I give the movie 6 stars. Why only 6? Well, if it were not for some absurdities that requires far more than the suspension of disbelief I would have voted 8. The movie is gripping, the acting is good, the photography is dark and suggestive, the characters are troubled and interesting and the story is touching.The detective pair, Carl the troubled one and Assad the more positive thinker, reminds me of other famous nordic investigative couples I saw in "Forbridelsen" (Sarah Lundt and her changing buddies) and in "Bron-Broen" (Saga and Martin). The chemistry between them is good and they are likable, even Carl with his nihilism.I did not read the novel and I don't know if the screenwriter and the director were faithful or not to the written story, but in the movie there are points where I thought "Oh my ... how can it be possible?"SPOILER: How can Kimmie, a mentally troubled homeless woman that has been living in a dirty cart for years, transform herself in few hours into a club vamp dressed in fashion, with a perfect makeup and a blond wig, with no sign of her chronic psychotic behavior? This is beyond credibility, even considering scenic fiction.How can Kimmie overpower armed, strong and combat trained men fronting her? This happens four times: when ambushed in the cart, in her friend's house when she escapes Carl, in the detective apartment after the disco and last in the jail. Talk me about SuperHomelessWoman. Even this is beyond the credibility of scenic fiction.I do not understand why they did not try to make the whole thing more realistic or at last more believable.The story unfolds between past and present and I found some of the flashback scenes slightly disturbing as they show physical and psychological cruelties.This is a sad story without a real happy ending, but worth seeing despite its flaws.

THE ABSENT ONE is the second in the trilogy of DEPARTMENT Q films, Danish crime dramas based on novels. This Scandi-noir offering has all you'd expect from this particular genre: dark visuals, a gritty plot, a sinister back story that impinges on the present day, and some scruffy, downbeat detectives who refuse to give up the case no matter what.This film features an extensive back story involving a group of public school teenagers who get up to some dark deeds in the 1990s. It's hard-hitting and explicit stuff indeed, and the present-day storyline is just as intensive. These DEPARTMENT Q films benefit from strong production values, solid writing, good acting, and a general air of quality that makes them ones to watch for fans of the genre.

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.

Horror Hunters is a Danish film directed by Mikkel Nørgaard. In its native land, this film recently became the highest grossing domestic film in history. Now it's coming to DVD internationally and you'll have a chance to see it as well.The film is an extremely graphic and unflinching crime film--one that you should be warned about before you decide to see it or not. While it's extremely well made, there are also some very graphic murders, tons of blood, rape and other bits of nastiness that make this a poor choice if you want to watch a film with the kids or your mother. Think twice before you'd consider doing this...no, think three times!The film is a bit reminiscent of the American television shows "Cold Case" or "Cold Case Files" in that the story involves a police unit which investigates unsolved crimes. However, the case is unusual because someone has already been convicted of the crime. It seems that a police captain KNOWS there's much more to the case but has been unable to go further with the case. How he passes it on to the team is something...really, really something.This case turns out to be 20 years old. And, through the course of the film, it turns out that the case has a lot of similarities to other cases committed since--horrible, senseless and violent crimes committed for kicks. The key to solving this is a woman named Kimmee who disappeared long, long ago as well as her involvement with a pair of rich and malevolent prep school teens. But, solving any of these crimes will be very difficult, as the perpetrators are powerful and well connected. It's made even more difficult because one of the investigators is an emotional mess himself and you really aren't sure if he'll solve the crime or end up getting himself killed due to his recklessness and unwillingness to back down when he's pressured to do so by his superiors.As I first mentioned, the film is very graphic--much more so than I usually would watch. On the other hand, the plot is very intelligently written and the story is one that sucks you in and won't let you go until the guilty are brought to justice. For crimes of cop stories that don't mind a film that is very edgy and dark, this one is well worth seeing.