Keeper of Lost Causes film review

Review of the Keeper of Lost Causes

Keeper of Lost Causes (2013)

Cast:  Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Sonja Richter, Fares Fares

Director: Mikkel Nørgaard

Genre: Crime, Thriller

Review:

Originally a bestselling novel by Danish author Jussi Adler Olsen, Keeper of Lost Causes proves to be just as stunning on screen. Adapted by Nikolaj Arcel (who coincidentally adapted the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo for the big screen) the film centres around Carl Morck (played by Danish actor Nikolaj Lie Kaas) who is a disgraced homicide detective that is assigned to the new unit, and is teamed with Assad (Fares Fares) to file old cases. They investigate the disappearance of young politician Merete Lynggaard (Sonja Richter) whom it was presumed that she had thrown herself from a ferry five years prior. However as Carl and Assad probe the circumstances it is discovered that Merete is far from dead and is in fact being held captive in a pressure chamber. A plotline that can’t be faulted but only because it is so straight forward so it’s none more than you’d expect from an episode of Silent Witness perhaps.

On the whole the film itself is gripping from beginning to end. The plotline is strong; hand in hand with some solid acting (stand out performance from Fares Fares as Assad, the optimistic ‘sidekick’) and you end up with an hour and a half well spent. I can’t help feeling that this film received a great critical reception because it is subtitled which gives it an art house feel. This film is a decent enough crime thriller, but would not have had the same critical interest if it came out of Hollywood that’s for sure.

Tension builds well throughout the film and I believe the identity of the kidnapper and their reasons for doing it are revealed at the right time. All in all, you wouldn’t leave a screening of this film completely dissatisfied and visually, you will be pleased.

(Keeper of Lost Causes, three and a half stars)

Going for a take, PROFESSIONALLY

Today I started the BFI Film Academy Course in Cambridge and I have blogged everything I have learned so far on my other blog for my Arts Award however I thought I'd add this to this blog because it's something really useful to me immediately and something I should memorise pretty quickly

1. 1st AD checks camera and sound "Camera and sound set?"
2. Camera and sound say "Set" if all is good.
3. 1st AD asks if actors are ready
4. 1st AD asks for silence on set
5. 1st AD asks for Clapper Loader to move into frame
6. Clapper Loader moves clapper in front of actors eyes.
7. 1st AD shouts "turnover camera and sound"
8. Camera say "Rolling" and sound say "Speed"
9. 1st AD says "Mark it" and Clapper Loader marks it
10. 1st AD checks camera and sound "Camera and sound set?"
11. Camera and sound say "Set" if all is good.
12. Director shouts "Action"
13. Scene happens and at the end director shouts "Cut"
14. Camera and sound stop rolling.

Here Comes The Sun (Final Video)

I am directing this show which will be on the 12th and 13th of September however since the last time I did photos, I have had to recast two cast members. We took all of the photos on the same day and I edited them all together along with this song which is what the play is named after.

From Afar

This is the copyright free version of my film, I did make another version with the song From Afar by Vance Joy and I applied to get rights to use that song however I have not heard back from them so for now I have to use this song.

I edited it using Adobe Premier Pro.

I made the flashbacks in black and white to make it clear that time has passed. To add to this effect I asked my leading actor to shave his face before filming the flashbacks so his beard in real time shows that time has passed since their breakup. I used a lot of match on action to reflect the confusion of the male. We also filmed the two characters meeting again at sunset adding a soft glow to the footage reflecting the feeling of love and relief between the two. The tracking shots were difficult to film as I did not have a truck or anything to make the footage smoother. I was walking at speed with the actor filming as we went and so I used fast paced editing between these shots to cover for the shaky footage. To differentiate between the character's flashback and real time I added a flash transition to the start and end of each flashback along with a sound effect I found on freesound.org.

From Afar poster

I decided to make a poster for my short film and so I used the shot that I think represents the protagonists feelings towards the lead female. I kept the video filter the same and used a handwriting font as though the character himself wrote it.

'From Afar' screenshots

I have now finished my final edit of my short film 'From Afar'. I have yet to hear back from the publishers of the song by Vance Joy to see if I can use it in my production and then I can potentially publish it for my entry into the British Film Academy's BFI course.

Here Comes The Sun (Preview)

I am directing a play which will be performed in a few weeks time. It is about teenagers with cancer and specifically follows three teenagers from diagnosis to cure. I am making a slideshow to show at the end of the play of the three characters remaining friends and two of them dating. I have used a mixture of photo and video and so far I have picked some of my best shots and compiled a 'preview' of what the whole thing aims to look like.