Knight of Fortune is a darkly comedic telling of death, grief, and the like. As two old men meet one another, get to know one another, and experience hardship together, the lives that they once led escape them. They are now tormented by grief and the loss of loved ones.
I wish that the conclusion of the film had focused more on Karl (Leif Andrée) rather than the interaction with his deceased wife. The entirety of the film is about Karl’s progression, but it seems that this is abandoned in the final seconds, that the story quickly becomes about something else. Knight of Fortune has the potential to go out with a bit of ambiguity, but it tries too hard to deliver something hard hitting that it ultimately takes away from the entire film.
With that being said, there are a few emotional moments that remain relevant throughout the course of the film, even through the ending. In those powerful emotional moments I could feel that pain and suffering of the characters, and that comes as a result of the lighting, the set design, the acting, and more. Everything converges in these powerful moments of Knight of Fortune, and they make for some truly titillating cinema. Again, while all of these things come together to make for nearly perfect moments, it’s Jens Jørn Spottag (Torben) and Andrée that make these moments possible. They thrive here in the most emotional of situations, and they do such a wonderful job of reeling viewers in and keeping them enthralled from beginning to end.
What adds to the emotional aspect of Knight of Fortune is the fact that Writer-Director Lasse Lyskjær Noer allows the entire film to feel incredibly claustrophobic. Dealing with small spaces has the ability to make anyone squirrely and uncomfortable, and that’s exactly what happens throughout the course of Knight of Fortune. Viewers feel forced into small spaces, into the same spaces as Karl and Torben–strengthening the narrative and making the film more entertaining.
Knight of Fortune is an intimate telling of what one goes through after losing a loved one. Viewers are pulled into the narrative and provided a series of emotions as the film drives forward–but the closing moments take something away from the film’s emotional relevance. Knight of Fortune is powerful, but it falters in the end.
Written & Directed by Lasse Lyskjær Noer.
Starring Leif Andrée, Jens Jørn Spottag, Jesper Lohmann, Dick Kaysø, Oliver Due, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/10
