| Department Q | |
|---|---|
 Cover of Department Q Trilogy Dvd | |
| Based on | Novels by Jussi Adler-Olsen |
| Produced by | Peter Aalbæk Jensen (1–4) Louise Vesth (1–4) Mikael Rieks (5–10) |
| Starring | Nikolaj Lie Kaas (1–4) Fares Fares (1–4) Ulrich Thomsen (5–10) Zaki Youssef (5–10) |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Nordisk Film |
Release date | 2013–2021 |
| Country | Denmark |
| Language | Danish |
| Box office | DKK 263,910,000 |
Department Q (Danish: Afdeling Q) is a Danish Nordic noir film series, based on the crime novels by Danish author Jussi Adler-Olsen.[1]
Novels
Originally written in Danish, the novels have been translated into numerous languages, including English, Bulgarian, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovakian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish and Vietnamese.[2]
Despite using the same translations, the Penguin Group titled the first five novels differently in the UK and the USA. Their editions use the same English titles as the film adaptations.
| Novel | Original title | Year | Film adaptation | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercy (Adler-Olsen novel) | Kvinden i buret | 2007 2011 (USA & UK) |
The Keeper of Lost Causes | 2013 |
| Disgrace (Adler-Olsen novel) | Fasandræberne | 2008 2012 (USA & UK) |
The Absent One | 2014 |
| Redemption (Adler-Olsen novel) | Flaskepost fra P | 2009 2013 (USA & UK) |
A Conspiracy of Faith | 2016 |
| Guilty (Adler-Olsen novel) | Journal 64 | 2010 2013 (USA) 2014 (UK) |
The Purity of Vengeance | 2018 |
| Buried (novel) | Marco Effekten | 2012 2014 (USA & UK) |
The Marco Effect[3] | 2021 |
| The Hanging Girl | Den Grænseløse | 2014 2015 (USA & UK) |
Boundless[4][5] | 2024 |
| The Scarred Woman | Selfies | 2016 2017 (USA & UK) |
||
| Victim 2117 | Offer 2117 | 2019 2020 (USA & UK) |
||
| The Shadow Murders | Natrium Chlorid | 2021 2022 (USA & UK) |
||
Films
- The Keeper of Lost Causes (2013)
- The Absent One (2014)
- A Conspiracy of Faith (2016)
- The Purity of Vengeance (2018)
- The Marco Effect (2021)
- Boundless (2024)[4][5]
- The Scarred Woman (2024)
- Victim 2117 (2026)
- The Shadow Murders (TBA)
- Untitled final film (TBA)
The first four films were produced by Peter Aalbæk Jensen and Louise Vesth through Zentropa, however despite their commercial and critical success, author Jussi Adler-Olsen was unhappy with the results and the casting, feeling that the films and characters departed from his novels too much and that his suggestions were being ignored, leading to Nordisk Film (who had already distributed the prior films in Denmark) and producer Mikael Rieks taking over for the remainder of the series, with all the recurring roles recast.[8]
Cast and characters
| Character | The Keeper of Lost Causes (2013) |
The Absent One (2014) |
A Conspiracy of Faith (2016) |
The Purity of Vengeance (2018) |
The Marco Effect (2021) |
Boundless (2024) |
The Scarred Woman (2024) |
Victim 2117 (2026) |
The Shadow Murders (TBA) |
Untitled final film (TBA) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carl Mørck | Nikolaj Lie Kaas | Ulrich Thomsen | ||||||||
| Assad | Fares Fares | Zaki Youssef | Afshin Firouzi | |||||||
| Rose Knudsen | Johanne Louise Schmidt | Sofie Torp | ||||||||
| Marcus Jacobsen | Søren Pilmark | Henrik Noél Olesen | ||||||||
Zaki Youssef was unable to return as Assad after The Marco Effect due to having recently become a father having other scheduling conflicts with the filming of Boundless, which started on 5 September 2022, half a year earlier than planned.[9]
Crew
| Film | The Keeper of Lost Causes (2013) |
The Absent One (2014) |
A Conspiracy of Faith (2016) |
The Purity of Vengeance (2018) |
The Marco Effect (2021) |
Boundless (2024) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director | Mikkel Nørgaard | Hans Petter Moland | Christoffer Boe | Martin Zandvliet | Ole Christian Madsen | |
| Producer(s) | Peter Aalbæk Jensen Louise Vesth |
Mikael Rieks | Mikael Rieks Malene Blenkov | |||
| Screenwriter(s) | Nikolaj Arcel | Nikolaj Arcel Rasmus Heisterberg |
Nikolaj Arcel | Nikolaj Arcel Bo Hr. Hansen Mikkel Nørgaard |
Anders August Thomas Porsager |
Jakob Weis |
| Composer(s) | Patrik Andrén Uno Helmersson Johan Söderqvist |
Nicklas Schmidt | Mikkel Maltha Anthony Lledo |
Sune Martin | TBA | |
| Cinematographer | Eric Kress | John Andreas Andersen | Jacob Møller | Aske Foss | Jørgen Johansson (cinematographer) | |
| Editor(s) | Morten Egholm Martin Schade |
Olivier Bugge Coutté Nicolaj Monberg |
Janus Billeskov Jansen My Thordal |
Per K. Kirkegaard Per Sandholt |
Frederik Strunk Nicolaj Monberg | |
| Production company | Zentropa | Nordisk Film | ||||
| Distribution | Nordisk Film | |||||
| Runtime | 96 minutes | 119 minutes | 112 minutes | 119 minutes | 125 minutes | TBA |
| Release date | October 3, 2013 | October 2, 2014 | March 3, 2016 | October 4, 2018 | May 27, 2021 | February 1, 2024 |
Reception
Box office performance
| Film | Release date | Box office gross (Denmark) | Attendance (Denmark) | Box office ranking (Danish films) | Budget |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Keeper of Lost Causes | October 3, 2013 | DKK 59,010,000[10] | 721,256[11] | #5[10] | €5,000,000[12] |
| The Absent One | October 2, 2014 | DKK 68,100,000[10] | 764,002[13] | #2[10] | €5,200,000[14] |
| A Conspiracy of Faith | March 3, 2016 | DKK 64,300,000[10] | 704,971[15] | #4[10] | €5,300,000[16] |
| The Purity of Vengeance | October 4, 2018 | DKK 72,500,000[10] | 765,111[17] | #1[10] | €5,200,000[18] |
| The Marco Effect | May 27, 2021 | N/A | 225,243[19] | N/A | €7,400,000[20] |
| Boundless | February 1, 2024 | TBA | TBA | TBA | €6,900,000[5] |
| Total | DKK 263,910,000 | 3,180,583 | €35,000,000 | ||
| Average | DKK 65,977,500 | 636,117 | €5,830,000 | ||
The films have been massively successful, selling over three million tickets in Denmark alone, where the installments regularly top the yearly box-office. The Purity of Vengeance (2018) became the highest grossing Danish film of all time upon release,[21] with a gross of 72,500,000 DKK, The Absent One (2014) the second highest with 68,1 M. DKK, A Conspiracy of Faith (2016) the fourth with 64,3 M. DKK, and The Keeper of Lost Causes (2012) the fifth with 59,01 M. DKK. The Purity of Vengeance is additionally the 11th overall highest grossing film in Denmark.[10] The fifth film The Marco Effect however, which marked a complete recast, was significantly less successful despite a larger budget.
