Oscar-nominated co-writer of The Worst Person in the World, screenwriter and director Eskil Vogt talked about his new drama-thriller Copenhagen Does Not Exist and the film’s story and human nature. The Danish film premiered at the Rotterdam International Film Festival and was nominated in the ‘Best Nordic Film’ category at the Göteborg Film Festival 2023, but the prize goes to Unruly, directed by Malou Reymann.
The film tells the story of a young woman named Ida who disappears without a trace. Her boyfriend voluntarily lets himself be locked up to be questioned by Ida’s father and brother, but Sander does not tell the whole truth.
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Vogt, 48, talked about what the movie wanted to say about human relationships and said that film has many delicacies at once. The writer told Variety.
‘‘So many movies, because of how the culture has changed, are trying to be very clear cut. This one dares to show that humans can be complex and paradoxical, egotistical and gentle. We are f****d up beings.’’
‘It’s a Story About Isolation’
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Vogt stated that he is happy that the pandemic period is over, as it was very difficult to shoot a movie during the quarantine period. In addition, he said that Copenhagen Does Not Exist is about isolation and the feeling of being stuck.
The director of the film, Martin Skovbjerg, emphasized that the movie tells the story of complex characters with various emotions, so casting is critical. He said that the chemistry between the lead roles was creative.
‘‘It’s a story about isolation, about spending time in your apartment. It seemed so exotic: such a radical, weird thing to do. But then the pandemic came. The world caught up with the script, in a way.’’
Vogt said that the relationship between the two characters is open to interpretation, can be criticized as toxic or passionate love, and that he finds strong characters boring.
‘‘I needed someone who could just close his eyes and remember things, and you would see them. Jonas (Sander) can do that, so can Angela (Ida). Together, they are creating a new world. Sander begins to understand who he really is, through Ida, and by letting go of the norms.’’
Before director Joachim Trier’s critically acclaimed The Worst Person in the World, Eskil Vogt wrote the screenplay for Thelma, Oslo: 31st August, and both wrote and directed the highly praised 2021 film The Innocents.
‘‘I hate the term strong character because they are usually boring. You need vulnerability, you need faults. But Ida is a strong character, because you can’t forget her. They talk about her all the time. She talks to you too in the movie.’’
Copenhagen Does Not Exist cast includes Zlatko Buric (Triangle of Sadness), Angela Bundalovic (Copenhagen Cowboy), Christopher Læssø (The Square), and Jonas Holst Schmidt. The film will be released in selected theaters on Feb. 9.
