Nightwatch – Nachtwache (1994)

Nightwatch – Nachtwache: Directed by Ole Bornedal. With Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Sofie Gråbøl, Kim Bodnia, Lotte Andersen. A law student starts working as a night watchman at The Department of Forensic Medicine in Copenhagen. His mad friend gets him on a game of dare that escalates. As a serial-killer’s victims start piling up at work, he becomes a suspect.

“Miramax made a huge mistake keeping this film from distribution in order to make an American version. Though I can only imagine how much more horrible the situation would have been if Nattevagten would have been dubbed in English!u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis is a thriller that has it all: tense atmosphere guaranteed to give you the creeps, characters with believable quirks (though I doubt a prostitute would actually try to bury her face in a guyu0026#39;s lap in a crowded restaurant), and twists that were not actually expected or used as a weak plot point (Malice was a film that tried to throw the audience off and just wasted our time).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMartin (Nikolaj Waldau) takes on a night watchman job at a morgue to help pay for his law education, doesnu0026#39;t fully appreciate his relationship with his girlfriend (Sofie Graaboel) thanks in part to his jerky friend (Kim Bodnia) who keeps pulling Martin into silly bets. The loser has to get married, a rather interesting comment on the worth of relationships (something I believe the doomed moths trapped in a light fixture represent, along with other obvious meanings). Once at work, immediately things take on an eerie bent with Martin staring at himself in a glass window and out into the dark halls, his apprehension at having to use a key thatu0026#39;s on the other end of a room full of corpses (thatu0026#39;s one question I had, would they REALLY put that key there? Oh well, it DID make it more creepy!), and a body that tends to move around.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eTurns out much of this is because of part of a bet gone basically wrong, but figuring out the complexities of the name switch pot point and the prostituteu0026#39;s connection to the killer makes for fun sorting! The climax tends to fall into some minor cliche with the heros being hogtied (with the time it took to do that the killer could have easily killed them), but the snappy pace keeps you from picking it apart as you are watching.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI was also impressed by the fact that not the entire cast was made up of youthful characters, and even reversed the sex appeal factor by not having a usual love scene–this time you basically get to see a rather naked Martin instead of the typical u0026quot;letu0026#39;s try to find a way to get some breasts in here and thereu0026quot; scheme.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI was very impressed that Anchor Bay has released Nightwatch/Nattevagten in Danish with English subtitles, giving the film the respect it deserves. For those who gripe that subtitles are annoying, all I can say to you is that you are either lazy or need to brush up on your reading skills. I find that if I am absorbed in a good film I donu0026#39;t even realize Iu0026#39;m reading subtitles, it just works naturally. I was still engrossed in this film and was affected by its scary nature. It is quite astounding how superior and effective this film is when compared to 1998u0026#39;s remake, which director Ole Bornedal must have done with some hesitance.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAt the time of writing these comments I havenu0026#39;t heard the DVDu0026#39;s audio commentary by Ole Bornedal (and I hear itu0026#39;s a rather honest commentary from him too), so I donu0026#39;t know if this matter is dealt with, but I noticed at one point the subtitles for Martin say u0026quot;If this were a movie it would be called u0026#39;The Nightguardu0026#39;….u0026quot; So, then why is the English title Nightwatch?u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAnyway, this is one thriller that succeeds practically on every level and people need to seek this one out! With all the processed Hollywood drek being pumped out every week in theatres and video, you owe it to yourself to go out and look for something NOT on the top hits list. Most likely this original Danish filming of Nightwatch wonu0026#39;t easily be found as a rental, but I can assure you itu0026#39;s worth the purchase!u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhen you hear a foreign film is being remade for American audiences, see that foreign version first! Itu0026#39;s amazing how many Americanized versions have fallen flat and yet Hollywood still chucks u0026#39;em out. So, while you can, for instance, see the foreign version of Insomnia before the American one surfaces….”