Terribly Happy (2008)

Things are seldom what they seem; when a cop has some problems on a city beat, he is put into what might seem to be a less stressful environment, a little place in the middle of nowhere with little more than some largely barren land and a little town where the big event seems to be a young girl in red who wheels her baby carriage around after hours; a local wife appears to have beaten by her husband, and seeks solace from the new cop; the locals watch warily to see what happens. And the viewer is sucked into a dark swamp of a plot which offers a few out-of-your-seat surprises and plenty of plot twists. Terribly Happy is a dark, unconventional thriller peopled with folks who have some very odd agendas, and I had a riveting good time with it

This movie definitely has some intrigue in the beginning; a policeman is relocated to a small village because of a serious misdemeanor. There is an intriguing story in the background as he makes it into the village- a metaphoric story, which hints at the modus operandi of the village people. There is a missing person, an intriguing woman with an abusive husband, and several other characters that each has its own peculiar secret. So far, so good.I stopped watching the movie when the weakness of the characters and bad luck took over the movie plot-line or rather- was it the plot that took over the "empty" characters? The characters started feeling/looking like puppets in the hands of their bad luck. I lost connection with the characters at this point and that left me feeling like an outsider.At this point, I did not think that the movie would be intriguing but rather thought it is just trying to make a point for which the characters are only a vehicle. The message to me was that in the end weakness transcends all other values, that the social collective reinforces each person's individual weakness. True? Unfortunately, it is perhaps a brilliantly realistic point. Inspiring for a movie? Uplifting in any way? Not really. The movie had a point and made it.

Did I say comedy? You certainly wouldn't feel that it is until you walk out of the theater and just might break into a smile, realizing how funny 'Terribly Happy' it all is. That's rather brilliant of the screenplay and direction. It's 'Fine & Mellow' productions, ha, indeed. This Danish dark comedy may not be everyone's cup of tea - there are terrible things happening throughout the movie that are not pleasing by normal social standards: mysterious disappearance of persons, deaths (or murders?), battered wife, neglected child, child striker and wife beater, imposing town bully, neighbors who are in the know and do nothing to help (so it seems). It's an uncomfortable community of a small rural town to find oneself in. Well, that's where Robert got dropped off at the beginning of the story.The plot thickens as you watch our central character, Robert Hanson (played by Jakob Cedergren, convincingly deadpan), a city cop from Copenhagen 'banished for atonement' to Skarrild, a small provincial town with an ill-fated cow with two-heads legend as we, the viewers, are informed at the very onset of the film. "The following is based on a true story" flashed on screen in passing. We're introduced to our town flirt furtively disturbed, Mrs. Ingelise Buhl (played by Lene Maria Christensen, appealingly oversexed). The town bully and constant drunk in his cowboy hat, Jørgen Buhl (played by Kim Bodnia, menacingly ill-natured). And the cast of the key townsfolk: the doctor - Dr. Zerlang (played by Lars Brygmann, calculatingly all-knowing), the card game players including the general store owner, and the bar regulars, the lady bartender, not forgetting the lady hairdresser, and little Dorthe, Ingelise's daughter (played by Mathilde Maack in silent plight), who often pushes her pram with squeaky foreboding noise on the streets of Skarrild. Yes, all sorts of predicament and dilemma Robert very soon discovers, yet half-truth, never fully revealed by the townsfolk or party involved, let alone the doctor, who may very well be the town mayor discreet, holding all the cards (a literal pun). Secrets, more back-story continuously unraveling.Writer-director Henrik Ruben Genz, based on the novel by his childhood friend, Erling Jepsen (a best-selling Danish author), delivered a noir thriller in dark comedy form all at once. Sheer talent! The film title is unquestionably befitting. It could be: How to deal with a town bully? Or: How to get your ideal town marshal? 'Terribly Happy' - the two choice words together simply take the cake. (A climatic sequence definitely did justice to the 'happy' and the 'terrifyingly tense' moments simultaneously experienced). "Terribly Happy" indisputably worth your while. Hopelessly helplessly with quiet glee. After all, it's a fine and mellow Skarrild community, why wouldn't Robert want to hang around and be their perfect marshal? Note: Director Genz's statement and interview, author Jepsen's statement, can be viewed from the Press Kit accessible online at "oscilloscope.net/shop/view_film.php?ID=18&r=gallery"

This was one of my top 5 films at the 33rd Cleveland International Film Festival.In the introductory narrative we are told that "all the events are true". A short story is told of how a cow was stuck in the bog, dug out 6 months later and gave birth to a two-headed calf (one human, one bovine). This sad animal causes distress to the town and is put back into the bog.Well. We may not know where this is going, but it's sure to be interesting.Robert (Jakob Cedergren) has a troubled past in Copenhagen and is re-assigned to a remote Danish town, where he is quickly embroiled in its odd business. Does Jorgen (Kim Bodnia), the local force to be reckoned with, actually beat his wife Ingerlise (Lene Maria Christensen)? Is that why their daughter takes her dolly for a walk in the evening, with the squeaky wheel heard by all in the village? Why is the bicycle shop deserted, but the music blaring? And what is in the bog? The theme of the small town that runs by its own rules is well presented here. No one wants to get the "big city" involved. Abuse is known but ignored. The Marshall fits in in that everyone seems to have a secret in this town. A twisted ethic exists in just what needs to be done, whether the Marshall is supposed to punch out a pre-teen shoplifter (if he doesn't, Dad Jorgen will), you are supposed to say "mohn" instead of the usual Danish word for hello, the doctor supplies narcotics to the hairdresser/call-girl, and your clothes need to be put on the line to dry in a just-so order. And what do you do about the abused wife, who may just be playing her version of crazy with the newest Marshall? The various plot twists, the machinations of the local card-playing cabal looking for a new fourth, the (lovely) cat who says "mohn": all provide fit companions to the Bog. The Bog is metaphor here as a place where secrets reside, the past sometimes remains hidden and the future lies in wait. The bog is as much a character as the townspeople and the townspeople are the bog.The film alternates between disquieting views of the flat fields and frenetic twists (big and small) in the plot. I could not imagine a single scene being left out. Lovely and tense, this Euro-Noir film is well acted and well filmed; a good bet for those who like quirky and creepy.