Customer Reviews

Frygtelig Lykkelig [Region 2]

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This movie definitely deserves to be watched - and to be rated (by those having watched it!)!

It is absolutely funny, sometimes makes you laugh out loud, sometimes simply makes you shake your head delightedly. It is different from any other movie I have seen so far and has been one of my favourite movies of the last 5 years at least. If you need comparisons: The one with the Coen Brothers is probably one of the best. One particular movie that came to my mind while watching "TH" was "Very bad things" - maybe that helps...

Terribly happy has a great story, told in a rather slow tempo, the main characters are very well developed - but whenever you think you know them, there'll be something happening, that makes the whole thing turn into another direction. Very psychological, strange, sometimes irritating, on the other hand beautifully photographed, always surprising, simply lovable and most of all damn funny - that's what "Terribly happy" is!!!

(sorry for my english - this was my first movie review ever...)

"This story is based on true events." -- I sincerely hope not!

This very dark comedy is very strange and bizzare, in a Coen Bros / Hitchcock sorta way. Set in a rural Danish outback, this police drama-mystery-noir is a top notch production with great story and character development -- in a understated, strange way. Very well directed, produced, acted and photographed.

I don't know how to describe the twists and turns this one has -- it's spot on and off beat. You just *never* know what to expect next. Did I say it's a dark comedy? It is. But perhaps less comic and more dark. And it's no wonder it's won numerous awards -- it's earned them. A first rate film that needs to be on NTSC disk much sooner than later.

"The way people disappear here ... I'd better not say more."

Frygtelig Lykkelig (Terribly Happy) is a thoroughly enjoyable Danish film set in the remote South Jutland border town of Skarrild starring some of Denmark's finest acting talent. Fans of the original (Danish) version of The Killing will recognise two of the main players Jakob Cedergren (Phillip Dessau in The Killing 1) who stars as policeman Martin Hansen and Kim Bothnia (Bulow in The Killing 1) who has the role of Jørgen Buhl. Lars Brygmann (Rejseholdet and Forsvar) stars as Dr Zerlang.

Tightly wound policeman Robert Hansen (Cedergren) is transferred from Copenhagen to Skarrild after a mental breakdown and an initially unspecified infraction. In Skarrild the clannish locals dislike by-the-book law enforcement, relying instead on their own unique brand of frontier justice, and outsiders either adapt or disappear. Skarrild's main police business appears to be shoplifting. We meet a femme fatale - oversexed Ingerlise (Lene Marie Christensen), a bully of a drunk, a doctor of dubious ethics and a bog where inconvenient secrets are sent to die.

My favourite part of the film was the drinking showdown between Martin and Jørgen - pretty different to your average twist. The story leaves you guessing at every turn. One question which lingers throughout is whether or not Dr Zerlang will find a fourth member of his card club.

This film is a real treat and kept my interest all the way through to the thrilling conclusion.

A Copenhagen cop (Robert) is sent to an isolated town (Skarrild) because he pulled a gun on his wife and her lover. Robert resigns himself to 'serving out his time' while being a good policeman, then returning to his former job. However, he soon becomes involved with a domestic violence situation involving an attractive woman who cannot tear herself away from her abusive husband, or even file a police report on him. Eventually this 'Russian roulette' results in her accidental death at Robert's hands - he's trying to silence her loud moaning after they have sex while her husband is looking for him, and ends up suffocating her. However, viewers also learn that the local physician (self-described 'Dr. Quack') has also given her an overdose of pills. To cover up both his own and Robert's complicity Dr. Quack issues a death certificate citing heart failure as the cause. This absolves the abusive husband of any responsibility, but the town also realizes they are all contributing factors for failing to do anything about the on-going abuse. The townspeople try to assuage their guilt by marching the husband into the bog - to be sucked under; policeman Bob, however, rescues the husband.

