The warm and quirky Norwegian comedy DETECTIVE DOWNS was the talk of the town, when it recently world premiered at Fantastic Fest. Besides winning for Best Actor (Svein André Hofsø Myhre), the film was sold out at all screenings, creating a great buzz at one of the most influential film festival in North America.
DETECTIVE DOWNS is about Robert (Svein André Hofsø Myhre), who runs his own detective office, but he never gets any cases. No one believes Robert can accomplish anything and even his father, who is a police investigator, rejects Robert. One morning a mysterious woman appears in Robert´s office. The legendary speed skater Olav Starr is missing, and his family urgently needs an incompetent detective to pacify an affluent and senile grandmother. Robert is perfect for the job. Gradually Robert finds himself entangled in Olav's hidden life and it becomes clear that this assignment is not without danger. But when Robert reveals his special investigation method everyone´s in for a big surprise.
“What possesses a man like Bard Breien to write and direct a movie in the traditional Bogart noir style but with a protagonist whose world-weary cynicism has been swapped out for a chromosome abnormality? I don't know, but I'm glad he did, because this is one of the more pleasant surprises of the year, a film that works as a straightforward P.I. mystery as well as a tweak of the genre.”
Twitch
"Although the premise of the movie sounds rife with possibilities for mockery, quite the opposite is true. Robert is an admirable and endearing character, ensconced in a sweet, charming, and dare I say, uplifting movie." The Austin Chronicle
"DETECTIVE DOWNS could have easily taken a turn for the insensitive or the crass, but co-writer/director Bård Breien weaves a gentle, fun, and warm mystery thanks in large part to his lead actor." FSR
Director Bård Breien debuted in 2007 with THE ART OF NEGATIVE THINKING, a dark comedy about disabilities. The film won multiple international awards, amongst these a Crystal Globe award for Best Director at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Shot solely in Czech Republic and visually inspired by the film noir genre, DETECTIVE DOWNS is a new comedy from Breien, produced by Asle Vatn from Friland Film, which latest project was the worldwide thriller-hit HEADHUNTERS (2011). A touching and entertaining story about solving a mystery in a cold, dark and hostile world.
See the moves that made award-winning main actor a festival darling.
www.traileraddict.com/trailer/detective-downs/fantastic-fest-scre...