RIDERS OF JUSTICE

We cannot always make sense of the events in our lives. There is the domino effect. And the butterfly effect. And coincidence. Plans are made, and life happens. And since we cannot live in fear, we do our best and we roll with the punches. 🎲

Anytime the phone rings, it can be good news. Or bad. Or nothing at all. Or someone asking if you want your ducts cleaned. 👀

A year before Another Round (which won best foreign film at the 2021 Oscars), Mads Mikkelsen graced us with yet another gem, called Riders of Justice. This Danish film follows the life of a soldier away from home, who must return immediately to his family, in lieu of a tragic event. The pain and grief within this story are connected to such beautiful moments of humour, that the humanity comes shining through. And we cannot stop watching. 🍿🎥

A grieving man, struggling in tragedy, cannot connect with his daughter. His inability to open up, or discuss feelings of any sort, becomes muddled into his quest for revenge. And amidst the (many, many!) guns are the actual themes of this film: male fragility, childhood trauma, doubting God, and how a seemingly random (or not) chain of events can take us to unimaginable places.

A team of statistics experts become part of this man’s vengeance-filled journey. And as we meet and get to know each (religiously) statistical turned ‘therapist’ misfit, we come to understand that every one of us carries our own trauma, and then some. And we also see just how much of life is truly left to chance. A scary thought. 😳

Why me, we often ask? The better question is, why not? ☝🏽

Foreign films such as this, tend to give us what Hollywood often lacks. Real people, less glamor, and an authenticity we truly crave. Never mind the subtitles, as most of us use subtitles when watching movies and shows in English anyway. Or at least I do. 🙋🏻‍♀️ The formula of Riders of Justice, which goes between bumbling comedic moments, filled with satire, and shots of slickly choreographed violence, works perfectly -- reminiscent of Liam Neeson’s Taken, with a whole lot of depth.

The grief we balance in our lives is a heavy, heavy burden. It manifests itself in our daily lives often without us even knowing it. 😞 And just as in this film, what we acknowledge, we can start to lessen, and deal with. Life is messy, and never easy for very long. But in between the pain and the madness, are such poignant moments of beauty, that the heart hurts. 🙏🏽

And that is the true takeaway of this film. And of life in general. ❤️