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Denmark | Sweden | France 2024
Opening February 20, 2025

Directed by: Gustav Möller
Writing credits: Emil Nygaard Albertsen, Gustav Möller
Principal actors:  Sidse Babett Knudsen, Sebastian Bull, Dar Salim

Eva Hansen (Sidse Babett Knudsen, the prime minister in the Borgen series) is a kind, gentle corrections officer in an all-male Danish prison; her maternal instincts are valued by both her colleagues and the prisoners alike. There is something serene and majestic about her motherliness. That is until a new convict arrives at the prison. Looking out the window Eva sees the tattooed hulk of a menacing young man, Mikkel (Sebastian Bull) arrive. He is whisked away to the cellar, Centre Zero, where the most incorrigible prisoners have their cells. Mikkel is no one you would never want to meet in a dark alley much less be alone with in his prison cell. Yet Eva schemes to be moved near him in the maximum-security wing of the prison. No, this is no steamy prison romance. It turns out Mikkel had killed her nineteen-year-old son Simon while both were serving sentences in another prison together. Centre Zero’s commander, Rami (Dar Salim), is impressed by her commitment, never suspecting she could harbor an ulterior motive.

Filmed in the defunct Copenhagen prison of Vridsløselille, the stark reality of sterile prison life is beautifully captured. What is missing is a sense of reality in the plot. Doesn’t the Danish prison system do background checks on its officers? How can Eva, working with an experienced warden, veteran colleagues, and dozens of cameras mounted throughout the prison, get so close to Mikkel? Is Eva is seeking revenge for the death of her son, or do her motherly instincts seek to rehabilitate Simon’s killer? (Pat F.)