I knew this was about a guy sent to prison in Denmark. From the title I assumed that maybe he was a hard man who survived by hitting first and hardest. That is completely wrong.
The film is actually a portrayal of the violent nightmare that the main character Rune finds himself in inside. He is hard in the outside world, but in this prison "the other guys are twice your size" and he has to cope with that.
As Rune tries to just survive you don't ever really feel sympathy for him, but thank your lucky stars that you've never had to endure problems like these [I assume. If not then do you think the film was realistic?]
Life for the inmates is brutal throughout... so don't expect much of a happy ending.
SPOILERS
Rune arrives at Horsens prison after being convicted of a violent crime. The guards warn him that the other inmates are bigger, and tougher, and are expecting him.
Given the title of the film I expected Rune to lay someone out in the first 5 minutes to show the other inmates that he isn't scared. But he doesn't. You don't know if he is scared or not, because he hides it well if he is. Instead it looks like his plan is to keep his head down and just try to get through his 2 year sentence.
There are a few interesting Danishisms throughout the film. For one, everyone refers to their cell as their "house"... which I found kind of odd.
In the exercise yard Rune is attacked by an inmate who says the guy Rune stabbed outside was his friend. To make them even, Rune must attack another inmate known as The Albanian. Rune is reluctant, but clearly he wont last long on his ward if he doesn't comply and get in with the gang.
Rune does as he is told and attacks The Albanian. This is horrible and brutal. Cleverly it shows us that Rune is capable of anything and probably doesn't deserve our sympathy. That sets the tone nicely for the film: I found myself interested in Rune's plight, rather than rooting for him. We are not asked to like him, merely to try and understand why he does what he does.
For a while Rune is accepted by the gang and life is easier. He makes friends with a Moslem man called Rashid, which is frowned on by his ward but accepted when Rune figures out a way to transport drugs from his ward to Rashid's.
This bit confused me. I must have missed the part where they explained why he couldn't just give the drugs to Rashid in the kitchen... since Rashid gave him the money for the drugs there. Never mind. The point is that Rune and Rashid gain some standing by setting up this mechanism.
And then it goes horribly wrong. Rune and Rashid get a bit over confident. Rashid's ward leader finds out that Rune is involved and forces him to deliver a bigger shipment than usual. Then he doesn't pay him.
This part of the film is pivotal. Rune has done everything he can to fit in with the gang on his ward, but when he gets shafted by Rashid's boss they just lay all the blame on him. As one guy repeatedly says "There is no 'us'."
You start to feel Rune's terror as, despite his best efforts, he finds himself in deep shit with the hard men on his ward. Even worse, The Albanian has now recovered and is back.
Rune confronts Rashid who surprisingly says that everything is OK and he can explain what to do. He leads Rune to a storeroom but then locks him in and goes to do the washing up, noisily so no-one can hear Rune in the storeroom.
I thought that the room was one of those refrigerated ones and Rune was being punished by being locked in for a while... but when Rashid opens the door after a few minutes two men step out and hurry away. Rashid goes in and sees Rune bloody on the floor. He tries to wake him but is shocked to find that he is dead.
This is extremely shocking. I didn't expect it at all. It immediately slaps down any hopes you might have had for an even remotely happy ending. Any pretence that there is somehow some honour amongst thieves is also dispelled. The guys ruling this prison are evil and self-serving... that's all.
Since Rashid was working next to the room where Rune was killed he is questioned by the guards. He says nothing, but the killers threaten him with Hot Coffee if he talks - a punishment where sugar is melted in hot oil until it is black and thrown at the victim.
The film ends with Rashid preparing himself for death; then informing the guards about who killed Rune, before being beaten and subjected to Hot Coffee.
So both "R" characters, Rune and Rashid, come to a bad end. I've seen this film described as "gritty", but I think that is a bit of an understatement. It is brutal and uncompromising. I wont say I found it entertaining, but it was extremely engaging. The directors, Thomas Lindholm and Michael Noer, get the balance right between hope and despair. There's a very strong message for hard men that prison might be too tough, even for them.
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