The Keeper of Lost Causes ★★★½

THE Danes must be a really fun bunch to be around.

Considering the amount of crime thrillers they keep churning out, the main discussion at dinner parties in Copenhagen is probably how to get away with murdering someone.

The quality is usually pretty good at least, but most of the current output is made for television.

One of the best exceptions is the Department Q franchise which has provided five good films starting in 2013 with The Keeper of Lost Causes.

The first film naturally introduces us the concept and two main characters.

Carl Mørck is a typically grizzled veteran cop who doesn’t get along at all with his colleagues or superiors.

They tolerate him because they have to; he’s a good investigator with plenty of notches on his belt.

But when a raid he instigates goes horribly wrong, Mørck is demoted and banished to a musty basement office to review cold cases.

He gets an assistant, Assad, who is less experienced but very competent and a genuinely nice, optimistic human.

Being the exact opposite of Morck, of course the two clash, but Assad perseveres,  determined to make the relationship work.

What the two men do have in common is a strong work ethic and determination to uncover the truth.

The pair are meant to clear cases by largely just going through the motions.

But Morck’s interest is raised by one particular missing person/suspected suicide case that puts them in conflict with a range of people who don’t want to be told they may have got things wrong.

Apart from the efficient and engrossing story and film-making, the film stands due to the great chemistry between Nikolaj Lie Kaas as Mørck and Fares Fares as Assad.

Based on the books by Jussi Adler-Olsen, the Department Q film series also comprises The Absent One (2014), A Conspiracy of Faith (2016), A Purity of Vengeance (2018), The Marco Effect (2021) and Boundless (2024).

Watched on DVD.