Den Hemmelige Krig (2006, TV documentary) - Guldbrandsen sheds light on a dirty war

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More than half of this poster for Christoffer Guldbrandsen's Den Hemmelige Krig is left in the dark, and in the bottom a quote from Danish prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen is in all caps; "We must fight terrorism without compromise, and that fight against evil is not one that the US should face alone"

When Denmark joined America's 'coalition of the willing' in the fight against terrorism in Afghanistan, obvious lies from the highest authority, Danish prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, were repeated again and again, when it became clear that the Bush administration did not intend to uphold the Geneva convention concerning prisoners of war.

 

Den Hemmelige Krig is written by Nils Giversen (De Bortførte Børn (2002, TV documentary)) and co-writer/director Christoffer Guldbrandsen (Made in Denmark (2000, documentary series)). The title translates to, 'the secret war'.

The escape from liability and the abuses committed by allies on the prisoners of war are the film's scoop, and they make it highly relevant. It over-uses one quote from Fogh Rasmussen, and the stylistic and score choices to highlight 'mystery' elements regrettably work against the impact of the otherwise fine documentary.

 

 

The chief of the Danish Defense claims to never have heard of prisoner abuse by the Americans in this clip from the film

 

Cost: Unknown

Box office: None - TV documentary

= Uncertain

[Den Hemmelige Krig was shown on Danish TV (DR) on 6 December and runs 58 minutes. The film was heavily debated and attacked by the Danish prime minister Fogh Rasmussen, defense minister Søren Gade and others. A commission was funded to analyze the film and its statements, and in 2007 the commission largely green-stamped the film as fair and relevant. Guldbrandsen returned with Dagbog fra Midten (2009, TV documentary). 52 IMDb users have given Den Hemmelige Krig a 7.2/10 average rating.]

 

What do you think of Den Hemmelige Krig? 

Grev Axel (2001) - Frödin and Gråbøl pull laughter from 18th century-set crazy-comedy

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Star Peter Frödin looks silly before a woman in a chastity belt on this DVD cover for Søren Fauli's Grev Axel

In late 18th century Denmark a performing actor without much luck steals a man's pony and learns that said man was about to become a count. He swiftly assumes the man's identity and suddenly becomes a popular man of means and power.

Grev Axel is written by Anders Thomas Jensen (Men & Chicken/Mænd og Høns (2015)) and directed by Søren Fauli (Antenneforeningen (1999)). The titles means 'count Axel'.
The film launches crazy comedy in the Mel Brooks vein, though with a clear Danish style  and engaged performances all the way around:
Peter Frödin (Grethe (2016-17)) and Sofie Gråbøl (Flickering Lights/Blinkende Lygter (2000)) are tremendous.
The film would have benefited from a larger budget, and its script is clearly politely structured to follow the 'three act handbook', which isn't a compliment in this case.

Related post:

Søren Fauli: How to Get Rid of the Others/Hvordan Vi Slipper Af med De Andre (2007) - A generally awful Danish surreal comedy turkey (co-star)

Watch a scene from the film here, which is regrettably without subtitles but hysterically funny if you understand Danish

Cost: 13.5 mil. DKK, approximately 2.03 mil. $
Box office: 348k $
= Box office disaster (returned 0.17 times its cost)
[Grev Axel premiered 6 April (Denmark) and runs 90 minutes. The film was supported with a sum of money from the Danish Film Institute. It sold 67,468 tickets in production country Denmark. The listed gross, - only from there, - makes for an average ticket prize of 5.15 $. The film was not theatrically released elsewhere. The film won 2/5 Robert award nominations (Denmark's Oscar). Fauli returned with Polle Fiction (2002). Frödin returned in En Kort En Lang (2001); Gråbøl in Livsforsikringen (2003, short), Nikolaj og Julie (2002-03) and theatrically in Lad De Små Børn... (2004). 645 IMDb users have given Grev Axel a 5.5/10 average rating.]

What do you think of Grev Axel?