King’s Game policital film / show

King’s Game
(2004, Denmark)

Original title: Kongekabale

Language: Danish

Locations: the story takes place in Copenhagen Capital Region Denmark

Journalist Ulrik Torp, son of a former justice minister, is given accreditation to report for his magazine from the Danish parliament. It is a tense moment in country politics: the next elections are just eleven days away and the leader of a Centre Party and main candidate to be the next Prime Minister is injured in the car accident. It is unclear in what condition he was taken to the hospital, nor if his life is in danger, but nevertheless the party calls for an urgent meeting to choose the new leader. Two completely different candidates emerge during the meeting, Erik Dreyer and Lone Kjeldsen, but one thing is clear, the fight for the heirloom has just started within party. But Ulrik Torp, together with independent journalist Henrik Moll, start to sniff around the story, because they seem to be convinced that there are thing the public does not know about. For example why the information about condition of still current leader are so closely guarded? Why even wife of that leader, who also was injured in the accident, is kept in the dark by the doctors?

Danish political thriller with interesting atmosphere and characters, although the plot is in some parts the weakest point of the whole production. On the other hand, what could be seen as a cliche if the story was set somewhere else, in the more cameral setting of Danish parliament it gains some originality and exotic element. The film was dubbed "a Danish JFK" and in a small way it is slightly similar in atmosphere, although the scope of the story and the events is completely different.