The Keeper of Lost Causes (Kvinden i buret) (2013)

This review is sponsored by

BUY IT

General		Extras
Category	Thriller	Theatrical Trailer
Rating
Year Of Production	2013
Running Time	93
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Mikkel Nørgaard Jussi Adler-Olsen Nikolaj Arcel
Studio Distributor	Madman Entertainment	Starring	None Given
Case	Amaray-Transparent
RPI	?	Music	None Given

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	Danish Dolby Digital 5.1
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    I have become quite a fan of Scandinavian police and crime thrillers over the past few years, probably starting with the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series of books and movies. There are many films and TV series to investigate in this space such as the excellent Bron/Broen which has spawned two remakes and things like Borgen and more. There is a distinct style which these shows tend to have with a slightly cranky or withdrawn hero and a generally grim and glum atmosphere. This latest Scandinavian crime thriller, The Keeper of Lost Causes (Kvinden i buret) is no exception to those style rules and is the first film based on a series of best selling novels, the Department Q series by Jussi Adler-Olsen. Others in the series are already in the works.

    The main character is Carl Marck (Nikolaj Lie Kaas), a homicide detective in Denmark, who is mostly disliked by his colleagues and superiors due to his grumpy and individualistic approach. After a bungled raid he is transferred to run a new Department called Department Q, which will be responsible for sorting through and closing out the paperwork on old cases which have not been finalised. He is clearly told that he will not be investigating the cases just completing the paperwork. He is assigned an assistant, Assad (Fares Fares) who is keen and pleased to be assigned to a new department. Of course, Carl dislikes him immediately and quickly starts to make his life difficult. The first case they start to look through involves a female politician, Marete Lyndgaard (Sonja Richter) who disappeared 5 years earlier. The original investigation concluded that she had jumped from a ferry crossing to Denmark with her disabled brother. Carl starts to become suspicious that this was too obvious a solution and decides to investigate despite his direct orders to leave it alone. With Assad's assistance he starts to investigate what really happened five years before.

    This is a well constructed thriller, with an interesting device which shows the previous five years being revealed concurrently with the investigation playing out. It is tense, grim and moody added to by a naturalistically lit and monochromatic colour scheme in keeping with many shows from this part of the world. Much of this is driven by the light in Scandinavia but the style of these shows uses this as a starting point and extends it. The acting is good and the film provides thrills and a good mystery for the audience. To me, it feels more like a television show than a theatrical film, however, a good quality one. The acting is of a good standard and this is a good start to what should be a worthwhile and intriguing set of films.

    Recommended.

Video

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

    The menu features music.

Theatrical Trailer (1:36)

    Australian Trailer for the film.

    This film is available in the UK in the same format and there is also a Danish Blu-ray release which seems to include English subtitles. If you are keen for a Blu-ray this seems to be the only current option, however, the local DVD does the job admirably.

    The video quality is very good.

    The audio quality is very good.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall