1
Could you go a bit faster?
Faster? You want me to speed up?
Frederik...
Frederik, slow down.
It's not funny any more.
Relax, Mom, it's fine.
No. It's not!
He can't go so fast on this road...
Frederik.
Slow down. I don't like it.
Shit! Frederik, stop the car now!
Dad. Stop! Stop!
What the hell got into you?
Driving like a maniac!
You're always on my back! Always!
I drive too fast, I'm too happy
at the wrong moments, I sleep too much!
What are we supposed to do now?
Maybe we can call someone.
Let's see.
We'll be okay.
Frederik!
Dad!
Dad!
People ask me how well
I know my husband.
But what makes us who we are?
Are we shaped by the judgmental
eyes of others?
Or are only we responsible for the
person we become?
Are we just a patchwork of misconstrued
experiences and washed-out memories?
Don't we have free will?
Is our destiny in our DNA?
In the chemistry of our brain?
In the Saws of nature?
Does the state of our brain determine
who we are at any given time?
And only that?
Then how come we have such a
strong sense of who we are?
That our experiences and
memories are true?
Good morning.
Good morning.
Please be seated.
The case before us today is that of the
prosecution versus Frederik Halling.
Is that you?
Yes... Yes.
Well, that's not the way to do it!
You seem to have forgotten
how to sing along.
Fortunately the fall break is over.
There's no need to be upset about that.
At all.
On the contrary,
it's a privilege,
to reap the fruits of the
tree of knowledge.
We've been banished from Paradise
anyway, so why not fill up our minds?
At our school, you can learn
how to sit on a chair.
Carl, come on. Get those dog turds down!
Frederik Halling is charged with
gross embezzlement
according to section 278-1, 3
of the criminal code,
with a claim for incarceration.
As principal of Saxtorph Private School
he has procured an unlawful economic gain
and used funds entrusted to him to the
amount of no less than 12 million kroner
The money was spent on
non-school related activities,
inflicting a loss on the school
and procuring a gain for himself.
Thanks.
Hello.
Hello.
I'm Dr. Gonzalez. Hi.
Hello.
Hi.
Frederik has been scanned.
I'm very sorry.
A fractured skull?
Yes, he has a tumor
in his brain. I'm sorry.
Will it paralyze him, the fracture?
The fracture?
Will he be able to speak?
There is no fracture.
But you just said that there
was a fracture.
He has a tumor in his brain.
It has caused an epileptic fit
that made him fall.
Luckily he has no serious trauma
to the head... Okay?
But you just said
there was a fracture.
I heard you. When I asked you,
you said yes.
He has a tumor in his brain?
Yes, that is correct.
We have transferred him to
the Neurological Ward.
Experts are looking at him now.
I'm sorry.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
"'Do you love me?'
I whisper.
Because I want reassurance every day.
'I love you more than ever.'
She says gently every day.
'But you don't see me.'
I say as loud as my voice can carry.
'Yes, ' she says.
'No, not properly, ' I say.
'You don't understand.
What you see isn't me at all.'
'Oh yes, ' she cries.
'It is you. It is you.'
'Then let it be me, ' I say.
Every day."
Matilde, sit down.
Is that Frederik they're taking away?
Why are they taking him away?
What do they want with him?
My client admits that he is to blame for
the loss of said amount.
However, it was not his intention to
break the law and so he pleads not guilty.
My client was of unsound mind
at the time of the crime.
He had a condition comparable
to insanity.
A condition that no longer
affects him, however.
On these grounds,
my client pleads not guilty.
Mom, it's Dad.
Hi!
Hi Dad.
Hi, hi.
Hi.
Hi, Dad.
My, what a scare.
Thank God it's over now.
It's over?
Yes. It's over now.
They're going to give me some medicine
and discharge me tomorrow
Good.
You can go back to the hotel.
That's great!
Yes.
Jesus Christ!
How can it have gone on for so long?
Incredible.
How hard can it be to put
two and two together?
It's not.
What's going on?
The school is bankrupt.
It's all over. Happy now?
Happy?
Frederik doesn't bring home 12 million
kroner without you benefiting from it.
12 million?
12 million. Yes.
He has had the school guarantee loans
for at least 12 million.
But he can't do that.
