Fasandræberne

Good murder mystery noir from Denmark showing at NYC's IFC Center for just one week, and a picture that deserves more exposure than that. It is a tense detective story of a 'cold case', a double murder 20 years old taken up by Danish Detectives Morck and Assad. I am a great fan of top shelf detective films, and film noir in particular, and this one is surprisingly well done.

Nutshell; a brother and sister were murdered 20 years previous and the crimes were unsolved. Their father, a retired cop, approaches Morck and pleads with him to renew the case. Morck dusts him off, saying he is too busy. The father then turns up as a suicide, which leads Morck to regret his cavalier treatment of the father and decides to investigate. His subsequent investigation takes a sordid turn and becomes darker as the story unfolds.

There are three movies in the Det. Morck series, and I wish I could have stayed for all three. It is remarkably well done and bears all the hallmarks of Hollywood noir films. Morck is a no-nonsense detective who smokes and is hard-drinking and with a clear-headed assistant who tries to be a counter balance. Morck is moody and obsessive and will break the rules in the name of truth and justice, and the chemistry between the two is a tribute to their acting and to the screenplay. The movie scene needs more of this type of grown up fare as many of us have tired of the usual sequel to a dull film and of animated cartoon movies for 6 year olds. While Indies like this are produced perhaps there is still hope for a foundering art form.

Police Detective Carl Mørck (Nikolaj Lie Kaas) stumbles upon an old man nearby the Police Department Building and he asks if Carl had checked the documentation he sent to him. Carl does not give much attention to the man and two hours later the man is found dead after committing suicide in his bathtub. Carl convinces his partner Assad Pilou (Fares Fares) to reopen an old case where the twins of the old man had been murdered and soon Carl and Assad are involved in a network of old crimes where the powerful executives and millionaires Ditlev Pram (Pilou Asbæk) and his friend Ulrik Dybbøl (David Dencik) seem to be responsible for. Now they are chasing Ditlev´s former girlfriend Kimmie (Danica Curcic), who might be the key witness of the cases. But the criminals are hunting her down.

"Fasandræberne", a.k.a. "Department Q: The Absent One". Is another great franchise with a new case of Police Detectives Carl Mørck and Assad Pilou. The structure of the bleak story is similar to the first film with the use of flashbacks. The performances are top-notch again and the screenplay does not use the clichés of a crime film. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Departamento Q: O Ausente" ("Department Q: The Absent One")

Note: On 17 July 2021, I saw this film again.

So when I saw the Keeper of Lost Causes, I was very impressed by what a griping Crime Drama it was and when I discovered it was the first in a trilogy, I had to see the others.

The Absent One is the second in the trilogy. Some time after Carl and his partner, Assad made Department Q a name for their first case, they quickly became a joke again due to Carl's focus on solving the cold cases rather than just organizing the place met they have not closed another cold case since. Then a retired sheriff begs Carl to look into the cold case involving the murder of his two children which someone took the blame for. This lead Carl to uncover the dangerous vices of the privilege of high society.

It's as gritty as the first movie, with a case that has slightly more depth and angles to it. This allows us to see the warm heart of Carl without melting the ice, as he gives his all to make right what once went wrong. The detective himself becomes more well rounded with just enough peaks into his personal life (a bonding relationship he has with his ex-wife's son, who he obviously sees as his flesh and blood), to make him human. The movie also introduces a new team member, Rose, the last of a long list of secretaries who don't work well with Carl, but luckily Assad likes her.

This is becoming a fabulous police drama franchise and I can't wait to complete the trilogy.

Saw this recently on a rented DVD. This is the follow up to the Keeper of lost causes. In this film, both Nikolaj n Fares need to solve another case because some time has passed since the success of their first case and their reputation is going down. A bereaved ex-cop appeals to Nicolaj to solve the murder of his two children. The ex cop kills himself after being refused. Feeling guilty, our two cops begin looking into the case, with all leads initially pointing towards an elite boarding school. Their search for the truth takes them in some unexpected places n a bandaged nose. Nicolaj after being attacked, gets a bandaged nose, a nod to Jack Nicholson's character from Chinatown. The plot may not be new or there may not be enuff mystery but the movie was captivating to hold your interest till the end. It's much more darker, obscene and gruesome than its predecessor. Its more of a crime tale n less of a mystery. Found it to be a lil disappointing because its not in the same league as its predecessor specially when it comes to suspense n tension. This film has lots flashbacks like the first one. Nonetheless it got saved by strong performances by all. Fares gave a very good performance n Nikolaj too gave a nice performance. A decent police procedural crime tale.

Seeking redemption or solace or anything remotely plain and silent after having done something horrible, is not easy. It even gets worse when the police digs up that past. Which is what happens here and our two main protagonists from the first novel (and especially the movie) are back on duty again.

I haven't read the novels, but I did watch the first movie, which I can highly recommend. This isn't a bad affair either, but I can see people being a bit disappointed after that massive first movie. Still this is not only decent, but a very good crime movie, with twists flying your way every now and then. New leads, chases and guessing who did what and what could happen next. If you let yourself enjoy that ride, you'll be having a good movie experience - just not at the exact same level as the first one delivered