The second feature by Danish director and composer Martin Skovbjerg explores the mysterious love of two solitary people.
Sander, a young, employed Danish man, falls in love with Ida, a successful girl from a rich family. Soon they move in together and their life becomes one of voluntary isolation. They gradually separate from their friends and acquaintances to focus on each other.
One day Ida disappears, and Sander accepts a strange proposal from his lover’s father: he moves into his apartment, where he is subject to daily questioning by the girl’s brother and father, who hope to uncover the mystery behind her disappearance.
In contrast to films constructed around the investigation and fact of the disappearance of a character, such as David Fincher’s Gone Girl, in Copenhagen Does Not Exist the main thing is the value of the relationship between the characters before the moment one of them vanishes. Their unconventional connection, which in the eyes of an observer might be compared to seclusion, was full of unexpressed tenderness and deep mutual understanding. Having created an understanding and accepting environment for themselves and developed their own silent language, they did not see any reason to include external participants, whether colleagues worn down by the everyday or sharp and judgmental relatives. Sander admits to Ida’s father on camera that his favorite thing was to silently observe his lover while she motionlessly listened to music. Their life together and Sander’s current lonely existence in the empty apartment are incompatible with the geography of the film. The isolation of the characters creates the impression that Copenhagen, like the rest of the external world, really does not exist. Cinematographer Jacob Møller underlines this division. He offers random views of the city and the streets, either through windows and doorways or in short shots that quickly give way to long interior shots. The strange relationship between Sander and Ida will end and, regardless of how deep it was, it conceals events that lead to the disappearance of a young woman.
Skovbjerg’s psychological drama is based on the novel Sander by the Norwegian journalist and novelist Terje Holtet Larsen. The world premiere of the film took place at International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2023.
The film will be shown in Danish, Serbian, and Swedish with Russian subtitles.
Copenhagen Does Not Exist
Director Martin Skovbjerg
Denmark, 2023. 99 min.
16+