If anyone can, he sure as hell can!
But he's ill.
This dates back more than a year.
But it can't be him.
It must be someone else, Laust.
It's a misunderstanding.
No, it isn't, and you damn well know.
This condition you were in,
please try to describe it.
I wasn't aware it was a condition.
Were you as conscious of your actions
as you are rig ht now?
I remember everything from the period.
You do?
Yes.
But you saw nothing wrong in investing
the school's money without their consent?
I didn't think I was doing anything
wrong. I think...
It's a big decision that you
should have discussed...
I think I thought I'd keep it a secret
in order to surprise Laust.
You wanted to surprise him?
Yes, and make him happy.
Yes.
To make him...
When you... I just want to get this right.
When you did the transfer, which you now
know was wrong, but didn't then,
what was your motivation?
I seems strange to me as well.
I understand why you...
I can't...
I think the excitement was to see
if I would succeed.
Hold on a minute. Excitement?
To see whether this investment...
So you were driven by excitement?
An adrenaline rush?
My goal was to find money
for the new wing.
I was acting in the best interest
of the school.
Frederik has been scanned and a tumor has
been found in his brain.
Frederik we will administer an
adrenoconical hormone,
that will reduce the swellings
in your brain.
And then some medication
against epilepsy, as well.
So you won't risk having anymore fits.
Okay?
You should go home to Denmark
as soon as possible.
They should be able to operate as soon
as the swellings are down.
Is it cancer?
No. It is almost certainly not cancer.
Good.
The most typical symptom of the strain of
the orbitofrontal area of the brain,
is that your husband may lose all
interest in you and how you are feeling.
Yeah, he could find it harder to restrain
his primitive impulses.
He could erupt in sudden bursts of anger.
Or no...
And definitely he will deny any
suggestion of illness.
But judging from the size of the tumor...
You know all about these symptoms,
don't you?
Bernard Bergmann speaking.
It's Mia Halling from last Thursday.
Okay.
I don't know any other lawyers.
I hope it's okay to call?
Of course.
My husband has been charged
with embezzlement.
The police just took him away.
I don't know what to do.
Fm sorry to hear that.
I don't know what to do.
Do the charges hold up?
Absolutely not.
Or... I don't know anything.
8 don't know what to do.
Has he got a criminal record?
No.
Well, that's good.
Yes, that's good.
Your husband has the right to have a
lawyer present during questioning.
The police should have informed you.
I can go there right away.
Thank you. His name is Frederik Halling.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Time to get up.
Oh no.
Winnie.
How long have you been principal of
Saxtorph Private School?
For about 10 years.
10 years?
Yes.
Did you like the responsibility?
Yes, I liked being there.
Have you noticed a change in your
behavior in recent years?
I can see now...
The amount of my private calls
compared to work calls has gone up.
So there's been a shift in relation
between work and private life.
Anything else you've noticed?
I've spent much more on clothes.
You have?
Yes.
I mean...
So we're looking at a potential
personality change,
and impulse control disorder.
Hi there.
Hi.
Hi. Good to see you.
Hi. Hi.
Frederik, we need to talk
about something.
Yes.
The summer break is over.
I think it's best for you to postpone
coming back to work.
Until we're sure you're well.
What?
If there's the slightest risk that
your condition might cause you
to make the wrong decisions, then
we think it would be best.
Laust, I won't make any
wrong decisions. I'm fine.
We just want to make sure
you're well enough.
I'm fine.
We want to be sure that you
are okay, right?
I'm fine...
Yeah but...
Do you want to keep me
away from the school?
No. But you'll be more upset than anyone,
if you make any wrong decisions.
I won't make any wrong decisions.
But what if?
It's worth considering...
Are you shutting me out of the school?
Of course not.
Are you shutting me out?
Stop it!
You keep saying it.
Stop being so aggressive.
Ow! Goddamn it!
Niklas.
There you are.
Why don't you answer your phone?
Get out, alright?
We have to talk about this.
Just shut up.
What about me, huh?
You guys keep doing crazy stuff.
Of course I think about you. I always do.
The hell you do!
And that's just how it is.
You know what?
It's not me that has done anything.
I haven't done anything wrong.
I've never been able to trust you.
I've never...
You try to drink yourself to death.
What's wrong with you?
