tenshi_ippikiookami The second movie based on the Department Q's novels is an entertaining affair, but with zero originality and too long to really satisfy.A drunken man jumps into the path of Carl Mørck when he is going home and asks him about some documents he sent him. Carl ignores him and tells the drunken man to go home. A couple of hours later, the man is death, having committed suicide. On a table, a box with lots of information he had been gathering through the years. The man was a retired policeman, and the case he was talking about the death of his two children. Carl Mørck becomes obsessed with finding the truth."The Absent One" is not a bad movie. It has good atmosphere, a nice pace and the acting passes the bar. We will care for Assad and Carl, a couple of policemen with very different personalities that compliment each other (of course). However, the movie relies too much on flashbacks to explain parts of the story and how the events unfolded. On top of that, there is little mystery and the level of tension could have been higher: we have seen too many times the story of straight policemen trying to catch very bad very rich people that have too many friends in the right places. This doesn't stop, though, the movie from being absorbing enough. It will probably be enjoyed the best by fans of the books or the genre.

janzjaniny if you expect another take at a "Girl with a dragon tattoo" kind of movie, you'll be tremendously disappointed. the mystery and mood are gone, you know the ending right after it begins, and the only question that hangs throughout entire film is whether you should keep on watching it.it's such a cheap rip off I'm amazed Danish folks rushed to the cinemas as they reportedly did. there's nothing really good about this one, acting's very average, main characters aren't very likable and are not developed well, the whole 'who killed them' mystery is solved instantly after showing the main villain - and you'll know it's him because.. well unless it's your first movie ever, you just will.it's a very, very average movie at best.

subxerogravity So when I saw the Keeper of Lost Causes, I was very impressed by what a griping Crime Drama it was and when I discovered it was the first in a trilogy, I had to see the others.The Absent One is the second in the trilogy. Some time after Carl and his partner, Assad made Department Q a name for their first case, they quickly became a joke again due to Carl's focus on solving the cold cases rather than just organizing the place met they have not closed another cold case since. Then a retired sheriff begs Carl to look into the cold case involving the murder of his two children which someone took the blame for. This lead Carl to uncover the dangerous vices of the privilege of high society.It's as gritty as the first movie, with a case that has slightly more depth and angles to it. This allows us to see the warm heart of Carl without melting the ice, as he gives his all to make right what once went wrong. The detective himself becomes more well rounded with just enough peaks into his personal life (a bonding relationship he has with his ex-wife's son, who he obviously sees as his flesh and blood), to make him human. The movie also introduces a new team member, Rose, the last of a long list of secretaries who don't work well with Carl, but luckily Assad likes her.This is becoming a fabulous police drama franchise and I can't wait to complete the trilogy.

GManfred Good murder mystery noir from Denmark showing at NYC's IFC Center for just one week, and a picture that deserves more exposure than that. It is a tense detective story of a 'cold case', a double murder 20 years old taken up by Danish Detectives Morck and Assad. I am a great fan of top shelf detective films, and film noir in particular, and this one is surprisingly well done.Nutshell; a brother and sister were murdered 20 years previous and the crimes were unsolved. Their father, a retired cop, approaches Morck and pleads with him to renew the case. Morck dusts him off, saying he is too busy. The father then turns up as a suicide, which leads Morck to regret his cavalier treatment of the father and decides to investigate. His subsequent investigation takes a sordid turn and becomes darker as the story unfolds.There are three movies in the Det. Morck series, and I wish I could have stayed for all three. It is remarkably well done and bears all the hallmarks of Hollywood noir films. Morck is a no-nonsense detective who smokes and is hard-drinking and with a clear-headed assistant who tries to be a counter balance. Morck is moody and obsessive and will break the rules in the name of truth and justice, and the chemistry between the two is a tribute to their acting and to the screenplay. The movie scene needs more of this type of grown up fare as many of us have tired of the usual sequel to a dull film and of animated cartoon movies for 6 year olds. While Indies like this are produced perhaps there is still hope for a foundering art form.