A morgue is not often a place associated with laughter or new beginnings but Danish filmmaker Lasse Lyskjær Noer’s Oscar nominated dark comedy Knight of Fortune (Ridder Lykke) is a refreshingly humorous look at the ways in which we handle grief. Emotionally crippled by the loss of his wife Karl, played by Swedish actor Leif Andrée, finds an unexpected but strangely comforting moment of solace when he meets fellow widower Torben, played by Jens Jørn Spottag in the men’s toilets. Knight of Fortune is supposed to make you laugh and Noer innately understands that even in the darkness of sorrow, laughter is a natural and common release valve which enhances rather than diminishes the film’s thematic core. Continuing DN’s interview series with this year’s short film Academy Awards contenders, we spoke to Noer about finding an unscripted gem when filming in their disused hospital location, using silence to enhance the film’s comedic beats and tuning the score to give audiences permission to laugh.
[The following interview is also available to watch at the end of this article.]
Lasse, welcome to Directors Notes, We featured Knight of Fortune in our top 10 must-see films from HollyShorts last year so it’s lovely to be able to dive into the the film’s creation with you. Could you please introduce the film to us?
It’s a story about a man called Karl who goes to the morgue to see his deceased wife for the first time and he can’t really cope. He can’t get himself to open the coffin and accept her death, he’s in a state of denial so instead he distracts himself by fixing a lamp and telling himself that she’s not dead. He then flees to the restroom where he meets Torben, our other main character, and the two of them form an unusual kinship with each other that becomes the heart of the story.
I was aware that comedy is a part of grief.
I know the writing of this came from a personal place of loss, was it a cathartic process?
It was cathartic but also it’s so hard to write about grief because it’s such a sensitive subject and hard not to step on any toes in regards to people’s emotions or feelings. I was hesitant in the beginning of the writing process as I didn’t want to offend as I was injecting some comic elements. I was aware that comedy is a part of grief, it’s quite natural often when you have lost someone to tell a story about them and to start laughing, then for a few moments you feel a sort of relief and you forget about the pain. I therefore struggled to find the right balance between the humour and the drama so it became quite tough to write and took me some time, but I got there in the end.
I like to go into films without knowing anything about them so I wasn’t expecting to find Knight of Fortune so funny but I found myself laughing out loud which is always lovely.
I’m glad to hear that because it is a dark comedy. When we had our first screening, one or two people came over to me afterwards and told me they didn’t really know if they were allowed to laugh. Then we created this soundtrack that was warm and hope in it. So it wasn’t too church-like or cold or melancholic and was our way of telling the audience that it’s okay to laugh here.
I think you definitely give your audience permission to laugh which is a beautiful thing, especially the mishap with this other family – it’s brilliant.
That actually came from an old note I’d written down. I had an idea about a guy attending the wrong funeral but I wasn’t in the right place to write a piece like that. It was almost 10 years ago but I found myself able to use it now.
I was struck by your framing, such as when Karl is in the room staring at the broken light with the coffin in the foreground.
I’d like to credit my DOP Lasse Ulvedal Tolbøll, he’s so talented and we understand each other. We wanted to make the environment cold and bluish with the only warmth coming from the people there. The lighting had to come from above to create these shadows in their eyes, almost like they’re dead but still alive, playing between life and death. The specific framing you’re mentioning, it’s almost like the image of Jesus standing up there. We did a lot of work finding the right frames. We wanted to create this claustrophobic vibe so in the end, when they go outside, it had to feel like a relief. Throughout the film, you feel like you’re in a little pocket of frozen time so when you get outside, you suddenly realise there are cars passing by behind them and life is carrying on.
The lighting had to come from above to create these shadows in their eyes, almost like they’re dead but still alive, playing between life and death.
Also, the main door with the little holes was actually something we discovered when we found the location and I knew we had to use them. Those parts weren’t written in the script before but sometimes you get these accidental additions so, instead of just having the dialogue, I was able to write in him closing the little door which is a really funny little moment.