The abusive husband eventually figures out that Robert killed his wife, and seeks revenge. Robert then shoots and kills the husband. Neighboring police investigate, and whitewash Robert's involvement. Thinking he's off the hook Robert prepares to leave, only to be confronted by three townspeople (including Dr. Quack) who reveal that they know the entire story, and will leak details unless he stays. Their motivation - to ensure a fourth player at their nightly card games.

as a life long (65), movie fan i found this movie to have something that is terribly lacking in the film industry, originality. a great project, with a script, actors and twists and turns to keep your attention through out. the closing song by kira skov & the kindred spirits is great. my only objection are the dimwits who left comments without evening watching the film or expected a transformers movie. well, all i can say is, go back to your playstation or whatever..

In "Terribly Happy," a cop in Copenhagen screws up and is sort of banished to be the only law enforcement officer in a remote farm town. This is a dark comedy with an undertow of compassion - however when the dice roll - they roll. The film moves forward very well. I think there is an emphasis of theater over plot - a good thing - nevertheless there's plenty of plot. And the town!! A truck crossing in rural denmark - surrounded by cold marsh, mud, a few cattle. There's a bar of course (where I'd be). And a cat with nine lives. Comparison with films by Coen Brothers is arguable.

It's amazing how they market films: this one has a picture of the main character pointing a gun a la Dirty Harry, though he holds a gun for about one minute in this movie. And then they call it film noir, which it isn't by a long shot. More truthful would be to simply call it a dark comedy and have a picture of a guy holding a muddy boot. Best of all? Just include quotes from the many rave reviews this one got around the globe. But that might make too much sense...

In any case, Terribly Happy isn't terribly funny or terribly sad or terribly anything except maybe slow by Hollywood standards, but it moves along at exactly the right pace to tell this tale in less than 100 minutes (three cheers for concision!). It's a very low-key movie with a simple plot that's all about character development, and for me it worked very nicely indeed. There's not a weak actor in the bunch, the script is crisp and knowing, and the story is unpredictable enough to keep it all interesting. Even the subtitles are perfectly done, a nice change from so many foreign films. You've never seen Denmark in this light is my guess, and the lack of dubbing is perfect; the rhythms of Danish in various mouths are a big part of what makes this work.

As to comparisons with the Coens et al, I can see that a bit, but better to just say that TH is its own animal and well worth watching, especially for its ever more unique charm of being almost violence-free. If you've ever lived in a really small town then you'll get this one all the way home, and its ending will resonate for quite a while with most anyone.

Recommended.

The opening sequence of 'Terribly Happy' is a glorious montage of the flat Danish Countryside - as bleak and dead as any early-Winter day in the upper Mid-Western United States - and a gravel voice describing a surreal yet absorbing legend associated with the land. This tale obliquely illuminates actions still to come, though as with any real attempt to peer into human behavior, the explanation may sound elliptical to some viewers. Still, the effect is mostly positive until one remembers that the combination of images and words at the beginning of 'Terribly Happy' bear a startling resemblance to the Coens' 'No Country for Old Men', with, I assume, the same intended result. But while Tommy Lee Jones occasionally hits a false note in his delivery, the voice from 'Terribly Happy', Puk Scharbau, rings true throughout. This may be from unfamiliarity with the language - a native Dane might find objections to Mr. Scharbau's narration that an English speaker can not, but overall, 'Terribly Happy' does suffers somewhat due to the proximity of the two films' release dates, even if this particular technique originated long before 'No Country'.

It is worth the extra time describing the opening of the film - it is its best part. Cinematographer Jørgen Johansson, under the direction of Henrik Ruben Genz, provides all of the film's high points - this is a nicely photographed film, approaching excellent, even in such a stark and bleak environment - and while his work doesn't make the film a 'must-see', it certainly elevates the entire production. And there is no issue with the acting chores - leads Jakob Cedergren and Lene Maria Christensen fully inhabit their characters, as do the remarkable faces of the town, which seem as though they could have been plucked from any rural scene and inserted into the film. What does strain believability is the script - and the unfortunate choice to place the words 'This story is based on actual events' at the beginning of the film.

