Impeccable acting by the title character, masterful secondary roles, remarkable sound work: Vogter, by Danish director Gustav Möller, would have deserved an award at this year’s Berlinale. But it didn’t… and that’s a very sad thing.
Revenge is a theme that has been with us since the very beginnings of the seventh art. And yet, when properly understood, this theme can be explored endlessly. Vogter (Sons) demonstrates this perfectly. The story of a prison guard who does everything she can to find herself working near the cell of her own son’s murderer. Her goal? To make life hell for the man who took away what she cherished most in the world. Behind the camera, Danish director Gustav Möller paints a naturalistic portrait of the prison world, reminiscent of French director Jacques Audiard‘s excellent A Prophet.
Sidse Babett Knudsen, who brilliantly plays the character of this completely tormented prison guard, really deserved an acting prize at the 74th Berlinale. But the jury for this 2024 edition preferred to make a different choice. It’s a pity, because this Danish actress’s performance is so gripping, constantly threatening to explode, and at the same time so full of sadness and despair.
In addition to the lead role, most of the supporting cast are equally well-developed and credible. The work on the sound is particularly noteworthy, as it shows just how much the prison is a universe in which silence does not exist, a place that mixes screams, the sound of slamming metal doors, alarms, and footsteps echoing through long, morbid corridors. In short, this film was unfortunately not honored this year – as was the very fine Who do I belong to by Tunisian director Meryam Joobeur… and that’s a big mistake.
