Riders of Justice 2021

 

Opening and closing during a Christmas season in Denmark, the film begins with a stolen bicycle and goes on from there to the main thrust of the film that has a horrible train wreck and a long search for revenge. On the train is a mother and her teenage daughter who are there because of the stolen bike, a car that won’t start and a disappointing overseas phone call so hey lets take the train into the city and have a fun day, the mom more or less tells her daughter. Also on the train is Otto a statistician and probability expert who has just been fired and is lunging his belongings home. The train is crowded and Otto the gentleman offers his seat to the mother. Otto has noticed a man throwing away an expensive sandwich and a juice not eaten. Later on this discarding of expensive food will convince Otto that this man who tossed the food also tossed the train.

A minute later disaster strikes and the mother is killed, the daughter and Otto are injured but survive. The father and husband of the daughter and wife is a military commander and is away serving in the Danish army in Afghanistan.  Played by the great Mads Mikklesen he is summoned back home to bury his wife and take care of his teenage daughter. Thus begins this fantastic and fabulous action thriller that has a lot of dry wit and humor thrown in. Otto goes to the police after healing. He tells them that in all probability this was no accident but an act of terrorism. He points out to them that also on the train was a former member of the Riders of Justice, a harsh criminal biker group (who by the way we never see riding their bikes) and was on his way to testify against the leader.

Otto gives the police all sorts of reasons and theories to suspect terror and not an accident including how the bald tattooed heavy- set member of the gang always sat in the same seat in the same train car. The police of course scoff at this, but Otto is determined. With the help of two brilliant friends another statistician called Lennart and acted by Lars Brygmann and an over weight computer hacking nerd Emmenthaler played by Nicolas Bro the trio set out to get more proof of their theories.

I was expecting some sort of action violent revenge thriller, everything about the publicity sets it up and us for this kind of movie. However we get much more including some very funny moments, wonderful performances and yes violence. The three friends take their evidence right to Mads who is frozen and shut down but open to their reasoning, and the four of them set out to get revenge on the “Riders” for the killing of Mads wife. Meanwhile his teenage daughter  is reeking with sorrow and despair and is fighting with Mads day and night. They are encourged to seek out help and counseling but Mads will have nothing to do with that idea, and the daughter Mathilde played by Andrea Heick Godeberg is left with her anger and despair. They live in a pretty house with a huge spectacular barn in the back,  surrounded by nature and seclusion. The daughter is pretty and intelligent and has a boyfriend who is smart, very tall, rides a motorcycle and has dyed blue hair. Her father hates him for keeping her out late, wow 10:30 and punches him in the face. More violence will fall down on them and indeed us.

Into the mix comes a rescued charming young gay victim of sex trafficking who is saved by the team in a complex set of scenes and becomes their au pair. Wait there is more, much more, but how much should I give away? Wonderfully written and directed by Anders Thomas Jensen who knows his stuff, and I thought of those marvelous Ealing studio comedies like “The Lady Killers” and “The Lavender Hill Mob” that usually starred Alec Guinness and his charming gang of criminals. Some mentioned “The Three Stooges” but this group is too gentle in their own way, and too kind in their own way to be compared to the Stooges. Might be my favorite film of the year.