''The Keeper of Lost Causes'' (

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

: ''Kvinden i buret''), also known as ''Department Q: The Keeper of Lost Causes'', is a 2013 Danish film directed by Mikkel Nørgaard. The movie is based on the novel by

Jussi Adler-Olsen Carl Valdemar Jussi Henry Adler-Olsen (born 2 August 1950) is a Denmark, Danish crime fiction writer, a publisher, editor, and entrepreneur, best known for his ''Department Q'' series. He made his debut as a nonfiction writer in 1984, and as a ...

. It is the first film in the Department Q film series, followed by '' The Absent One'' (2014) and '' A Conspiracy of Faith'' (2016).

Synopsis

Carl Mørck is demoted to Department Q, the

cold case A cold case is a crime, or a suspected crime, that has not yet been fully resolved and is not the subject of a current criminal investigation, but for which new information could emerge from new witness testimony, re-examined archives, new or re ...

unit, after a raid he instigated goes wrong. One case, a suspected suicide, piques his interest. His investigations suggest that the

victim Victim(s) or The Victim may refer to: People * Crime victim * Victim, in psychotherapy, a posited role in the Karpman drama triangle model of transactional analysis Films and television * ''The Victim'' (1916 film), an American silent film by t ...

, a rising politician named Merete Lynnggard, was actually kidnapped. Mørck ruffles feathers and is told to halt the investigation, but he and his assistant Assad persist. As the duo investigate the case further, they get into trouble with Swedish police and are suspended, but they still continue to persevere in their investigation. Lynnggard is revealed to be imprisoned in a

pressure chamber A pressure vessel is a container designed to hold gases or liquids at a pressure substantially different from the ambient pressure. Construction methods and materials may be chosen to suit the pressure application, and will depend on the size o ...

by a vengeful chef named Larsa. Carl and Assad locate the pressure chamber and rescue Lynnggard as she is about to die, and they arrest Larsa. Because of their action and the prominence of the case, the police chief reinstates the duo as detectives.

Cast and characters

Nikolaj Lie Kaas Nikolaj Lie Kaas (; born 22 May 1973) is a Danish actor whose career rose in the 1990s. Kaas graduated from the National Theater School in Denmark in 1998. He first appeared on screen in Søren Kragh-Jacobsen's film ''The Boys from St. Petri'' i ...

as Carl Mørck *

Fares Fares Fares Fares (; born 29 April 1973) is a Swedish-Lebanese actor of Assyrian descent. Early life Fares was born in Beirut, Lebanon. His younger brother is director Josef Fares, and he has four sisters. In 1987, when Fares was 14 years old, his ...

as Assad *

Sonja Richter Sonja Richter (born 4 January 1974) is a Danish actress. She is best known for her performance in the 2002 film ''Open Hearts'' by Susanne Bier, for which she was nominated for both the Bodil Award and the Robert Award. In a career which has so ...

as Merete Lynggaard *

Mikkel Følsgaard Mikkel Boe Følsgaard (; born 1 May 1984) is a Danish actor. In 2012 he won the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival for his portrayal of Christian VII of Denmark, King Christian VII in ''A Royal Affair'', his ...

as Uffe Lynggaard *

Søren Pilmark Søren Louis Pilmark (born 16 October 1955) is a Danish actor. Pilmark has worked as a film and theatrical actor, a director, and as an author. Career Theater Pilmark graduated from the School of Acting at Aarhus Theater in 1977, where he ...

as Marcus Jacobsen *

Troels Lyby Troels Lyby (born 15 October 1966) is a Danish actor. He made his big break in Hella Joof's film '' En kort en lang'', but had previously acted in '' Let's Get Lost'' by Jonas Elmer and Lars von Trier's ''The Idiots''. Since then, he has been ...

as Hardy Henningsen *

Patricia Schumann Patricia Schumann (born 4 June 1975) is a Danish actress. She graduated from the Danish National School of Theatre and Contemporary Dance The Danish National School of Performing Arts (Danish: Den Danske Scenekunstskole) is an artistic educational ...

as Søs Norup *

Eric Ericson Eric Gustaf Ericson (26 October 1918 – 16 February 2013) was a Swedish choral conductor and influential choral teacher. Life and career He graduated from the Royal College of Music (''Kungl. Musikhögskolan'') in Stockholm in 1943 and w ...

as Johan Lundquist

Release

The film was first shown at the

Gothenburg Film Festival Göteborg Film Festival (GFF), formerly Göteborg International Film Festival (GIFF), known in English as the Gothenburg Film Festival, formerly Gothenburg International Film Festival, is an annual film festival in Gothenburg, Sweden and the larg ...

in January 2013, followed by several more film festivals before its cinema release in Denmark on 3 October 2013. The film topped the local box office in 2013 with 725,000 Danish moviegoers buying tickets.Variety, October 6, 2013: ''‘The Absent One’ Breaks Danish B.O. Records''
Relinked 2 April 2017

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Keeper of Lost Causes 2013 films 2013 crime thriller films Danish crime thriller films 2010s Danish-language films Films based on Danish novels Films about kidnapping Films about revenge Police detective films Department Q Films produced by Peter Aalbæk Jensen Films produced by Louise Vesth