Don't you talk to me like that!
Don't talk like that!
What kind of a mother are you?
Of course you can trust me.
Come here.
No! You can't just yell in my face without
thinking about my feelings!
Come here, sweetie.
No, don't.
I know it's difficult.
Go away!
Come here... Come.
Come here.
Laust Saxtorph.
You are chairman of the board
of Saxtorph Private School.
How long have you known Frederik Halling?
A long time.
Ever since the board hired him.
All those years I thought
I knew who he was.
In the period leading up to Frederik
being diagnosed with a tumor,
did you experience any change
in his behavior or personality?
I didn't notice any changes.
Were you informed of his condition?
Oh yes, but...
He assured me he felt fine, sol let him
continue his work as principal.
He is...
He was like a son to me.
Can we continue, Laust?
Frederik.
What you have done is unforgivable!
Do you seriously want me to believe...
Laust...
that bloody tumor is to blame
for you ruining the school?
Sit down, please.
You've ruined my life, my wife's life!
Frederik.
Frederik.
Frederik.
Frederik, did you really borrow money
from the school account?
I'm asleep.
Did you borrow money from
the school account?
I invested the school's money.
Why didn't you tell anyone?
Laust or someone?
Ehhh.
The price of copper dropped,
sol started investing in sugar.
But you don't know the
first thing about investments.
Guarantees, forged signatures, Frederik.
Really?
This is Mia.
She's new to the support group.
Her husband has been diagnosed with
a tumor in the orbitofrontal cortex.
This is...
Bernard Bergmann, defense lawyer.
My wife's brain injury affects
her energy, bodily functions and thinking.
We were in a car accident five years ago.
This is Andrea.
Hi. Andrea, biochemist.
My husband had a fall on a
mountaineering trip 18 months ago.
Yes.
He's in a wheelchair now
and has trouble speaking.
I don't understand how you all cope.
I'm very impressed. Year after year.
What you have to endure is much
worse than what I endure.
I don't think I belong here.
I think I'd better leave.
No you don't.
My husband is still the man I love.
His smile is the same,
and so are his interests.
He's just got some
physical challenges now.
Your situation is much harder.
Your husband's injury has you unsure of
who you're sacrificing yourself for.
I...
Mia, it's a comfort to me to have
realized that we're a biological system.
Biological system?
Yes. I am a biological system,
rather than a soul with a free will.
It makes it easier for me to cope when
I feel depression coming on.
What do you mean?
Well, I tell myself this...
"Some of my hormones are acting up now,
or some specific brain cells
are active right now,
and that's why I'm depressed."
And then you put on your running shoes
so the endorphins can cheer you up.
It passes.
Good feeling.
We aren't to blame for our situation.
Yes, come here and sit down.
Sorry. I'm not sure what came over me.
It's okay.
We in the Brain Injury Support Group
for Families read a lot.
We read about our partner's condition,
but also everything on neuroscience.
We are functionally blind two hours a
day thanks to 'saccadic masking'.
The brain eliminates some visual
impressions when we move our eyes.
Otherwise we'd get seasick.
We think we see everything because
the brain fills out the gaps,
with predictions about what we
would have seen.
Imagine if we were such a couple.
Think of something.
You want me to?
Yes, think.
Okay. I'm thinking.
What, here? Now?
But if the predictions of the brain
don't correspond with the situation,
we may make the wrong
decisions at critical times.
That would come as a
complete surprise.
Not due to an oversight,
but because our brain didn't
predict the situation correctly.
What am I thinking about?
Strawberries.
Strawberries?
Berries?
In Swedish it's strawberries..
strawberries.
But no, not that.
Yes it's true.
No.
What then?
Pol Pot.
You're thinking about Pol Pot?
Mmmh.
Why?
The world's tallest dwarf.
Why Pol Pot?
You go from thinking about
sex to thinking about Pol Pot.
Yes.
How did he get into your head?
It's weird.
Mia Halling, you have been
summoned to give evidence,
but as the defendant's wife,
you are not obligated to do so.
Do you want to give evidence?
Yes.
You may proceed.
Thank you.
Mia.
As we're discussing today how a tumor may
have changed your husband's personality,
I'd like you to begin by describing what
he was like when you first met him,
He was absolutely fantastic.
