Anders Thomas Jensen speaks about Riders of Justice

The film opens in Denmark on November 19 via Nordisk Film Distribution.

Denmark’s top screenwriter Anders Thomas Jensen (Daniel, After the Wedding, Brothers, Mifune) who won an Oscar for his short film Election Night (1998), returns to the director's chair after his 2015 film Men and Chicken.

Riders of Justice (Retfærdighedens ryttere) is typical of Jensen’s universe and mix of dark humour and action, impeccably served by his family of actors Mads Mikkelsen, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Nicolas Bro, as well as Lars Brygmann, Gustav Lindh and Andrea Heick Gadeberg among others.

A deeper reflection about the true meaning of life, makes it more than a straight action comedy. Mads Mikkelsen plays Markus, a deployed military man who goes home to his daughter Mathilde, when his wife dies in a tragic train accident. It seems to be plain bad luck, until the mathematics geek Otto (Nikolaj Lie Kaas] who was a fellow passenger on the train, shows up with his two eccentric colleagues, Lennart (Lars Brygmann) and Emmenthaler (Nicolas Bro] and plugs the theory of a possible murder conspiracy.

The film was produced by Sisse Graum Jørgensen and Sidsel Hybschmann for Zentropa, in co-production with Film i Väst, Zentropa Sweden, support among others from Nordisk Film & TV Fond. TrustNordisk handles sales.

We spoke to Anders Thomas Jensen.

You've written nearly 50 scripts and directed 8 films. When you write, is it usually material that you create specifically with someone in mind? With this film, was it obvious you would direct it yourself?
Anders Thomas Jensen: The films I direct have a specific universe and a world of their own. The themes are more strongly woven into the story than other films I write. Usually, when I direct a film, it’s kind of relaxing from my day-to-day job, which is screenwriting. I can spend four-five years writing for others, then I come across a story that is so obscure no one else will probably direct, so I do it myself!

What was the genesis for Riders of Justice? The credits mention that Nikolaj Arcel had the idea with you?
ATJ: We were both living in L.A., working as screenwriters. We were working on a show about vigilantes who start revenging injustice in society. There was also a story of a former military guy who returned home because he lost his wife. The show actually didn’t happen; we were both busy with other stuff and Nikolaj had to start working on The Dark Tower. But when I came home to Denmark, I had the magic idea of a man who suffers from depression and has lost his way and meaning in life. I felt the theme would work well with the story I had started developing with Nikolaj Arcel. I asked Nikolaj if I could give it a shot. So yes, the basis for the structure of Riders of Justice was developed with him.

How is your writing process? Do you have an idea, write a draft, then bring it to the actors to get their input before getting on with the full script?
ATJ: It’s funny this is exactly what you describe. I usually have an idea in my head, and sometimes I put notes on the wall, do a structure first. I’m doing it that way right now with Nikolaj Arcel and he’s very structured. With him everything is on the wall before we start writing. I can keep an idea for years before I actually sit down and write. With this story, I wrote it in four weeks! After I had written it, I called Mads [Mikkelsen], Nikolaj [Lie Kaas] and said: can we do a reading? Then I rewrote it, went to Zentropa and we did it.

Like all your films, Riders of Justice mixes a lot of genres - dark comedy, a buddy movie and suspense action drama, but there is also a lot of food for thought here, which makes it all the more interesting. How would you describe the core of the film? Would you say that it is about loss and how to deal with it?
ATJ: Yes. All five characters in one way or another have lost their family and sound relations they had. This is the core theme, but there is a long way to get there. It might sound highbrow, but it questions the meaning of and purpose in life. When everything is gone, how do we find a true meaning in life again? Markus [aka Mads Mikkelsen] is an atheist - he refuses help from everyone - even God. This is something I know from personal experience. Sometimes, you enter dark phases, but if you can connect the dots, for instance you go to work and that helps you feed your children, your life has a meaning. But if you can’t connect any dot - everything becomes a coincidence and turns meaningless. For me, the only thing that truly makes sense is having strong relationships and a family.

