''Cop Secret'' ( is, Leynilögga) is a 2021 Icelandic

action comedy film Action comedy is a genre that combines aspects of action and comedy. The genre is most prevalent in film with action comedy films, though several TV series fit this genre. Film The action comedy film is a film genre that combines aspects of actio ...

directed by

Hannes Þór Halldórsson Hannes Þór Halldórsson (born 27 April 1984) is an Icelandic filmmaker and former professional footballer. He was a member of the Iceland national team where he was capped 77 times and appeared at UEFA Euro 2016 and the 2018 FIFA World Cup. ...

from a screenplay that he co-wrote alongside Nína Pedersen and

Sverrir Þór Sverrisson Sverrir Þór Sverrisson (born 23 May 1975) is an Icelandic basketball coach and former player for the Icelandic national basketball team. He previously coached Keflavík women's team where he won the national championship in 2017. As a coach ...

. The film stars Auðunn Blöndal,

Egill Einarsson Egill "Gillz" Einarsson (born 13 May 1980) is an Icelandic television personality, radio show host, fitness coach, motivational speaker, DJ and singer. As a musician, he was part of the dance act Merzedes Club in 2008 where he was known as Gillz ...

Björn Hlynur Haraldsson Björn Hlynur Haraldsson (born 8 December 1974) is an Icelandic actor and director. Björn was born in Reykjavík, Iceland, and graduated from the Icelandic Arts Academy in 2001. He co-founded the theatre company Vesturport the same year. In spri ...

and

Steinunn Ólína Þorsteinsdóttir Steinunn Ólína Þorsteinsdóttir (born 2 July 1969) is an Icelandic actress, TV show host, producer and writer. Biography Early life Ólína grew up in Reykjavík with her mother, actress Bríet Héðinsdóttir, and her father Þorsteinn Þo ...

. The film is based on a fake movie trailer made by Auðunn, Hannes and Sverrir Þór Sverrisson for a TV show in 2011. The trailer featured

Gísli Örn Garðarsson Gísli Örn Garðarsson (born 15 December 1973) is an Icelandic actor and director. He is one of the founders of Vesturport, a theatre and film company based in Reykjavík, and is also sometimes a scriptwriter and producer. Before focusing on act ...

Hjalti Árnason Hjalti Árnason (born 18 February 1963), nicknamed Hjalti Úrsus, is an Icelandic former strongman competitor and world champion powerlifter. Hjalti was known by the nickname "The Great Ursus". He first began in ...

Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson (; born 22 November 1963) is an Icelandic actor who has worked extensively in Icelandic cinema. He has had roles in Friðrik Þór Friðriksson's '' Englar alheimsins'' (''Angels of the Universe'') and Baltasar Kormák ...

, Hörður Magnússon and

Hermann Gunnarsson Hermann Gunnarsson (9 December 1946 – 4 June 2013) commonly referred to by his nickname, Hemmi Gunn, was an Icelandic television and radio personality, performer and former football and handball player at an international level. Hermann i ...

. It premièred in the '' Concorso internazionale'' at the

74th Locarno Film Festival The 74th annual Locarno Festival was held from 4 August to 14 August 2021 in Locarno, Switzerland. The opening film of the festival was '' Beckett'' by Ferdinando Cito Filomarino, which had its world premiere on 4 August. The 74th edition of Loc ...

on 10 August 2021.

Synopsis

A cop (Auðunn Blöndal) in denial of his sexuality, falls in love with his new partner (Egill Einarsson), while investigating a string of bank robberies where nothing seems to have been stolen.

Cast

* Auðunn Blöndal as Bússi *

as Hörður *

as Þorgerður *

Vivian Ólafsdóttir Vivian Didriksen Ólafsdóttir (born 1984) is an Icelandic actress. She is best known for her roles in '' Cop Secret'' and ''Operation Napoleon''. Early life Vivian was born in Tórshavn in the Faroe Islands to an Icelandic father and a Icelandic ...

as Stefanía *

as Klemenz *

as Rikki * Júlíana Sara Gunnarsdóttir as Lilja *

Gunnar Hansson Gunnar is a male first name of Nordic origin (''Gunnarr'' in Old Norse). The name Gunnar means fighter, soldier, and attacker, but mostly is referred to by the Viking saying which means Brave and Bold warrior (''gunnr'' "war" and ''arr'' "warrior ...

as Softý *

Jón Gnarr Jón Gnarr (; born 2 January 1967)This is an Icelandic name. ''Kristinsson'' is the patronymic, but he is properly referred to as ''Jón Gnarr'' as he had it legally removed. is an Icelandic actor, comedian, and politician who served as the Ma ...

as Jón Gnarr * Rúrik Gíslason *

Bríet Bríet Ísis Elfar (born 22 March 1999), known mononymously as Bríet, is an Icelandic singer known for her songs "Esjan",' "Feimin(n)", and "Rólegur kúreki". Her album ''Kveðja, Bríet'' was selected as the album of the year at the 2021 ...

Jón Jónsson Jón Ragnar Jónsson (born 30 October 1985 in Hafnarfjörður, Iceland) is an Icelandic singer songwriter and a former soccer player. He was signed by Epic Records and has released three albums, ''Wait for Fate'' (2011), ''Heim'' (2014), and ...

Guðmundur Benediktsson Guðmundur Benediktsson nicknamed Gummi Ben (born 3 September 1974) is an Icelandic TV personality, sports commentator and former footballer and manager. Playing career At a young age, Guðmundur attracted the attention of major foreign clubs. ...

as himself

Production

On 19 January 2021 it was announced that the

directional debut film ''Cop Secret'' will be presented on the Nordic Film Market on 5 February 2021.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

concluded in Iceland in December 2020.

Release

The film premièred in the '' Concorso internazionale'' at the

on 21 August 2021. It was first theatrically released in Island on 22 October 2021, while its release on VOD was in the U.K. and Ireland on 23 May 2022 by

Vertigo Releasing Vertigo Films is a British television and film production company based in London, England. Vertigo Films has been responsible for the production and distribution of '' Bronson'', ''StreetDance 3D'', and ''Monsters''. It now focuses solely on ...

, and in North America on 12 July 2022. It was screened at the

Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival The Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFFF), previously named Brussels International Festival of Fantastic Film (french: Festival international du film fantastique de Bruxelles, nl, Internationaal Festival van de Fantastische Fil ...

on 6 September 2022.

Reception

Box office

''Cop Secret'' grossed 76 million ISK (about $588,651) only in Iceland in 2021, coming in second in the box office behind ''

No Time to Die ''No Time to Die'' is a 2021 spy film and the twenty-fifth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, starring Daniel Craig in his fifth and final portrayal of fictional British MI6 agent James Bond. It was directed by Cary Jo ...

''.

Critical response

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film holds an approval rating of 84% based on 19 reviews, with an

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...

rating of 6.5/10. Jay Weissberg of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' said of the film: "Entertaining? Yes, by and large. Clever? Not by a long shot." Gunnar Ragnarsson of

RÚV Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV) (pronounced or ) ( en, 'The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service') is Iceland's national public-service broadcasting organization. Operating from studios in the country's capital, Reykjavík, as well as regional cent ...

criticized the film, stating that he film's action and endless pop culture references get tired after a while and that lead actor Auðunn Blöndal did not yet have the ability to carry a film. In her review for ''Eye for Film'', Jane Fae remembers that the film explicitly mentions '' Die Hard 3''.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cop Secret 2021 films 2020s Icelandic-language films 2021 directorial debut films 2021 LGBT-related films Icelandic LGBT-related films 2021 action comedy films Icelandic action comedy films