In Order Of Disappearance (5 Stars)

This is an utterly amazing film that stars Bruno Ganz and Stellan Skarsgard. The idea behind the story is something that's been filmed many times before, but the story's setting makes it unique.

Nils Dickman is a highly respected snow plough driver in a small Norwegian village. His son Ingvar works at the small local airport. Everything seems peaceful, but there are crime syndicates at work. Two gangs are distributing heroin, and they've reached an agreement to divide the area between them. One gang is ruled by a young Norwegian businessman who calls himself the Count. The other is ruled by an elderly Serb who calls himself Papa.

Both gangs bring their drugs into Norway through the same airport. One of the airport staff steals a bag of heroin. The Count incorrectly suspects Ingvar and kills him by injecting him with heroin. When the police find him they treat it as an accidental death, but Nils is certain that his son wasn't an addict. He investigates, and he manages to kill three of the Count's men. But that isn't enough. He wants to kill the Count himself.

The Count has no idea who's attacking him, so he assume it's the Serbians trying to wrest control of his area. He kills a drug courier, not knowing that it's Papa's son. This sparks an all out war between the two gangs, with Nils caught in the middle.

Some reviewers call this film a black comedy. That's not true. There's nothing at all funny about what happens in the film. However, the film is given a slight comedic element by keeping a tally of the deaths. Every time someone is killed his name is presented on the screen with a cross. In most cases we didn't even know the name of the person before his name is written.

Maybe the reviewers find the film amusing because the main character spends most of his time driving around in his snow plough. That's hardly a suitable vehicle for a man on a killing spree. I can appreciate the absurdity of the situation, but it's not meant to be funny. We see that anyone can seek vengeance, even a snow plough driver.

Stellan Skarsgard and the late Bruno Ganz are both superb actors. Seeing them side by side is a pleasure. I don't recognise any of the other actors, most of them Norwegian or Danish, but they're all highly skilled. The film can't be faulted.

"In Order of Disappearance" has been remade in America as "Cold Pursuit". I missed it when it was in the cinema. I'll have to look for it now, to see if the remake is successful.

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