A cop too dirty for the fraud squad? That's when you know he's perfect for it.
After a stay in a sanatorium due to violent behavior during an arrest, Detective Karl Jørgensen is transferred to the fraud department. Here, Karl discovers a case involving his ex-wife and her new husband. When Karl begins to investigate the case, he is stopped by the police chief. Karl teams up with journalist John Bullnes. They gradually get closer to the truth, but are stopped when a suspect commits suicide. Karl is suspended and Bullnes is sent to Berlin on an assignment. Karl then takes the case into his own hands and arrests the city's mayor and a major contractor.
Acting
Jens Okking's volcanic, barely-contained rage
Direction
Refn's father crafts suffocating institutional dread
Cinematography
Copenhagen's gray underbelly never looked this ugly
Director
Anders Refn
Jens Okking
Karl Jørgensen
Otto Brandenburg
Willer Johansen
Birgit Sadolin
Grete Svendsholm
Preben Harris
Eskebjerg
Bendt Rothe
Politimester
Henning Palner
Kriminalassistent Møller
Holger Juul Hansen
Kramer, læge
Dick Kaysø
John Bullnes, journalist
Baard Owe
Skalle, journalist
Peter Ronild
Arnold, redaktør
Morten Arnfred
Egon, pressefotograf
Ove Verner Hansen
Max Thorsen
Bodil Kjer
Sabina Lund
Inger Stender
Fru Severinsen
Lars Lunøe
Borgmester Heidersvold
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Pre-dates the 'Nordic Noir' boom by decades, yet established the template: flawed male detective, institutional rot, weather as mood.
Director Anders Refn is Nicolas Winding Refn's father; the visual DNA of Drive's neon-drenched isolation traces back to this Copenhagen gloom.
DK
