it. It is a superb example of noir, far better than many American attempts. In fact, it has already been sold to Hollywood for one of those 'remakes' of foreign films which America produces for audiences too lazy to read subtitles, but which are always inferior to the originals. Few people appear to have seen this film yet, as there are only two reviews on IMDb so far. Perhaps viewers are deterred by the fact that the DVD box only has Danish on it, and no English language blurbs, but the subtitles are on the film and are well done. This film is an extremely tense nail-biter about revenge, corruption, and murder. The pace and the tension never let up for one second, and the direction is excellent by Kasper Barfoed. He has already entered the English language film world as the director of the excellent new thriller THE NUMBERS STATION (2013), which I hope to review if time allows, as it is an example of a successful migration of a Danish noir director into our language. The original screenplay of this film is by Stefan Jaworski, who from his name seems to be some kind of a 'Danish Pole', hard to imagine but stranger things have happened (such as Piper Perabo, who is a 'Norwegian German American', once thought to be a 'Portuguese Norwegian', but I see that has in recent weeks been corrected on her IMDb bio and Portugal has been dropped entirely from her pedigree, much to the dismay of all the Portuguese, I am sure). Jaworski has an amazing talent for inventing the most hair-raising twists and turns in a thriller script, and I suspect he must be a good chess player. The lead in this film has been well chosen. He is Nikolaj Lie Kaas (the Lie family being a famous family in Norway, which is possibly why he retains that middle name in a position of prominence for his screen credits). He himself is Danish and has appeared in 54 films despite being only 30 years old. In this film he appears to be constantly in a state of intense angst and confusion, and is so stressed-out, it hypes up the tension of the story to higher levels. 'Why,' he wonders hopelessly, 'are people trying to kill me all the time?' After all, his father had been killed a year earlier, and now the same people are after him. But there are so many false identities and false deaths and blind alleys in this story that it is a perfect puzzle. People who like playing Sodoku will love it, as the entire film is a gigantic intellectual miasma. As usual with Scandinavian and French thrillers of these days, monstrously corrupt people are abusing their power, perverting 'the system', and stopping at nothing to get what they want. And alas, that is a pretty accurate depiction of our contemporary world. Admirers of BORGEN will notice the girl who plays Katrine appearing in a supporting role here, Birgitte Hjort Sorensen, this time with dark hair. Ulf Pilgaard plays the sinister lawyer Martin Schiller, and he too will be recognised from BORGEN, where he played Joachim Chrone. Laura Christensen, who plays Louise, will be recognised from THE KILLING, where she played Lisa. Kim Bodnia plays the evil gangster Claes Kiehlert, and will be recognised from THE KILLING where he played Bulow, and that terrible Swedish series which I hated, THE BRIDGE (2011-13), where he plays Martin Rohde. Even Henning Jensen, who appears only briefly as the hero's father in flashbacks, was in THE KILLING as Gilsfort. One could go on like this, drawing the endless traces of the spider's web of the pool of Danish talent from one production to another. But it is clear that the Danes have amassed what is effectively a superior repertory company of highly-skilled actors which reminds us unmistakably of the similar group in Sweden during the Ingmar Bergman years. And with all that talent swimming in the Danish cultural seas, there is rich fishing to be had.

A defence lawyer is bumped off in a road accident because he could not get an acquittal for his powerfully connected client charged of murder. One year later the accident continues to haunt his son who is also a lawyer and he keeps visiting the spot regularly. Things inexplicably take a strange turn when a honey trap is laid out for him and the entire bizarre incident is captured on film with a view to blackmail. The ease with which he agrees to pay off is baffling. The story now hurtles forward at a frenzied pace in a series of incidents that grow more and more implausible. But you don't want to complain because the adrenaline inside you is cruising nicely thanks to some tight camera work aided by moody lighting and pumped up music. There is a more than fair chance that you would be able to work out the identity of the real culprit so when the denouement comes it won't catch you entirely by surprise.

But as you walk out of the film you start wondering at the stupidity of the killer. What was the need for him to give his game away by starting the blackmail process in the first instance? An otherwise extremely well made film suddenly falls flat on its face. You are angry at having your credulity stretched and intelligence insulted by a story without foundation.

Danish crime thriller + Nikolaj Lie Kaas provides a must-see to all them fond of consistent dramatic creations, where atmosphere is gloomy and solutions are coming without constant shootings and "witty" remarks. But as the level and quantity are high, particularly within the last decade, one starts to select and classify more, not just enjoying the course of events and distinct performances.

Here, even the small roles and filled by splendid actors (Tuva Novotny, David Dencik, Kim Bodnia) and there are lots of suspense twists and turns, but too many times, however, at the expense of credibility and logic. Nevertheless, nothing becomes really ridiculous or wtf!, and Lie Kaas' character is distinct and versatile again. So, if you like Scandinavian thrillers, you are certainly recommended to watch Kandidaten as well.

This film is a great testament to the capabilities of the incredible danish cinema. The acting is utilized to its fullest and the script is very clever and well-written.

It is a very beautifully put together film and the cinematography and cutting and editing flows splendidly. You can truly tell that a true auteur is behind it, and it takes some unconventional paths as acustomed to european cinema.

Overall, truly an incredible piece of art that is recommended for any lover of film. It's truly a masterpiece in every sense of the word that should be experienced for yourself. Truly spectacular!

Quite typical Scandinavian thriller in that everybody seemingly has demons, is grumpy or drinks too much plus the colours are bleak.

Nevertheless the story holds your attention and though the main character behaves sometimes rather curiously the twists are surprising and the end worthwhile. It would benefit from cutting maybe 10 minutes.

If you like films like the adaptations of the Adler-Olsen series you will like this one.