American Film Market (AFM): Update on Jannik Johansen's MURK (MØRKE), w/ Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Nicolas
As was reported here on ScreenAnarchy back on August 6th, there's a downloadable trailer (see the bottom of this article) for Jannik Johansen's psychological thriller Murk (Mørke) on Locomotive Corporation's excellent PLAY.dk website.
Murk was produced by Fine & Mellow Productions A/S (Denmark), and co-produced by Film and Music Entertainment Ltd. (F&ME - U.K.); it had a budget of roughly 22,000,000 DKK (approx. 3.6 million USD). It premièred at the Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) in Scotland on August 19th of this year, and was screened at the Copenhagen International Film Festival (CIFF) in Denmark later that month, at Filmfest Hamburg in Germany in September, and at the Bergen International Film Festival (BIFF) in Norway earlier this week. It was released theatrically in Denmark by Nordisk Film Biografdistribution on the 7th of this month.
Distribution rights for Murk are being offered for sale by Nordisk Film International Sales at this year's American Film Market (AFM) in Santa Monica, California. The movie is being screened at the Mann Criterion on Friday November 4th at 3:00 p.m..
The screenplay for Murk was written by (Jannik) Johansen and Anders Thomas Jensen. The movie stars Nikolaj Lie Kaas as Jacob, Nicolas Bro as Anker, Lærke Winther Andersen as Hanne, Laura Drasbæk as Nina, Lotte Bergstrøm as Julie, Anne Sofie Byder as Sonja, Morten Lützhøft as Carl, and Lisbet Lundquist as Caroline.
Below is a synopsis for Murk from this page for the movie on the British Council's Britfilms.com website.
Jacob, a journalist in his thirties, is coming to terms with his sister Julie's attempted suicide; she is now seriously disabled and wheelchair bound. Jacob feels somehow responsible.
Meanwhile, Julie has struck up a romance on the internet with the slightly odd yet seemingly decent and kind Anker. The couple soon announce their intention to marry.
After some initial doubts, Jacob accepts Anker as part of his sister's life, pleased that Julie has managed to find some kind of happiness.
Jacob's girlfriend Nina has been struggling for sometime to keep their relationship afloat and the fact that Jacob is now feeling better about himself gives her cause for renewed hope.
But on her wedding night Julie commits suicide and the family is devastated. Months later, still haunted by the grief and armed with suspicions about the true circumstances of Julie's death, Jacob tracks down Anker to the village of Murk, an apparently peacful yet desolate spot in provincial Denmark. Here Jacob discovers that Anker is about to marry Hanne, another disabled woman....
Murk's silent streets, filled with eerie empty houses and run-down hotels, gradually undermine Jacob's grip on reality. The people of Murk see him as an intruder not to be taken seriously. Alone and frustrated, Jacob tries to discover the truth about his sister's death.
Murk trailer (downloadable 6.7 MB MOV file)
Murk trailer (downloadable 6.8 MB WMV file)
ScreenAnarchy: Review of Murk
Variety: Review of Murk
