Screened as part of NZIFF 2004

In Your Hands 2004

Forbrydelser

Directed by Annette K. Olesen

Denmark In Danish with English subtitles
101 minutes 35mm

Screenplay

Kim Fupz Aakeson
,
Annette K. Olesen

Photography

Bøje Lomholdt

Editor

Molly Malene Stensgaard

Music

Jeppe Kaas

With

Ann Eleonora Jørgensen
,
Trine Dyrholm
,
Nicolaj Kopernikus
,
Sonja Richter
,
Lars Ranthe

Festivals

Berlin, New Directors/New Films, Sydney 2004

Elsewhere

Anna is a theology graduate keen to get out into the world. Although it is rare for someone fresh from training to be given the position of prison chaplain, Anna’s determination gets her the job. The women in the prison are diffident about faith – is there a place for redemption when you’ve committed dreadful acts and are now paying for your crimes in a horrible place? The word is, though, that a withdrawn young prisoner named Kate, who won’t talk about what she’s in for, can perform miracles – she has healing hands – and can ‘see’ things. The prison psychologist is dismissive: ‘We don’t call them miracles, but speed psychoses.’ But the inmates’ faith in Kate’s dark powers is to have a deeply unsettling effect on Anna. Dogme filmmaking, with its inherent sense of realism and naturalism, creates a credible atmosphere with strong emotional impact. The performances are terrific. Trust, faith, empathy, superstition and revenge come under review as the film continues to its tough conclusion. — SR