Critical response
| Film | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | Kino.dk |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Keeper of Lost Causes | 71% (28 reviews)[22] | 62 (8 reviews)[23] | 4.2/6 (7 reviews)[24] |
| The Absent One | 92% (12 reviews)[25] | 61 (6 reviews)[26] | 3.5/6 (7 reviews)[27] |
| A Conspiracy of Faith | 100% (6 reviews)[28] | 75 (3 reviews)[29] | 3.7/6 (7 reviews)[30] |
| The Purity of Vengeance | 66% (3 reviews)[31] | N/A | 4/6 (7 reviews)[32] |
| The Marco Effect | N/A | N/A | 3.5/6 (8 reviews)[33] |
References
- ↑ "Department Q books in order". deadgoodbooks.co.uk. 15 July 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
- ↑ "The Keeper of Lost Causes > Editions". Goodreads.
- ↑ "Il film New Department Q The Marco Effect in pre-produzione". cineuropa.org. 6 June 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
- 1 2 Annika Pham (26 August 2022). "TrustNordisk Boards New Department Q Film 'Boundless' by 'Banshee' Helmer (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety.
- 1 2 3 Davide Abbatescianni (22 September 2022). "Ole Christian Madsen's crime-thriller Boundless in production". Cineuropa.
- ↑ Daniel Bentien. "Eksklusivt: Her Er Premieredatoerne For De 4 Nye Afdeling Q-Film" (in Danish). Kino.dk.
- ↑ Stine Teglgaard. "Bekræftet: 6 Film På Vej Med Jussi Adler-Olsens 'Afdeling Q'" (in Danish). Kino.dk.
- ↑ Daniel Hartvig Nielsen. "Derfor Blev Carl Mørck Skiftet Ud Til 'Marco Effekten'" (in Danish). Kino.dk.
- ↑ Jacob Ludvigsen (15 September 2022). "Castet til ny Afdeling Q-film offentliggjort - Zaki Youssef skiftet ud som Assad" (in Danish). Soundvenue.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Zentropa Crime-Thriller 'The Purity Of Vengeance' Breaks Danish Box Office Record". Deadline Hollywood. 22 November 2018.
- ↑ "Nordic Admissions 2013-Part 1: Denmark-Finland". Nordisk Film & TV Fond. 24 January 2014.
- ↑ "The Keeper of Lost Causes". TrustNordisk.
- ↑ "Nordic Admissions 2014 Part 2: Denmark-Iceland-Sweden". Nordisk Film & TV Fond. 30 January 2015.
- ↑ "The Absent One". TrustNordisk.
- ↑ "Attendance for Danish films drops 33.3% in 2016". Nordisk Film & TV Fond. 23 January 2017.
- ↑ "A Conspiracy of Faith". TrustNordisk.
- ↑ "Denmark 2018 Annual Admissions Charts" (PDF). Nordisk Film & TV Fond. 22 January 2019.
- ↑ "The Purity of Vengeance". TrustNordisk.
- ↑ "Denmark 2021 Annual Admissions Charts" (PDF). Nordisk Film & TV Fond. 14 February 2021.
- ↑ "The Marco Effect". TrustNordisk.
- ↑ "I film danesi dominano il box office locale 2018". cineuropa.org. 19 December 2018. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
- ↑ "The Keeper of Lost Causes". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media.
- ↑ "Department Q: The Keeper of Lost Causes". Metacritic. CBS Interactive.
- ↑ "Kvinden i Buret". Kino.dk.
- ↑ "The Absent One". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media.
- ↑ "Department Q: The Absent One". Metacritic. CBS Interactive.
- ↑ "Kvinden i Buret". Kino.dk.
- ↑ "A Conspiracy of Faith". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media.
- ↑ "Department Q: A Conspiracy of Faith". Metacritic. CBS Interactive.
- ↑ "Flaskepost Fra P". Kino.dk.
- ↑ "The Purity of Vengeance". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media.
- ↑ "Journal 64". Kino.dk.
- ↑ "Marco Effekten". Kino.dk.