Frederik was a man people talked about.
He wanted to head a school,
like his father.
And then he got the job at Saxthorp.
At the age of 35, he was headhunted
to head Saxtorph Private School.
Yes.
Young for a principal.
How did that affect your private life?
How do you mean?
It sounds stressful.
Did it make him short-tempered, prone to
mood swings? Different?
Most people would react like that.
Under pressure.
So he was?
Yes.
Prone to mood swings and short-tempered
even before the tumor affected him.
Look, Frederik sacrificed everything for
that school. Our entire family has.
Bernard was in a coma for days.
And so was Laerke.
Everyone thought they
were going to die.
It's Mom. Look who I brought.
Linus Carlsen. I thought you'd like that.
We lose our consciousness
if the cerebral activity drops.
When you're unconscious, the brain
gets stuck in the same pathways.
For a patient to
come out of a coma,
the brain must be spurred to explore
other feasible neural pathways.
There, there. Don't be afraid.
Our conscious mind creates
the image of a fixed self.
If our brain is injured, we don't become
a wrong version of ourselves.
Our brain just produces another self.
First it was Gitte, now it's Done.
I can, I can...
I don't understand it.
I can't explain it.
Is it serious?
No.
Well, how serious is it?
More serious than us?
Is it?
No.
What am I going to tell Niklas?
Huh?
To Niklas?
Do I tell him his father comes home
reeking of Dorte from the board?
Do I tell him that?
Mia, stop it.
We aren't...
We aren't going to involve
Niklas in this.
Is that what you want?
Don't.
Stop it!
Okay, is that what you want?
No, stop it!
Is that what you want?
Huh?
Okay.
Niklas. Come down here.
Let's have a talk with him.
Pack your things.
Mia.
I want you out before Niklas
wakes up in the morning.
Mia.
Did you notice any changes in your
husband that you ascribe to the tumor?
Yes.
Three years ago.
He started to come home from work at
normal hours.
That was very unusual for Frederik.
But cutting down on a demanding work
life sounds pretty sensible.
It shouldn't take a brain tumor, or?
No. But he didn't stay
late at the school every night.
He started having dinner at home.
We renovated the entire house together.
The bathroom and...
It turned out great.
We did all the stuff that other
couples do together.
Yes.
To me it sounds like you're describing an
ordinary life. But that marked a change?
Yes.
Yes.
Those were our best years.
He changed to the better.
Those are our three good years.
Bernard's brain injury altered
his hormonal mirror.
And turned him into another man.
They found in him an overproduction of
the mam hormone oxytocin.
Which most men have very little of.
Laarke, we were in a car accident.
Do you remember?
You...
You're going to get well.
You're going to get well.
Laarke.
I love you.
I love you.
What did you say?
You spoke.
I love you, too.
I love you.
Frederik's infidelity knocked me
off my feet.
Maybe I couldn't live without him.
Mom.
Mom.
Mom.
What's going on? Come here.
When an experience is stored
in your memory,
over time your memory of it will change.
Whenever you recall your memory,
you rewrite it.
Hi.
So your experience of having true
memories is in fact an illusion.
Frederik moved back home.
Perhaps to look after Niklas.
Perhaps to look after me.
Mia, can you mention anything else
that might indicate that the tumor
started affecting him years ago?
When you read about...
that kind of tumors and symptoms...
It can affect your sexuality.
And I caught Frederik having
an affair three years ago.
Okay.
And why do you think that had
anything to do with his condition?
Well, I'm certain he'd never have
an affair with that woman.
No.
Had he been well.
No.
But we've heard that your husband had
an affair seven years ago, too.
So how, in your opinion, does the affair
three years ago differ from the first?
Well...
I remember how callous he was when
I confronted him about it.
But nobody likes to admit to
having an affair.
That's not what I mean.
He was callous in a strange way...
Pardon me?
That you didn't recognize.
Yes.
Yes. He was different.
Frederik, when he was well,
didn't behave like that.
Hello, hello.
You must help me store
the groceries in the fridge. Okay?
Yes.
Only about 5% of our brain is used to
create our conscious mind.
Which shapes our subjective
experience of life.
No, go over to the fridge.
Our brain chooses a fraction of the
sensations constantly thrown at us.
