The Absent One (2014 film)

The Absent One (Danish: Fasandræberne), also known as Department Q: The Absent One, is a 2014 Danish crime mystery film directed by Mikkel Nørgaard and co-written by Nikolaj Arcel and Rasmus Heisterberg, based on Jussi Adler-Olsen's novel of the same name. It is the second film in the Department Q series following the 2013 film The Keeper of Lost Causes, and preceding the 2016 film A Conspiracy of Faith.

The Absent One
Film poster
Fasandræberne
Directed by	Mikkel Nørgaard
Screenplay by	Nikolaj Arcel Rasmus Heisterberg
Based on	The Absent One by Jussi Adler-Olsen
Produced by	Peter Aalbæk Jensen Louise Vesth
Starring	Nikolaj Lie Kaas Fares Fares Pilou Asbæk David Dencik Danica Curcic
Cinematography	Eric Kress
Edited by	Morten Egholm Frederik Strunk
Music by	Patrik Andren Uno Helmersson Johan Soderqvist
Production companies	Det Danske Filminstitut Eurimages Film Väst TV2 Danmark Zentropa Entertainments
Distributed by	Nordisk Film Distribution (Denmark) Wild Bunch (France) NFP Marketing & Distribution (Germany)
Release dates	8 September 2014 (2014-09-08) (Austin Fantastic Fest) 2 October 2014 (2014-10-02) (Denmark)
Running time	120 minutes[1]
Countries	Denmark France Germany
Languages	Danish French
Budget	€5.2 million

Plot

The story centers around the murder of twins in 1994, one of whom was also raped. At first unwilling to get involved in the case, Mørck changes his mind after their father commits suicide after approaching him one night and leaving behind a box of material on the case he has been collecting for years. Dept Q's investigation leads away from the young man originally convicted, towards a group of students from a nearby boarding school who became pillars of the Danish establishment. The existence of department Q is threatened by the success of other departments.

Cast

• Nikolaj Lie Kaas as Carl Mørck
• Fares Fares as Assad
• Pilou Asbæk as Ditlev Pram
  • Marco Ilsø as young Ditlev
• David Dencik as Ulrik Dybbøl
  • Philip Stilling as young Ulrik
• Danica Curcic as Kirsten Marie Larsen ("Kimmie")
  • Sarah-Sofie Boussnina as young Kimmie
• Johanne Louise Schmidt as Rose
• Beate Bille as Thelma
• Peter Christoffersen as Alberg
• Søren Pilmark as Marcus Jacobsen
• Michael Brostrup as Børge Bak
• Morten Kirkskov as Lars Bjørn
• Kristian Høgh Jeppesen as Bjarne Thøgersen
  • Adam Ild Rohweder]p as young Bjarne

Release

When it was released in Oct 2014, it was Denmark's highest-grossing opening week ever for a domestic production.^[2]

Fares Fares, for his portrayal as Assad, received the Danish Robert Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. The film also received the Robert Audience Award.

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 92% of 12 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.5/10.^[3]