Title–The Keeper of Lost Causes
Language–Danish
Original Title-Kvinden i buret
Genre – Crime Thriller / Police Procedural
Directed by–Mikkel Nørgaard
Written by–Jussi Adler-Olsen
Screenplay by–Nikolaj Arcel
Starring– Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Fares Fares, Sonja Richter, Søren Pilmark.
Release-2013
“The Keeper of Lost Causes” is the first movie in the Danish film trilogy titled ‘Department Q’. Based on the best-selling books by Jussi Adler-Olsen the movie is a throwback to a proper investigative police-procedural instead of the slam-bang-chase-two-sex scenes formula that Hollywood seems to have perfected. A routine investigation goes horribly wrong with two police officers shot dead and our protagonist injured badly and returning to duty after recuperation. The top-cop speaks to our returning cop stating that he will no longer be a part of Homicide squad and is being assigned to a new department – Department Q, which will dig through old cases that have not been closed and sort them out appropriately.
Left without an option – Carl Morck joins Department Q, which has Assad a Muslim cop who is jovial and focused and enjoys his work. The camaraderie between the two is brought out well as the movie progresses. Carl digs out a five-year old case of a young lady politician, Merete who had gone missing when on a ferry trip with her mentally challenged brother Uffe.
Carl and Assad painstakingly rebuild the case looking for answers, the movie builds its tension gradually and uncovers dark secrets and presents a villain that’s menacing and truly diabolical. Was Merete killed? Did she commit suicide as stated in the case=report? What is Uffe hiding? To find out all the answers, watch the movie.
Excellent adaptation of the book and full credit to the director for a job well done!
Teerthadanam 