In Order of Disappearance

Director: Hans Petter Moland

4 September 2023

See

Her:  A criminal Norwegian dramedy directed by Hans Petter Moland, snowplow driver and recent “Person of the Year” Nils Dickman finds out his son has been found dead from a drug overdose. He decides to initiate his own investigation that requires committing a few crimes to get to the bottom of it.

Him: Nils Dickman (Stellan Skarsgaard) a snow plow driver in remote idyllic Norway is a seemingly model citizen, in fact at the outset he’s recognised as ‘citizen of the year’ for his small town. But when his son Ingvar is killed, it’s mysteriously made to look like a drug overdose, his wife leaves him in her grief. Just as he’s about to end his own life, Ingvar’s friend reveals it was murder related to drug dealing. Dickman decides he’ll have his revenge served cold.

Think

Her: I chose this film almost spontaneously, based on a couple of great actor’s names and also a nordic criminal comedy/drama felt right for the mood. The premise also sounded unfamiliar and made me curious. After watching it I can confirm that it was unlike anything I’ve seen before. Nothing extraordinary, nor mind-blowing yet quite refreshing. The jokes were subtle but the violence is true to the vikings heritage. There was a lot of food for thought and nuances in small, easy to miss details: like observations of Norwegian social and economical peculiarities discussed in a very serious manner by lower rank gang members or belief symbols over the names of the murdered criminals, which make me want to rewatch it with more focused attention.

Him: I didn’t realise it was a dark comedy until the suicide attempt. Part of it was off, like the starkly beautiful and moody metropolis of Oslo contrasted with the sterile fluorescent lit morgue and bedside manner of the pathologists and how the body is being hoisted unceremoniously. Then she started laughing and revealed to me it’s a comedy it all became clear along with the original title being Kraftidioten. The actors are playing it straight even if the situation or repeated method of Dickman disposing of criminals is absurd: thrown off a waterfall wrapped in chicken wire the shot held for too long, and subtly subverting the genre of Scandinoir.

Feel

Her: When the Person of the Year becomes a serial killer within a course of a week just to get to the bottom of his son’s murder and the head of a drug cartel turns out to be a member of the high humanitarian society, you understand that titles are sometimes just titles. No one is perfect, nor a saint. I like it when the genres merge, especially in the case of drama and comedy because such is life. This film is not meant to be taken very seriously, though it does provide some food for thought. The characters are non-trivial and vibrantly performed. Highly regarded Bruno Ganz is very believable as a Serbian mafia “papa”, Stellan Skarsgaard is a classic sad clown but they’re both outperformed by Pal Svarre Hagen -  a very different mafia boss from what we’re used to seeing in the more mainstream films. None of the characters are left unridiculed, except maybe Rune, the son of the mafia boss. Fun fact: Stellan Skarsgaard appears in the end titles twice: first a lead performer and second as a stunt driver.

Him: I’m glad Stellan Skarsgaard, like some other Scandinavian actors working in Hollywood like Mads Mikkelsen, still stars in local productions I might’ve otherwise missed. It must be refreshing to work with directors who have a different way of doing things and be able to work in your mother tongue. Or this case Norwegian as he is Swedish, but his command of the language is fluent enough to have appeared in The King of Devil’s Island, another Norwegian film. I recognised some of the other actors, Bruno Ganz from Downfall (and Wings of Desire which is a Wim Wnders film I’m yet to watch). Kristopfer Hivju from Game of Thrones and Birgitte Hjort Sorensen from Boregen. But it was the boss Pal Sverre Hagen who was a slow burn stand out and Jon Øigarden from Norseman and his monologue about hot places and welfare that made me laugh long and loud.