Murk (2005)

The psychological thriller "Murk" tells the story of Jacob, who is investigating into the circumstances surrounding his sister's death on her wedding night.

Director:

Jannik Johansen

Writers:

Anders Thomas Jensen, Jannik Johansen

Stars:

Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Nicolas Bro, Laura Drasbæk

7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Nikolaj Lie Kaas	...	Jacob
Nicolas Bro	...	Anker
Laura Drasbæk	...	Nina
Lisbet Lundquist	...	Caroline (as Lisbeth Lindquist)
Lotte Bergstrøm	...	Julie
Anne Sofie Espersen	...	Sonja (as Anne Sofie Byder)
Lærke Winther	...	Hanne (as Lærke Winther Andersen)
Morten Lützhøft	...	Carl
Lars Lunøe	...	KA Hjort
Søren Thomsen	...	Onkel Svend
Hother Bøndorff	...	Joan / Rikkes far (as Hother Bøndorf)
Ane Vinther	...	Joan / Rikkes mor
Katrine Hartmann	...	Rikke Bjerre (as Katrine Hartmann Nielsen)
Jørgen Lysemose	...	Bryllupspianist

Storyline

In Copenhagen, the writer and journalist Jacob and his girlfriend Nina are surprised when his beloved sister Julie, who became handicapped after an attempt of suicide, informs that she is going to marry her Internet acquaintance Anker. However, on her wedding night, Julie commits suicide in the bathtub of the hotel, dying in the hands of Anker. After the funeral services, Anker leaves Copenhagen and while packing Julie belongings, Jacob finds a book that belongs to Anker with an obituary identical to the one Anker had written in Julie's grave. The intrigued Jacob calls Anker, but his cellular is out of service. Jacob decides to investigate the destination of Anker and finds him in the small town of Mørke in the Midden-Jutland. When he meets his former son-in-law, he finds that he is going to marry the handicapped Hanne on the next Saturday. Jacob tells Hanne's sister Sonja his fears about Anker, but neither she nor the local deputy Carl believe on his words. Jacob decides to stay for ...

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Plot Keywords:

wedding | wedding night | small town | bathtub | husband murders wife | 

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Taglines:

The truth must out!

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Details

Country:

Denmark UK

Language:

Danish

Release Date:

7 October 2005 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

Homály

Box Office

Budget:

DKK22,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Film and Music Entertainment (F&ME), Fine & Mellow Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Both of Nicolaj lee Kaas' parents committed suicide when he was young.

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Connections

Referenced in Natholdet - med Anders Breinholt: Nikolaj Lie Kaas (2012)

User Reviews

Nobody but the Danes could have made this!

I watched this movie on late night TV because Nikolaj Lie Kaas headed the cast; he is always astounding, and gives such rounded, often so-believable-it's-painful, performances. Then on to the screen walked Nicolas Bro (as Anker, the serial wedder) and I knew this would be a film worth staying up late for. Bro can walk that fine line between comfortingly believable nice guy and crazy nut job, so that one is forever questioning judgements formed about his character's true motives. His physical size alone is at once both reassuring and threatening.

There are layers to this excellent, but dark story which are still emerging for me. Kaas' character is drawn into a search for how his beloved sister, disabled from an earlier suicide attempt, could have suicided on her wedding night to the (decidedly creepy) Anker. So many times I wanted to scream at Kaas 'Go home - you really don't want to be going there!!' as he relentlessly pursued the truth about his sister's death.

I was always aware that Nikolaj Lie Kaas' parents had each suicided, and so this film would have been a necessary, and perhaps cathartic experience for him. I hadn't known that the Danes were a death-denying country, but perhaps this is a feature of all Western countries, as we go about kidding ourselves that we're happy, and that we'll surely live forever! Death and death-denial are favourite subjects of mine, so this film spoke to me at a deeper level than it may for other viewers.

Don't let the subject matter put you off. This is a truly remarkable film, and is worth seeing, just for the performances alone.