Riders of Justice

Anders Thomas Jensen's Riders of Justice is the fourth feature he has directed with Mads Mikkelsen and Nikolaj Lie Kaas (after Flickering Lights, The Green Butchers and Adam's Apples), and to our minds it is the most polished film of that long collaboration. Denmark selected it as its official submission for Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards, although it did not reach the shortlist.

The cast is Jensen's regular Danish ensemble, Mikkelsen, Lie Kaas, Lars Brygmann and Nicolas Bro, with Andrea Heick Gadeberg in a breakthrough role as the daughter. The film won several Robert Awards from the Danish Film Academy, including Best Actor for Mikkelsen, and was nominated in most categories at the Bodil Awards the same year. The cinematographer is Kasper Tuxen, who had shot The Green Butchers for Jensen and Mike Mills' Beginners.

Black comedy, a thriller plot and a sincere grief drama make up the tonal mix that has become Jensen's signature, and Riders of Justice balances them better than anything else he has made. It was also one of Mikkelsen's strongest commercial performers in his home market, in the year between Another Round and his Hollywood return in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. The production itself was shot in late 2020, during a short post-pandemic window.