Erlend E. Mo: Sandhedsjæger

OBS til danske læsere: Se denne smukke og gribende krimidokumentar om opklaringen af to justitsmord begået mod en handicappet mand, som sad i fængsel i over 18 år for to kvindemord, han ikke havde begået. Det er en krimi med rigtige mennesker i en rigtig historie, en skamplet på det oplyste og velorganiserede norske retssamfund. Filmen vises i Cinemateket i København torsdag den 21. Maj kl. 19.

But I continue in English as the film definitely has international potential and deserves to be shown at festivals all over as a fine piece of genre-conscious storytelling that appeals to both heart and brain. Of course the filmmakers have chosen to play as much as they can according to the rules of the crime series stereotype that we can watch every night on television if we want to.

Ex-newsreporter Tore Sandberg and his friend, ex-police investigator Frode Asbjørnsen constitute a couple like good old Morse and Lewis or other modern parallels or why not Sherlock Holmes and doctor Watson. They are indeed different in temperament but they are as characters so good together, these two older gentleman who have never visited a fitness centre and like the good side of (pub)life! The scoop of the film lies with the two characters in their chase for the truth. For Tore complemented with the motivation to rehabilitate Fritz Moen, who sat in jail for more than 18 years for two murders that he had not done. The two men can argue against each other, have funny conversations and at the same time be totally dedicated to the mission.

Tore covered the case way back and feels bad he was part of the media hysteria that hurried to condem Fritz Moen as the easy guilty person. Step by step Tore collects evidence that it could not have been Fritz – through interviews he makes with Fritz himself, with people who were involved in the investigation 20 years earlier and through all the court documents. The filmmakers create a story with dramatic flow, with repetitive tableau-like images of the water where the corpses of the young women were found, of Tore driving through a tunnel with a light at the end, and with reconstructions of the crimes done in an effective, yet discreet manner. Sorry, cant find anything to complain about!  
Norway, 2009, 86 mins.

http://www.exposed.no

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Tue Steen Müller
Tue Steen Müller

Müller, Tue Steen
Documentary Consultant and Critic, DENMARK

Worked with documentary films for more than 20 years at the Danish Film Board, as press officer, festival representative and film consultant/commissioner. Co-founder of Balticum Film and TV Festival, Filmkontakt Nord, Documentary of the EU and EDN (European Documentary Network).
Awards: 2004 the Danish Roos Prize for his contribution to the Danish and European documentary culture. 2006 an award for promoting Portuguese documentaries. 2014 he received the EDN Award “for an outstanding contribution to the development of the European documentary culture”. 2016 The Cross of the Knight of the Order for Merits to Lithuania. 2019 a Big Stamp at the 15th edition of ZagrebDox. 2021 receipt of the highest state decoration, Order of the Three Stars, Fourth Class, for the significant contribution to the development and promotion of Latvian documentary cinema outside Latvia. In 2022 he received an honorary award at DocsBarcelona’s 25th edition having served as organizer and programmer since the start of the festival.
From 1996 until 2005 he was the first director of EDN (European Documentary Network). From 2006 a freelance consultant and teacher in workshops like Ex Oriente, DocsBarcelona, Archidoc, Documentary Campus, Storydoc, Baltic Sea Forum, Black Sea DocStories, Caucadoc, CinéDOC Tbilisi, Docudays Kiev, Dealing With the Past Sarajevo FF as well as programme consultant for the festivals Magnificent7 in Belgrade, DOCSBarcelona, Verzio Budapest, Message2Man in St. Petersburg and DOKLeipzig. Teaches at the Zelig Documentary School in Bolzano Italy.

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