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NINETEEN RED ROSES is usually advertised as a "Danish giallo" but it's more of a police procedural -cum- character study and not bad at all. It starts out with an offing right out of A KISS BEFORE DYING and there's another cold-blooded kill before police figure out that the victims were related to four adulterers responsible for the drunk driving death of a teenage girl the year before. We see the killer from the start but don't know who he is or why he's doing what he does until midway thru the film and the rest, although highly predictable, works as a concise character study of those involved. It stayed on my mind for a couple of days afterward which speaks in its favor, I suppose.

Usually, when I watch Danish films, old ones in particular, I have to lower my expectations, compared to when I watch American or other countries where the films have a budget that isn't as low and/or the film-makers are more talented. This film is, sadly, no exception. The story is based on a novel by a Danish author whom I know nothing about, so I can't say whether or not it's accurate. The basic idea is good enough, but it just seems somewhat poorly executed, since this idea has been seen before(A Kiss Before Dying, and probably others as well) and the film doesn't really take the premise anywhere you don't expect it to, nor does it transcend the quality of the typical movie with this theme. The plot is pretty good; it has a somewhat good pace, and, despite never really surprising you, it manages to keep your interest and keep you entertained. The acting varies from good to very far below average. Fortunately, the latter is only seldom seen in the film. The characters are credible and interesting, but few are well-developed. To be frank, I didn't really think any of them were very well-developed. That's too bad, really. It might have lifted the film above its current rating. The humor is pretty good, never sinking very low, and mostly being in the form of witty remarks that don't seem out of place or character. The "twist", if you can call it that, is easily figured out very early in the movie, and serves no real purpose. The climax is fairly dull, despite being introduced as the direct opposite. The special effects are mostly bad, with one or two exceptions, which, again, can be attributed to the low level of expertise involved in Danish film productions(older films, in particular) and the low budget. All in all, a (slightly) above average crime film, with enough interesting parts to keep you watching the whole film. I recommend it to fans of Danish films, the various actors in the film, and possibly crime films in general. 7/10