Terribly Happy (2008)

A thriller about a Copenhagen cop who moves to a small town after having a nervous breakdown.

Director:

Henrik Ruben Genz

Writers:

Henrik Ruben Genz (screenplay), Dunja Gry Jensen (screenplay)

Stars:

Jakob Cedergren, Lene Maria Christensen, Kim Bodnia

19 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jakob Cedergren	...	Robert Hansen
Lene Maria Christensen	...	Ingerlise Buhl
Kim Bodnia	...	Jørgen Buhl
Lars Brygmann	...	Dr. Zerleng
Anders Hove	...	Købmand Moos
Jens Jørn Spottag	...	Politimester
Henrik Lykkegaard	...	Præst
Bodil Jørgensen	...	Bartender
Peter Hesse Overgaard	...	Helmuth
Niels Skousen	...	Hansi
Lars Lunøe	...	Nissum
Sune Q. Geertsen	...	'Øko' Tage (as Sune Geertsen)
Mathilde Maack	...	Dorthe
Ahn Le	...	Fru Købmand Moos
Taina Anneli R. Berg	...	Lone 'TP' (as Taina Anneli Berg)

Storyline

Robert Hansen is a cop in Copenhagen who makes a mistake, is remanded for therapy, then assigned to a small town in South Jutland, where cows and problems disappear into the mud. He quickly learns that the town bully, Jørgen, beats his wife, an outsider like Robert. He tries to get her to swear out a complaint against Jørgen; she flirts with Robert. When someone dies and Robert knows the prime suspect is innocent, he halts vigilante justice and things get complicated. He wants to protect himself and the daughter of Jørgen, and he wants to reconnect with his own daughter back home. Is rural justice his ticket back to Copenhagen? Is there any chance at happiness?

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Plot Keywords:

estranged husband | hardware store | slapped in the face | clothesline | hits bottle with hand | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

Denmark

Language:

Danish

Release Date:

24 October 2008 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

Terribly Happy

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$11,650, 7 February 2010

Gross USA:

$170,943

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,828,984

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fine & Mellow Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The US DVD release contains, as a special feature, a brief clip from an interview with director Henrik Ruben Genz and novel author Erling Jepsen, who are childhood friends. At the start of the interview, Jepsen starts to playfully smack Genz' face, but hits him harder than he wanted and breaks Genz' lip, drawing blood. Genz goes backstage, supposedly to stop the bleeding, but in fact goes home and never returns, leaving Jepsen to do the appearance alone.

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Goofs

In the closing credits the song "You Always Hurt the One You Love" is listed as "You Always Hurt the One Your Love" instead.

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Connections

Featured in Deadline: Episode dated 22 October 2008 (2008)

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Soundtracks

Gefühl aus Eis
Written by Manfred Grüber/Jo Schreiber/Eric Zion/Alex Klier

User Reviews

Danish Coen Brothers

Terribly Happy is a stylish Danish noir based on actual events. It's a classic "fish out of water" story. Robert (Jakob Cedergren ),a police officer is sent from Copenhagen to a small Danish village as its new Marshall. He soon finds that the village people have their own set of rules and laws and are not ready to accept outside interference with their coda of justice. Although at first Robert tries to play everything by the book, he is soon drawn deeply into the villagers' web of deceit and corruption.

The director Henrik Ruben Genz creates a very bleak atmosphere set against the Danish countryside. The film is full of black humor, reminiscent of Coen Brothers, specially Fargo. The casting is particularly good, with Kim Bodnia outstanding as a wife beating lout. Terribly Happy is tightly directed and is gripping from start to finish. Recommended.