''Du Forsvinder'' is a Danish production, directed by Peter Schønau Fog and starring a pretty heavy cast of top Scandinavian authors such as Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Trine Dyrholm and the late Michael Nyqvist. Frederic is a headmaster who is accused of embezzling his own school's funds in order to invest them -unsuccessfully- in various ventures. Frederic claims that by the time the crime was committed, he was suffering from orbitofrontal syndrome, a psychiatric disease which includes symptoms like instinctive disinhibition (hypersexuality, hyperphagia and urinary behaviour disorders). The patient of this syndrome is distractable, impulsive, euphoric and unable to abide by social rules. This problem is caused by a tumor on Frederic's brain which is diagnosed after an accident causing skull fractures. The story is narrated by alternatively showing the courtroom procedure of Frederic's case from the beginning until the final verdict and intermittent flashbacks which help the viewer to comprehend the emotional dimension of the film's characters as well as their motives for certain actions. The director focuses almost exclusively to the husband-wife-lawyer triad and their, sometimes complex, relationships between them. The movie raises some interesting questions regarding the subject of free will vs. deterministic neurophysiology and brain chemistry, as well as portraying the struggle of Frederic's family facing an illness which changes a person's demeanor in such a profound way that even his closest relatives, literally, can't recognize them. The performances are great, as expected by such a shining cast and in the end, ''Du Forsvinder'' manages to shake and oblige the reader to think a bit harder about fundamental questions concerning his own existence. Danish cinema continues to produce engaging films. My precise rating is 3,5/5.
Review of You Disappear
You Disappear
(2017)
An engaging and underrated movie about a man's battle against his own mind.
1 November 2018