🇩🇰 WARRIOR 🇩🇰
Warrior aka Kriger (2018) is a Danish action crime-drama on Netflix U.K., US, Canada, Aus, FoxtelNow Aus. 6 x 46-49 mins. 15 Cert U.K. Available with subtitles and dubbing.
Premise:
“WARRIOR is a crime drama about community, loyalty and treachery amongst war veterans, bikers and the police force, with a love story surrounding the war veteran CC and the police officer Louise.” Miso Film
Cast:
Dar Salim as CC
Danica Curcic as Louise
Lars Ranthe as Tom
Marco Ilsø as Mads
Søren Malling as Finn
Jakob Oftebro as Peter
Steffen Brink Jensen as Påfuglen
Kenneth M. Christensen as Røde
Jan Brandi as MK
Niclas Patrick Bonfils as Mik
Crew:
Creator: Simon Pasternak
Writers: Christoffer Boe & Simon Pasternak
Director: Christoffer Boe
Cinematographer: Jacob Møller
Music: Jens Ole Wowk McCoy
Review:
I had watched Warrior sometime back shortly after it arrived on Netflix in 2018, but I figured it was worth returning to in order to write this review.
The cast in this include some of the best talent in Denmark, and that was certainly a big draw. Dar Salim is cast perfectly in the role of CC as he has the physical presence required to be both ex-military and on the “wrong side” of the law. He also looks mighty fine in (and out of) military uniform and a leather biker vest (however I digress). His emotional range is impressive and the inner conflicts his character has come through subtly in his performance.
Danica Curcic also impressed me greatly playing the part of Louise again with a genuine, believable performance. Lars Ranthe never disappoints and he is excellent as the biker gang leader Tom, even though I do feel that this character suffers from being underwritten. Young Marco Ilsø is very impressive in this as the wildly naive and out of his depth Mads. Kenneth M. Christensen is excellent as the immensely dangerous, not very bright but intuitive Røde.
The story being set within a rarely explored part of the Danish underworld, that of the biker gangs was an instant appeal as I’m a big fan of Sons of Anarchy and Mayans M.C. The first time I saw this show was close to watching Dogs of Berlin (German, Netflix) I would not recommend watching these closely together like that. I felt at the time, and still do, that Dogs of Berlin explores the biker gang theme more successfully. The jackets in this looked far too new, just for starters.
However, what Warrior does very well is to explore the themes of guilt, family, loyalty and power. The main drive for both CC and Louise in this story is their overwhelming guilt. The death of Peter is a source of deep sorrow, guilt and regret.
CC is a man who is clearly suffering from PTSD, who replays the events that lead to the death of his comrade and best friend, events for which he blames himself entirely. He is entrapped in survivor guilt. This is the story of his personal redemption.
There are some truly excellent scenes with Peter’s young son, who often verbalises his mother’s “hatred” and her blame of CC for his father’s death. In many ways the small boy is the one most able to let his father’s memory remain but to move forwards with his life. It is he who tells CC how it is really in the eyes of his mother. In essence the events of Warrior allow both CC and Louise to also move forwards.
The cinematography of Warrior is a real highlight. The opening credits (only near the end do we understand the “rain” on the window, although it is obviously symbolic). There is a great choice by the director of what this should look like on screen and the actual camerawork conveys this extremely well. The music is also very evocative and enhances the visuals without being overbearing.
Where Warrior falls down is not the tension that it builds, or the jeopardy that exists for CC and the others, but by a few flaws in the storyline, an over-egging of the pudding to increase motivation for the final episode and a fizzling out of the actual denouement and aftermath. Another issue is that I felt it could actually have done with a couple more episodes to flesh out the character of Tom, the other bikers, the rival Turkish gang and the Italians. Some of these really looked and walked like ciphers.
Overall I can recommend Warrior as being worth the watch within the proviso that it is violent and has a lot of racially offensive terms etc. being used throughout. It is a story of personal redemption and ironically it is Tom, the biker gang leader, who is the one to tell CC that the death of his friend is not his fault but the fault of war.
Awards:
Warrior won 2 awards and was nominated for a further 4 ~
Robert Award (2019) Best Supporting Actor – TV Series ~ Lars Ranthe
Svendborg Film Festival (2019)
Best Danish Actor in a TV Drama Series ~ Dar Salim
Trailer:
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