Based on Jussi Adler-Olsen’s international bestsellers, the riveting Department Q series introduces maverick detective Carl Mørck (Nikolaj Lie Kaas) who, after majorly botching an assignment, is relegated to reviewing cold cases. With his new partner Assad (Fares Fares) and secretary Rose (Johanne Louise Schmidt), the moody Mørck digs into shocking unsolved mysteries including the kidnapping of a high-ranking government official, a brutal prep school murder and a bloody message from two children presumed dead.
When an ex-cop commits suicide not long after asking Carl Mørck about a long-buried case — the brutal murder of his young twin children, who were found dead in a summer cottage in 1994 — Mørck and Assad reopen an investigation into the case. Before long, they realize that something was rotten in the state of Denmark: while clues had initially pointed in the direction of a group of wealthy upper-class students at a nearby boarding school, the case was closed when a local outsider confessed and pled guilty to the crime, only to receive a curiously light sentence for the crime.
After they uncover a lead that may hold the answers — an emergency call made by a desperate young girl, who disappeared shortly afterward and has not been seen or heard from since — Carl and Assad are pulled beneath the surface of privilege and class into a more sordid world of ruthless cruelty. Directed by Mikkel Nørgaard (Denmark 2014)
“Mikkel Nørgaard propels the story by smartly sticking to the formula he used in the previous film: hints of menace, gorgeously shadowed shots, and long flashbacks”—New York Times
“A stylish and strongly acted Nordic noir-style mystery”—The Hollywood Reporter
About the Director
Mikkel Nørgaard (b. 1974, Denmark) graduated from the National Film School of Denmark, 2001. Prior to film school, Nørgaard assisted on a number of Danish feature films, working with directors Lone Scherfig, Lars von Trier and Kaspar Rostrup. After working on several television projects, Nørgaard made his feature film debut with Klown (2010) and the follow-up Klown Forever (2015), based on the popular television short-series Clown (TV 2 Danmark, 2004-2009), also directed by Nørgaard.
He has directed adaptations of two bestselling novels by Danish crime writer Jussi Adler-Olsen, The Keeper of Lost Causes (2013) and The Absent One (2014), and also wrote the script to the fourth in the series, The Purity of Vengeance (2018).
July 17, 2019
July 17, 2019
Photo by Christian Geisnaes