Id:A [DVD]

If you came to this after being seduced by brilliant, involving Danish dramas like 'The Killing' and 'Borgen' then you might want to lower your expectations here. That doesn't mean, however, that 'ID:A' is a bad movie.

It begins with the lead character, Ida, waking up in a French river, possessing just a gun, a bag full of cash, a serious (stitched) wound but crucially no memory of how she ended up there or of her own identity and nationality. Suspense builds as it becomes clear she is being hunted and needs to regain her memory fast. After reading a tourist info leaflet and finding the Danish text particularly easy to understand, she sets off to Copenhagen. Being stirred by some music she overhears on the way she seeks out the musician, who turns out to be not only a very famous Danish opera singer but also her husband. Despite this slightly unconvincing link, the next part of the film progresses quite nicely; Ida starts to reacquaint herself with her past life but it becomes clear that the threat evident in France has not gone away and her brother, Martin, may hold the answers. However, the film then turns from more of a psychological thriller into an all-out action movie, skipping from Denmark to Holland and back to France, slinging in bits of politics, extremism, bank robbing and torture along the way. Unfortunately, these latter plot elements and switches between countries feel excessive and under-explained. Additionally, I feel the movie would have been more intriguing if the issues of violence and secretive behaviour had remained at a smaller interpersonal level (with more use of the 'Rosie' character and Martin's friends/boyfriends) rather than being amplified into generic car chases and shoot outs between various groups. Nevertheless, the film is a reasonably entertaining hour and three-quarters and the method of the reveal - having Ida's memory return in one long trauma-induced flashback just before the climax - works quite well. Flemming Enevold and Carsten Bjornlund (familiar faces from 'The Killing II') show they have more to offer, particularly in the quieter scenes, and there's a catchy cover of Talk Talk's hit 'Life's What You Make It' over the end credits.

If you are still interested in Danish thrillers where people are not what they seem and would like a little more for your money, I would recommend the 2009 film 'Headhunter', also starring Flemming Enevold and Lars Mikkelsen (yes, another Killing alumni [Troels]!) - N.B. not to be confused with the more recent Scandinavian movie 'Headhunters'.

A woman wakes up with cuts and bruises - and 2 million Euros - somewhere in France and can't remember her name or where she is from. With the assistance of a French guy, she finds out that she is Danish and she sets off for COpenhagen to retrace her past. She quickly discovers that all is not as it seems in her old life and she needs to remember everything in order to survive the journey.

A decent story with some twists and turns and good acting, but not very believable and there are also places where it felt like they skipped part of the story either for convenience or because they were unable to tell it more thoroughly.

Third rate take-off of some of the better Scandanavian dramas which have appeared on BBC4. Contrived plot and dull acting; I cannot rate it lowly enough.