Winner of eight Danish Oscars, this polished thriller unpicks the ties that bind politics and the press. When the leader of the opposition is seriously injured in a car crash just days before an election, his party is thrown into turmoil. His deputy (Nastja Arcel) looks the most likely replacement – until an ambitious young journalist (Anders W Berthelsen) receives a tip-off linking her to a financial scandal. Is there any truth to the story? Or is he being manipulated into clearing the way for the party’s Conservative chairman?
Based on a novel by a former spin doctor, Nikolaj Arcel’s moody potboiler offers a compelling tour through the corridors of power with enough authenticity to forgive some clichéd melodrama. A little knowledge of Denmark’s political system wouldn’t go amiss; then again, it’s probably the same over here.
