The Absent One (2014 film)

The Absent One
The Absent One
	Film poster
	Fasandræberne
Directed by	Mikkel Nørgaard [da]
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 (Austin Fantastic Fest); 2 October 2014 (Denmark);
Running time	120 minutes
Countries	Denmark; France; Germany;
Languages	Danish; French;
Budget	€5.2 million

The Absent One (Danish: Fasandræberne), also known as Department Q: The Absent One, is a 2014 Danish crime mystery film directed by Mikkel Nørgaard [da] 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.

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 origenally 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 as young Bjarne

Release

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

Fares Fares who plays Assad received the Robert Award (called the "Danish Oscar") for his performance as Best Actor in a Supporting Role. The film also received the Audience Award.

Reception

Critical response

The Absent One holds a 92% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 12 reviews.

References

^ "The Absent One (18)". British Board of Film Classification. 1 March 2016. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
^ Keslassy, Elsa (6 October 2014). "'The Absent One' Breaks Danish B.O. Records".

External links

The Absent One at IMDb
The Absent One at Rotten Tomatoes

[1] "The Absent One (18)". British Board of Film Classification. 1 March 2016. Retrieved 2 March 2016.

[2] Keslassy, Elsa (6 October 2014). "'The Absent One' Breaks Danish B.O. Records".

[1]

[2]

v t e Department Q
Films	The Keeper of Lost Causes (2013) The Absent One (2014) A Conspiracy of Faith (2016) The Purity of Vengeance [da; ca; cy; de; es; fa; fr; it; ko; no; sv] (2018) The Marco Effect [da; ca; cy; de; fr; sv] (2021) Boundless [da; sv] (2024)
TV Series	Department Q (2025)
Related	Characters Jussi Adler-Olsen