Knight Of Fortune

Everybody grieves differently. For some people, it’s all too much to take in, too much to accept as real. For others it’s an experience so intense as to distort other aspects of reality, and one that never goes away. Lasse Lyskjær Noer’s Oscar-shortlisted short comedy brings together two men who have lost their wives and have very different ways of coping. Recognising that death can also be an opportunity to start life afresh, it celebrates the beginnings of an unlikely friendship.

Death often feels absurd, disconnected from the logic of day to day life, and the comedy here is absurd too, yet Noer understands that for his characters, the situation is serious. Karl, an electrician, is so deeply affected by grief that he cannot face lifting up a sheet to look at his wife one last time. Instead, he fixes a broken lamp in the funeral home, with less than perfect results. Fleeing to the toilets, he finds himself being talked at by a stranger who asks for him to pass through some toilet paper. As this man, Torben, follows him around, his first instinct is to repel him, but when Torben says that he can’t face going to look at his wife all alone, empathy prompts him to help out. In doing so, he finds himself in a much stranger situation than he could possibly imagine.

In the sombre atmosphere of these dimly lit rooms, with their drab colours and steel tables, something which feels like a farce develops, juxtaposed awkwardly with people in a state of extreme vulnerability. The emotional rawness of the situation enables the forging of rapid and intense connections, which have tremendous potential but are, to Karl, intimidating in themselves. When we finally get to know more about Torben, we might wonder if they’re part of what he’s looking for. Will Karl take a chance on making a new friend, or will he run in terror?

Beautifully acted, with great comic timing Knight Of Fortune is by turns uncomfortable and warmly funny. It takes viewers on an emotional journey that many will recognise from their own experiences of grieving, and when we finally emerge into fresh air, it feels as though something fundamental has changed.