There is a point in Kvinden i buret (The Keeper of Lost Causes), at which one Danish detective turns to another and asks if he’s going to write crime novels now, like all the other cops do when they retire. And so they solve the ultimate mystery: the case of the Scandi-noir overkill. The reason our screens are flooded with investigative thrillers out of Scandinavia right now is that in climates where a holding cell can double as a meat locker, once you reach a certain age, the pen is mightier than the nightstick. Individually these films are good. Many are great. Consumed one after the other however, they become repetitive, regardless of the individual author’s creativity within the genre.
In this particular Danish offering, based on the first book in a series called the Department Q novels, Homicide Detective Carl Mørck is transferred to the new cold case unit – Q – after he is injured on a stakeout gone wrong. His natural impatience and critical outlook over his colleagues makes him the perfect case auditor and recalcitrant hero.
If you want cold cases, they don’t get much colder than in Scandinavia, though it’s hard to believe there is anything left unsolved in that part of the world. Mørck’s first file tells the tale of a female politician who went missing six years ago.
Featuring all the visual, moral and emotional shades of grey we have come to expect from a modern Scandinavian film, the film’s style, format and premise are highly familiar. Ultimately this is the filmic equivalent of a very good aeroplane novel – intense, enjoyable and disposable – and as such makes for perfect snow-laced escapist fare. So if that’s what you’re after, this is your cause.
‘The Keeper of Lost Causes’ Movie Times
