Temporarily reassigned to the provincial Danish town of Skarrild after being accused of professional misconduct in Copenhagen, a by-the-books policeman begins to sense that the hamlet has something truly sinister in its midst in this dark drama based on author Erling Jepsen's novel of the same name. Constable Robert isn't used to life in the country, so when he's first confronted by the small-town customs of South Jutland he begins to feel as if he's drifted into some kind of all-too-quaint
alternate reality. But perhaps his suspicion that everything here is just a little too perfect isn't just the result of simple culture shock, because the more Constable Robert gets to know about his new surroundings, the more convinced he becomes that the community of South Jutland harbors a disturbing secret. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Entertaining and full of surprising twists, this highly cinematic tale of a Copenhagen policeman working punishment duty in the provinces plays with genre in a manner that can be compared with the Coen brothers or David Lynch.
Genz creates a distinctive look and feel in the film. The town is drab, the people wrung out, and the moments of passion are smoothed back down into the tired routine.
Word is that Danish director Henrik Ruben Genz is planning to remake his latest film, Terribly Happy, in English. There's not much room for improvement.
"Terribly Happy" is a little light on the plotting, going on narrative autopilot for the last third of the film instead of giving us a few extra turns of the screw for good measure.
Not quite a comedy but as darkly comic a crime drama as you'll find, this offbeat modern noir... is a weirdly compelling portrait of a town that has its own sense of justice...
The setting is stark and simple - a semi-deserted, two-street town amid long, flat marshland - but Director Henrik Ruben Genz infuses it all with a dark, twisted beauty.
A nearly surreal Scandinavian crime thriller with noirish shades of a Stockholm syndrome kicking in, this creepy delight unfolds on the border somewhere between the Nordic boondocks and the Twilight Zone.
A nearly surreal Scandinavian crime thriller with noirish shades of a Stockholm syndrome kicking in, this creepy delight unfolds on the border somewhere between the Nordic boondocks and the Twilight Zone.
With its fascinating story, perfect pacing and superbly moody camera work by cinematographer Jorgen Johansson, Terribly Happy takes you by a slow, purposeful surprise.
Terribly Happy is a gripping morality tale, one that uses macabre humor and sudden reversals to show how seemingly little mistakes can become life-changing disasters.
not a happy film. not a terrible one either. but it does have a cop with a big moustache and a gun that he never uses. people have flashy show-offy names and speak words that don't make a lick of sense. i don't know. i wish they could just speak american. if i made this movie there would be more shooting and he would
have a shiny golden gun but it would have fuzzy pink dice hanging from the bottom to symbolize his masculinity in a time of conflict and consequently his need for eliminating figures who threaten his character in turn threatens his own sanity while stimulating his ego... err umm i mean i would get him to fuck that blond chick and shoot guys with his fuzzy dice gun at the same time and they would be covered in foreign blood after fucking and it would be sweet and win some non-american awards or something.
Terribly Happy is a Danish film about small town paranoia with echoes of The Coen Bros. film, Blood Simple. Although based on a true story, it also borrows a tiny bit from other films here and there. However, Terribly Happy still delivers and is clever and entertaining. Not a lot happens during the course of the
film, but that lends to noirish feeling it gives off while the central character, Robert, tries to make sense of it all. The acting is pretty good and the damp country-side setting reminds you that real help is far away. It was cool to see Kim Bodnia (Pusher) in a different, yet, very tense role.
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