Copenhagen police officer Robert Hansen is re-assigned to the tiny town of Skarrild near the Danish-German border after catching his wife en flagrante delicto with a fellow officer, and pulling a gun on them both. While the town, at first glance, appears peaceful, it doesn't take long for Hansen the outsider to see its darker underside. Eventually he becomes embroiled in a domestic dispute, and he slowly sinks into the landscape that has already swallowed the rest of the town.

While the overall themes of 'Terrible Happy' are interesting and worth exploring, too often the characters' actions aren't quite justified by the on screen events, and Marshall Hansen continually leaps into ill-advised situations. In fact, his actions are almost ludicrous at times - it isn't as though people don't get themselves caught up in stupid situations, but the film has a difficult time making it a seamless transition as the Marshall goes from bad decision to worse. This will be a contentious point, on which the film hinges - those viewers who find Marshall Hansen's actions believable should really enjoy it, other will consider it a serious flaw.

Another complaint is that the filmmakers chose to tell the audience that the film was based on actual events. Although true to a certain extent, it reminds me of the French film 'The Last Deadly Mission' (MR 73), in that the 'actual events' are really just a minor subset of the film. In the French movie, I kept wondering how the film could be based on true events when almost every cop movie cliché I know of was used. Here, in 'Terribly Happy', the film is structured in a way that it's difficult to believe the 'actual events' could have ever come to light. The upshot is that it is distracting to me - instead of focusing solely on the film, a part of my attention is trying to resolve what I'm seeing with what these 'actual events' could have been. After a small bit of research, it seems that the actual events were more of an inspiration for the story, which in the end, is fabrication. In the sense it's used here, all movies could be considered based on actual events, as all movies deal in some way with human interactions.

To me, this is a borderline film, but not a wasted effort - those who don't agree with my critiques will probably have high praise for the film. The DVD cover, while technically a still from the film, over-emphasizes a level of violence that really isn't present. This is more of a thriller, though there are a few intense scenes that would put this into at least a PG-13 category, if not R. The combination of the deeply ironic title and the cover image may suggest something in the vein of Quentin Tarrentino's films, but that doesn't capture the feel of this film at all. Instead, it is mostly reminiscent of two other Coen films, 'Fargo' and 'Blood Simple' - both of which also used painful irony to illuminate human frailty.

'Terribly Happy' is recommended for those who generally shy away from foreign films, as it dwells on universal themes and is presented in a style much more familiar to American viewers. And even though I feel the film ultimately doesn't live up to its potential, it's still head and shoulders above the generic output of most studios. Three and a half stars, rounded down for the distracting caveat, 'This story is based on actual events'.

Robert is a Copenhagen cop who due to some problems is forced to move to a small Danish town far away from almost anything. As is often the case in these sorts of movies, the townspeople are weary of him, and he is having hard time fitting in this isolated community. He soon discovers that the police methods that might have been appropriate in a large, cosmopolitan Copenhagen are woefully inadequate and at odds with the way the townspeople carry their own affairs. As Robert tries to negotiate between doing the right thing and following the letter of the law, he entangles himself into a tragic incident that he is having the hard time extricating himself out of.

This is a very well done film that combines elements of film noir and several westerns that have been done on the theme of a new sheriff in town. Many scenes (especially the outdoors ones) are shot in a an artistic way that contribute to the mood of the film without making it unduly "artsy." The actors are well cast in their roles, almost to the point where it is hard to imagine that they are actually acting. The film also features many elements of dark comedy, although this is not the primary genre. Overall this is an interesting psychological thriller that feels more like a drama than a pure thriller. It is a refreshing alternative to the more intense and action-packed thrillers that dominate this genre these days.

As punishment for some mysterious behavior unbecoming a police officer, Robert Hansen (Jakob Cedergren) gets temporarily transferred from his job in Copenhagen to a post as the new sheriff in a small town in South Jutland, a bleak and depressing bogland where the biggest problem seems to be keeping the locals from getting too drunk and sinking into the quagmire.


Or at least that's how it appears on the surface.

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