12/02/2008

Danish filmmaker Søren Kragh-Jacobsen’s What No One Knows [+see also:
trailer
film profile], which had its official screening last night in the Panorama Special, is a gripping political thriller denouncing the surveillance society and the state of democracy.

Loosely based on a book by Søren Lassen, What No One Knows features Thomas (the convincing Anders W. Berthelsen), a children’s entertainer, who abruptly becomes involved in a life-threatening situation as he tries to understand the mystery surrounding the so-called accidental death of his sister Charlotte (Sonja Richter).

A well-known photo-reporter, Charlotte discovered suspicious information about their late father, who used to work for military intelligence and might have been linked to the use of poisonous chemicals. As Thomas’s research points increasingly more to the head of Denmark’s intelligence service, the more his family and friends are at danger, including Charlotte’s girlfriend Ursula (Maria Bonnevie). Thomas is naïve and the political conspiracy is beyond his scope.

Shot using natural light and a hand-held camera, the film has the look and pace of Hollywood thrillers, a deliberate attempt on the part of the filmmaker to pay homage to Ridley and Tony Scott, whom he admires, and to try a new genre: the political thriller.

“In Europe and the US we’re all driven by fear these days,” said Kragh-Jacobsen at yesterday’s press conference. “The surveillance situation is absolutely absurd and something that has to be discussed. How can we protect our freedom in our democracy?”

What No One Knows marks the director’s fourth visit to the Berlinale, following his children’s film Rubber Tarzan (1982) winner of the Best Children’s Film Award; his selection in competition in 1997 with The Island on Bird Street; and Mifune, winner of the Silver Bear in 2003.

The film was produced by the filmmaker’s regular partner Lars Bredo Rahbek for Nimbus Film. World sales are handled by The Match Factory.