Knight of Fortune (Ridder Lykke) is a 2022 short film (25 minutes) from Denmark, directed by Lasse Lyskjær Noer.
It opens with an older man, Karl Bergström, sitting on a bench in a hospital hallway. His wife has just died. An attendant offers his condolences, and leads Karl into a morgue, where Karl's wife has already been put into a coffin. Karl is offered the chance to open the coffin and view his wife's body, but he can't bring himself to do it. Instead he takes it upon himself to fix the blinking light in the morgue's roof—and breaks it.
Eventually, Karl retreats to a restroom. He is sitting on a toilet, trying to gather himself, when a man in the next stall says he's out of toilet paper and asks for help. It turns out that the other man, whose name is Torben, is also there to view the body of his recently deceased wife.
Tropes:
- Black Comedy: Much of the film is quite somber but there is dry humor sprinkled throughout, like when Torben brings out a paper to read what he wanted to say to his wife, and Karl is surprised to learn that it's 32 pages long. Or Karl's shock and discomfort when a whole family enters the viewing room and he realizes that the woman they've been looking at isn't Torben's wife. Or the dilemma about whether to open the coffin on the count of three, or to say "now" after three and open the coffin then.
- Call-Back: When opening the coffin with Torben's wife, Torben and Karl decide to do it on the count of three, and then wonder if they should open it on "three" or say "now" after three before opening. At the end when they are opening the coffin of Karl's wife, they have the same conversation.
- Compartment Shot: A shot from inside a coffin, as Karl and Torben finally open it up to view Torben's wife.
- Downer Beginning: The opening shot is a closeup of Karl's disconsolate face, as the attendant offers his condolences for the death of Karl's wife.
- Extremely Short Timespan: Seemingly no more than an hour or two, as Karl, unable to face opening his wife's coffin, retreats from the morgue only to meet another grieving husband.
- The Reveal: There are two. First, the body Karl and Torben are viewing actually isn't Torben's wife, as Karl is startled to discover when a whole family including the dead woman's husband enter the viewing room. Second, Torben's wife actually was lost in a ship sinking three years ago, and her body was never found, and he regularly comes by to say goodbye to others.
- Smash to Black: The film ends with a smash cut to black as Torben is singing the song "Knight of Fortune" while Karl looks at his wife.
- Titled After the Song: The film takes its title from a 1985 pop song by Danish band Rocazino, called "Knight of Fortune" or in Danish "Ridder Lykke". It was Karl's wife's favorite song, and Torben sings it as Karl finally works up the nerve to open the coffin.
- The X of Y: Knight of Fortune