Coincidence is indeed a strong and fascinating theme in the film. Do you personally believe in Carl Jung’s vision of synchronicity, or meaningful coincidences in life?
ATJ: I wish I did! There are coincidences that if interpreted right, can give you meaning. Mathematically, there are no coincidences, because you can always link one thing to another. Therefore I don’t believe in coincidence, but I do find that the era of super computers is so exciting. It will turn the world upside down once we understand what we’ll be able to do. If you can get enough data, then you can eliminate coincidence and suddenly see patterns you could never see before. For instance, if you take all medical files in the world and put them in one high-performing computer, you will discover a specific pattern. You will get a better understanding of specific illnesses to deliver faster diagnosis etc. It would be interesting if underneath there was a God, or a bigger force, but I don’t believe in it.

Your film Adam’s Apples also had religious and existential themes….
ATJ: Every journalist asks this - if I believe in God. But I say: it depends on my daily mood.

In the film Markus might be an atheist, but his daughter Mathilde [Andrea Heick Gadeberg] is looking for answers and tries to find causal connection between the events...
ATJ: What is interesting is people’s urge to understand and to see a connection in things. It’s the way the human brain works. This is why when you watch a film, you see a connection with other films and themes. But sometimes - and this is an important theme in the film - you have to look at what lies next to us, such as your daughter, your family.

Mathilde is the only major female character in the film, and the most mentally stable. Is it precisely because she is a woman?
ATJ: Definitely. Today you’re afraid to categorise men and women, but in my personal experience, the women in my family are the strongest. It’s the men who crash! In the film, Mathilde represents normality, and all stories revolve around her. She is probably the most relatable character.

Tell me more about the group of oddballs - Otto and his sidekicks Lennart and Emmenthaler. We laugh with them but never at them. Are they in a way more heroic than Markus who suffers from PTSD, is disconnected from his emotions and turns into a killing machine?
ATJ: In a way. They evolve through the film and get more in touch with their feelings. These characters are extreme and over-the-top. But they do exist in the real world. You rarely see these types of characters on screen and if you do see them in movies, it’s always in serious dramas. I appreciate that you say: ‘we laugh with them’. I wanted to portray these characters in such a way that you get to know them and like them at the end.

Ultimately, is the film a kind of fable? It starts around Christmas and goes full circle back to Christmas…
ATJ: Yes it is. The idea is basically to merge a fable with what you can call a ‘Susanne Bier’ film - a realistic drama. You have Mathilde and Markus who are realistic characters, and the other guys Lennart and Emmenthaler are from ‘my universe’, the fable universe, and in the middle, you have Otto, who is a bridge, connecting everyone. The whole idea for me was to merge the two genres, and still have real emotions and good laughs along the way.

Could you say a few words about your ‘family’ of actors-Mads Mikkelsen, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Nicolas Bro. You probably write with them in mind…
ATJ: I do. I’ve known Mads and Nikolaj for nearly 25 years - we’ve grown up together. They are simply the best! They know my universe, where we’re going, and they give me the courage to do stuff. We always challenge each other to do something new every time.

So far you haven’t worked a lot in TV drama. Is this something you’d like to do in the future?
ATJ: I’m working on a few drama projects right now with Nikolaj Arcel, but it does take a long time-two, three years, and in the meantime, we keep having good ideas for films. I love doing films and the big screen experience. I love the fact that it’s a choice, that you take your car, buy a ticket and watch a movie in a cinema, instead of sitting on a couch and flipping through Netflix.

That said, as a screenwriter, it is fascinating to be able to work on long-form format, expand your characters and universes, so of course I’d like to do more of that in the future. But I will never stop doing films.

In the middle of the pandemic, Danish films are ‘saving’ cinema attendance in Denmark and another Zentropa movie with Mads Mikkelsen - Another Round - is doing amazing business. You must be looking forward to bringing your film to the audience…
ATJ: Right now, we can only look two days ahead and hope that cinemas will stay open. People want to share a social experience and watch films together in a cinema. They miss going to concerts, going to football matches. But cinemas are safe. Let’s keep making great movies for the audience.