Counterfeit (2022)

Counterfeit
Directed by	Tor Thorkildsen
Starring	Egil Stordalen Emma Sahlberg Arthur Mjelde Joakim Hoen
Country	Caspiaa

Counterfeit (Caspiaan: Forfalske) is a 2022 Caspiaan action thriller film written and directed by Tor Thorkildsen, starring Egil Stordalen, Emma Sahlberg, Arthur Mjelde, and Joakim Hoen. Stordalen portrays the successful but insecure corporate recruiter Askel Brown who lives a double life as an art thief to fund his lavish lifestyle. He finds out that one of his job prospects is in possession of a valuable painting and sets out to steal it. It recieved two nominations at the 96th Tofino Film Festival; Best Picture and Best Actor for Stordalen.

Plot

Askel Brown, Caspiaa's most successful headhunter, supports his lavish lifestyle by stealing paintings from his clients; his partner, Ove, works at a surveillance company and deactivates security at the victims' homes, allowing Askel to swap the art for a counterfeit. Asked to dinner by his mistress, Lotte, Askel declines and ends their relationship. Askel's wife and art gallery owner, Synnøve, introduces him to Clas Greve , a former executive for GPS tech company HOTE, who wants to work for Pathfinder, for whom Askel is recruiting. Synnøve reveals that Clas has asked her to authenticate a lost Rubens painting he inherited that is believed to be worth millions.

Askel takes Clas to lunch to discuss the job, and soon learns Clas used to be a member of Pathfinder a special forces unit that specialized in tracking people and winner of the Euronian Military pentathlon. Despite his misgivings, Askel meets with Ove to work out details on stealing the painting. Askel manages to steal it from Clas' home, but he discovers Synnøve's cellphone beside Clas' bed. Later, after a seemingly successful meeting with Pathfinder, an upset Askel flippantly informs Clas that the company may be looking for someone else to fill the position.

The next morning, Askel finds Ove in his (Askel's) car, apparently dead from a poison syringe embedded in the car seat; when Askel dumps Ove in a lake, the water revives him, as he did not get a full dose of the poison. Driving Ove to his cabin, Askel puts him in bed and ignores his demands for medical attention, as he does not want the police involved. Ove pulls a gun in response, causing a shoot-out where Askel accidentally kills Ove. Finding Clas has followed him to Ove's cabin, Askel narrowly escapes after a scuffle. Trying to lose Clas' tracking devices, Askel switches his car for Ove's and throws his clothes in a lake, changing into Ove's spare uniform and fleeing to a farm where Ove used to stay. Clas tails Askel to the farm with his dog and murders the farmer, but Askel evades them. Trying to escape on a tractor, Askel is attacked by Clas' dog, which he kills by impaling it on the tractor's forks. Askel, believing Clas is chasing him, drives erratically and falls from the tractor, only to find his pursuer is a stranger wanting to help.

Waking in a hospital, Askel learns the police think he is Ove, and arrest him for the farmer's murder when he tries to escape. Driving to the station, the officers pull over to block a truck reported stolen. Remembering that Clas developed a nanotechnology gel that is very difficult to remove, Askel realizes that he is being tracked through GPS gel rubbed in his hair by Synnøve, and Clas is driving the truck; despite Askel's protests, the officers ignore him, allowing Clas to ram the car off a cliff. Playing dead until Clas leaves the scene, Askel shaves his head and hides his hair on a body, then swaps clothes with a detective's disfigured body to fake his death.

Askel turns to Lotte for help, only to discover she has always worked for Clas, who is still a HOTE executive and trying to steal Pathfinder's secrets. Lotte admits that she put the GPS gel in Askel's hair, and that she suggested dinner so she could introduce him to Clas; since Askel ended their affair, Clas used a counterfeit Rubens painting to meet Askel through Synnøve. When Askel lets his guard down, Lotte attacks him with a knife, causing Askel to shoot and kill her in self-defense. Askel returns home and admits everything to Synnøve, who apologizes for her affair with Clas. The next morning, Askel goes to a morgue to retrieve his cut hair, while Synnøve contacts Clas to resume their affair.

While cleaning Ove's cabin of evidence, Askel is confronted by Clas, who was able to track the location transmitters in the cut hair. Clas gloats that Synnøve has returned to him, and tries to shoot Askel but fails. Askel fatally wounds Clas with Ove's gun, explaining that Synnøve only resumed their affair so she could load Clas' gun with blanks. Ove's home security records Clas involved in a shootout, though Askel stays in a camera blind spot near Ove. The footage, combined with evidence doctored by Askel, suggests Ove and Clas were art thieves who killed the farmer, Lotte, then finally each other after a dispute, and the police ignore the minor inconsistencies because they want the case closed. Later, Askel and a visibly pregnant Synnøve are shown selling their house, and Askel returns to work, giving the Pathfinder job to the client he rejected and robbed at the beginning of the film.

Cast

• Egil Stordalen as Askel Brown
• Emma Sahlberg as Synnøve Brown
• Arthur Mjelde as Clas Greve
• Joakim Hoen as Ove Kjikerud
• Ane Juul Ølgaard as Lotte Madsen
• Mikkel Thaulow as Brede Sperre