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| Star Jens Albinus concentrated in the middle of surgery on this visually sparse poster for Nils Malmros' At Kende Sandheden |
Late in his life the esteemed neurologist Richard Malmros is haunted by a period in the 1940s in which he and other doctors did home operations using a radioactive property, which later turned out to cause cancer.
At Kende Sandheden is written and directed by Nils Malmros (En Mærkelig Kærlighed (1968)), co-written with John Mogensen (Barbara (1997)). It is based on the life of Malmros' own father. The Danish title translates to, 'to know the truth'.
The film is a father portrait, which impresses with strikingly detailed and realistic brain surgery scenes, - stemming from the fact that Nils Malmros is also educated as a surgeon and performed all the surgery scenes with his own hands, - and four outstanding actors' performances, each of them perfectly cast:
Lasse Broust Andersen is phenomenal as young Richard Malmros; Jens Albinus (Stille Hjerte (2014)) as the adult Richard Malmros; William Rosenberg (Fætrene på Torndal (1973)) is tremendous as the old Richard Malmros; and Søren Østergaard (Operation Cobra (1995)) as the son filmmaker, whom he actually also resembles quite a bit.
For some time it is feared that the film will collapse in search of a focus between bio-drama, the journalistic uncovering plot line and the father-son drama, but At Kende Sandheden keeps it together with its compelling core about the unpleasant choices, consequences and guilt that life brings about, exemplified by the fascinating doctor character. Richard Malmros as a character reflects the double-sided element of the doctor's profession, often teetering between courageous heroism and fatal monstrosity.
At Kende Sandheden is told in a brisk pace; it is a good film, although there seems to be some depths to the story that it never uncovers.
Related post:
Nils Malmros: Sorrow and Joy/Sorg og Glæde (2013) - Malmros' film of his life's major tragedy
Watch a trailer for the film here
Cost: Unknown
Box office: Unknown
= Uncertain - but probably a mega-flop
[At Kende Sandheden premiered 23 August (Norwegian International Film Festival) and runs 98 minutes. Shooting took place in Denmark, including Copenhagen. The film sold 89,506 tickets in production country Denmark, which makes for a gross around 6-7 mil. DKK. The film likely cost at least 20 mil. DKK and so should be considered a mega-flop. It was screened at 9 international festivals. It won 3/ 6 Robert nominations (Danish Oscar). Malmros returned with Aching Hearts/Kærestesorger (2009). Albinus returned in 3 TV and video credits prior to his theatrical return in In Your Hands/Forbrydelser (2004); Rosenberg in Opbrud (2005). 725 IMDb users have given At Kende Sandheden a 7.3/10 average rating.]
What do you think of At Kende Sandheden?
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