Terribly Happy

Frygtelig lykkelig

(Denmark, 2008, 102 mins, 35mm)

Wisconsin Premiere

writer: Gry Dunja Jensen, Henrik Ruben Genz
cinematographer: Jørgen Johansson
editor: Kasper Leick
sound engineer: Roar Skau Olsen
producer: Thomas Gammeltoft, Tina Dalhoff
production manager: Sanne Arnt Torp
cast: Jakob Cedergren, Lene Maria Christensen, Kim Bodnia, Lars Brygmann, Anders Hove, Jens Jørn Spottag, Henrik Lykkegaard, Peter Hesse Overgaard, Niels Skousen, Lars Lunøe, Sune Geertsen, Bodil Jørgensen, Mathilde Maack

“This is a dour and deadpan film noir from Denmark, and a good one.” – Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times. At the Wisconsin Film Festival, this could suffice for the program description, since dark Scandinavian comedies (and the Danes specifically) have been annual favorites for many in the audience. If that describes you, then read no further. For the uninitiated, this damp Western about a big-city, small-time cop reassigned to the marshes of Jutland will be a perfect introduction. Bounced from his previous position and now fighting a pill addiction, Jakob Cedergren finds himself in a town filled with sketchy oddballs who prefer to deal with crime their own way. It’s worked just fine for them to give shoplifting teens a smack instead of a ticket, and turn a blind eye to the local wife-beater. Outsiders aren’t welcome: you either adapt or get out. And outside of town is the bog, where maybe more than just a local cow has gone down. When Cedergren himself gets involved in a tragic crime, he has to decide whether to cover his tracks or face frontier justice. Elsewhere in the Festival, Jules Dassin’s The Law is another portrait of town which runs by its own rules. Director Henrik Ruben Genz’s film Kinamand played at the 2006 Wisconsin Film Festival. 2008 Karlovy Vary, 2009 Seattle, Edinburgh, Palm Springs Film Festivals.

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