How did you go about finding that location?
It really wasn’t easy because we were looking at morgues but they’re all quite hard to use because they are in use. We actually ended up using an abandoned hospital that didn’t require a lot of set design. All we needed was one long hallway and two rooms and we had the place all to ourselves which was nice. But it took some time to find the right place which ended up being a little hidden pearl that hadn’t been used before.
I wanted to ask you about the narrative points brought up with the Swedish-Danish language crossovers. For those of us not conversant in either language, how does it play into the story?
Leif Andrée is a Swedish actor. In the beginning, I was looking for a Danish actor but I couldn’t find someone who was going to dedicate himself to the project. I’d worked with Leif before and my producer suggested sending him the script. After reading it all he called me back, almost crying. He had just been through something very similar, he kept crying when reading the script and was very much on board. He’s such an amazing actor and I actually ended up rewriting the script to Swedish Danish. This then actually played so well into the theme of loneliness, because he’s now a Swedish man in Denmark, he’s lost his wife (who are often those who keep the social network in balance) and so that would mean he would be even more of a fish out of water and even more lonely.
The two older, slightly grumpy men are fairly unusual protagonists in film, especially in shorts.
Torben, played by Jens Jørn Spottag is who I imagined when writing the script. I didn’t think he would have the time because he’s a very busy Danish actor. We contacted his agent and in the meantime saw some other actors who I just wasn’t really feeling but suddenly the agent called back and said that Jens had time and wanted to read the script. I knew I wanted an actor who could sing in the end, that was very important to me and I was so moved when he sang.
Sometimes you end up writing too much down as a scriptwriter because you need everything to be in there so it’s so amazing when you work with great actors who can just show things.
They are brilliant together, I particularly love the scene over the coffin when he starts reading his list.
I have to credit my editor, Simon Dræby, we sat in the cave for a long time and that scene is perfectly edited between those two. They are also both great actors, Jens is a perfectionist. Before shooting we spent a long time talking about how he was going to deliver lines and really analysing the script. He would call me up and say, “I don’t think I have to say this, I can show it”. Sometimes you end up writing too much down as a scriptwriter because you need everything to be in there, so it’s so amazing when you work with great actors who can just show things. They also had a perfect connection with each other, these silences between them, just staring at each other, trying to read each other were so incredible. Just brilliant chemistry between those two guys.
With the performances being as strong as they were, did that mean your edit was fairly straightforward?
Yeah, it was actually quite quick. We had given ourselves a deadline we had to follow. We spent about a month in the editing room and we would have loved to continue but our producer said it was enough. It is so easy to sit there and get right into the details and just keep going! We found the right pacing in the edit, there are such long pauses and it’s often just these two guys standing in front of each other talking. So, we really needed to find the right pacing.
At what point did the score come into everything?
We were working on the score throughout. In the beginning, it was a bit more melancholic but it didn’t feel quite right. As I mentioned before, through the edit we found out that we needed to make a score that had more warmth and hope in it. Also, a little comic flavour in a delicate way so we actually finished the score as we finished the editing, they fell in together.
Congratulations on your Oscar nomination, do you think that the themes of Knight of Fortune have really spoken to people?
As we’ve travelled around the world to different festivals it’s quite amazing that people have reacted in almost the same way both laughing and crying. Grief is a universal theme so it speaks to people all around the globe. We were worried at first, it’s a Scandinavian dark comedy, is it too much? The first screening was at Clermont-Ferrand in a cinema with 1,400 people. At the beginning, I was just sitting there with my head down, so nervous wondering how people were going to react. Then, when you have the first laugh, and you realise the whole crowd understands – that’s amazing.
So what are you working on next?
I’ve been working on a feature film but it’s paused because I’m getting lots of offers from different places. You know, when you get an Oscar nomination you get kind of hot! So I don’t really have the time right now because I’m using almost all my spare time doing interviews and travelling around promoting the film. But yes, I have a feature film I’m working on.
