Fantastic Fest 2009

As soon as the Policeman Robert Hansen (Jakob Cedergren) hits the cobblestone streets, his authority is questioned by nearly everyone. The town's longstanding way of life, which includes frequent use of the outlying bogs to keep its dark secrets, seems to be stuck in a quasi-medieval time. The citizens are openly contemptuous of him, especially Jorgen (Kim Bodnia), a drunken brute who beats his wife. When the wife appeals to Hansen for help, he finds himself trapped in a bog of obligation, fear, guilt and loneliness. After an especially wrenching marital intervention, Hansen faces off with Jorgen in a mano-a-mano that would make a caveman proud. The two pound dozens of beers and whiskey in the town bar in front of a jury of the townspeople to prove which man is "right."

Some have compared TERRIBLY HAPPY to the Coen Brothers' films, and certainly anyone who appreciates the Coens' dark, off-center black humor and atmospheric depiction of milieu will enjoy TERRIBLY HAPPY. But this is a unique film with its own novelistic inner sense of logic and timing. It's not a horror film exactly. Nor is it a mystery. It's a story about a few people in a fucked-up little town. And it will make you feel and think (and laugh) with the best of them.

This highly acclaimed film, directed by Henrik Ruben Genz, has won a slew of awards including the Bodil (Denmark's highest film honor). Adam Yauch's Oscilloscope Films has picked it up for American distribution. (Lars Nilsen)