Notizie

Who knows how it was forged, the ironclad bond between Danish filmmaker Anders Thomas Jensen and Mads Mikkelsen, star of countless sex dreams and recent Oscar-winner Another Round. Perhaps they buried a body together. Whatever the reason, we continue to reap the benefits as that actor, who has been central to all of Jensen’s movies (including his 2000 debut Flickering Lights), reunites with his pal/conspirator-in-corpse-disposal to deliver their fifth, and very possibly finest collaboration to date: the witty, weird and wantonly violent Riders of Justice.

Part of the attraction...

Riders of Justice is an absolutely brilliant Danish film that cleverly crosses multiple genres. What begins as a revenge thriller turns into a wicked black comedy with a whole lot of heart. A superb ensemble cast, led by the always fantastic Mads Mikkelsen, will have you laughing out loud and cringing at the same time. Riders of Justice is terrific entertainment with a subversive edge. It's rare to see a film that addresses so many different themes successfully.

Riders of Justice opens with a seemingly innocuous act of theft that spurns a tidal wave of events. In Denmark, teenaged Mathilde (Andrea Heick Gadeberg) and her mother (Anne Birgitte Lind) get unexpected news. Markus Hansen (Mads Mikkelsen) has decided to stay with his unit in Afghanistan for another three months. He cares for his family, but has put his career as a soldier first. His wife decides to have a "skip...

Deliriously wry and so perfectly balanced it should become a case study in script classes, “Riders of Justice” may be the film that finally gives Anders Thomas Jensen international recognition beyond his usual spotlight as a sought-after screenwriter. Comparisons with the Coen brothers will be inevitable given oddball characters whose fixations and genuine heart contrast with moments of extreme violence, yet the roots of this black revenge comedy go back even further, bringing an asocial spin to classic screwballers where a group of quirky misfits are balanced out by a lone woman who’s the most put-together and in touch of the bunch.

Jensen works with his customary stable of actors, many of whom have appeared in his previous four features including Mads Mikkelsen, the most globally recognized of the group and currently enjoying quite a year between this and “Another Round.” Box office in Denmark was predictably high for...