Robert Hansen (Jakob Cedergren), a young police officer from Copenhagen, is transferred against his will to the small town of Skarrild in Southern Jutland as a substitute marshall. The transfer is Robert’s chance to start over. Whether he is allowed to return to his job in Copenhagen, all depends on how well he performs in this frontier town. But Robert has a hard time understanding the locals and their uncivilized approach to law and order. In a town where everyone knows everyone, people like to take care of things themselves. Robert is approached by the irresistible and mysterious Ingelise (Lene Maria Christensen) who convinces him to help her get away from her abusive husband, Jørgen (Kim Bodnia). Robert’s involvement results in a direct confrontation with Jørgen who also happens to be a prominent and intimidating town figurehead. In order to get things done, Robert succumbs to the unwritten rules of this frontier marshland making use of the uncivilized norms and practices he previously found so difficult to understand. Meanwhile, all hope of returning to Copenhagen seems to sink deeper and deeper into the marshes of Southern Jutland and a state “terrible happiness” emerges. TERRIBLY HAPPY is a dramatic and grotesque fable about abandoning one’s morals in order to achieve security and belonging.

It sounded like a western, I thought. A foreigner-comes-to-town-and-all-hell-breaks-loose story. Not that I’m particularly interested in westerns but here was a story that spoke my native language. The characters were strangely familiar and the landscape more immediate, than anything I’d worked on before. I had been looking for a story from my local area and here was finally a story where the setting was more than just a spectacular backdrop, but where nature also played the part of a dramatic co-narrator. The story unfolds on the fat marshlands of Southern Jutland. The characters are reflected in this somber landscape, in the way they engage their surroundings. People in these small towns live by their own rules and moral values which may seem absurd and introverted. Like the landscape, this behavior can be experienced as hostile by outsiders. The connection between the marshes and local attitudes is symbolic. For example, you don’t have to invite someone in or that one can be silently cordial. In this way, outsiders can either adapt, or disappear.