They are combined with relevant memories,
emotions and conceptions.
To create a comprehensible experience
in our conscious mind.
These bags.
Yes.
Place the new ones at the back so they
won't get mixed up with the old ones.
The new ones at the back.
It only takes a few milliseconds
to register a sensation,
but up to half a second to create
a conscious experience,
within a comprehensible context.
That's why we automatically let go
of a scalding pot lid,
but not till the lid hits the floor,
do we realize we've burnt our hand.
So our conscious mind always
lags behind the present.
No... Place the new ones at the back.
So they won't get mixed up with
the old ones.
Place them at the back.
In there.
Bernard, you're stuck in a loop.
Going round in circles.
Oh rig ht.
I'm going to kidnap you.
Where to?
Down here.
Mia Halling. Has Frederik made decisions
you didn't understand?
Yes.
Has he been rigid about his
decisions being right?
Well...
The earliest instance I remember must be
our wedding anniversary.
Which was three and a half years ago.
He bought me a cheese.
That was his present to me.
And he was rigid, as you say, about it
being a romantic and nice gift.
Strange present for a
wedding anniversary, isn't it?
A cheese'.!
So yes, I think he began making
wrong decisions more often.
Why didn't you react?
I think I repressed it.
You repressed it?
And yet you can say exactly when you
took note of his changes.
Well, I think...
I thought I was the one changing.
That my unrealistic admiration
for him was subsiding.
We rarely experience and
interpret things alike.
When our brain has a sensory experience,
it triggers associations based on what
is already stored in our brain.
This makes the experience
comprehensible to us.
But as we each store individual things,
our associations and comprehension
are individual, too.
What's going on in your head?
What are you thinking about now?
Nothing.
You're thinking about anything at all?
Nothing?
Huh?
Is your head completely empty?
Look. Isn't it beautiful?
Doesn't it evoke images?
It's completely empty?
There's nothing.
It's just completely empty.
Associations derived from sensory
experiences aren't tied to memories alone.
But also to our conceptions.
Our conception of something can change
our experience of the actual event.
Our actions and choices aren't free.
Our brain uses our stored
knowledge to predict,
and guide us toward what is best
for our survival.
The half a second it takes our impulse to
reach our conscious mind,
is spent on unconscious brain activity,
dictating what reaches our conscious mind
and how we act upon it.
Our choice has already been made before
we experience making it.
The philosopher Spinoza said that
the only difference
between a man and a stone
rolling down a hill,
is that only man believes himself to
be in charge of his destiny.
Mia Hailing. How about his emotional life?
Was his mood monotonous and stable,
or did his mood rather swing dramatically?
The last couple of years
before his surgery,
he could get angry or upset in a way
I've never seen before.
And...
Well, I enjoyed that, too.
He didn't hide his feelings
from me anymore.
He let me in.
Is it your impression that Frederik
was prone to distractions,
such as spontaneous pleasures
and impulses?
Yes, now and then he'd be more
impulsive than usual.
But he bought a Mercedes.
That must have surprised you.
Yes. But it's hard to say when it wasn't
just his old self developing,
because he was impulsive
before the tumor, too.
And when he had in fact become
a different person.
Our eyes only sense.
It's with our brain that we see.
Our brain shapes what we see.
The way we each see, individually.
The same thing goes for what we hear,
touch, smell and taste.
All that we know, fee! And remember,
even what we see in front of us,
is the result of a subjective
mental process.
We are our brain.
We are only what's in it.
The impressions made on it,
and its ability to steer us through life.
Laarke, what's up?
Aren't you looking forward to seeing your
friends? Won't it be nice?
No.
Should we put on some music?
No, I don't feel like it.
No.
Yes. Come on.
I don't want to.
Bernard, don't overdo it.
It's so good.
See? You got her all worked up now.
Isn't it better to see her like this?
That's a good girl, Laarke.
Niklas. Come down here for a second.
What?
What's this?
It's for Dad's loudspeaker.
It's the school's. Did you steal it?
Dad can't do anything wrong.
You don't reprimand him for
stealing 12 million.
But if I take something that's not
even for myself.
Dad is seriously ill. You know that.
My frontal lobes don't work
like they should either.
I'm a teenager.
You sure are.
Make allowances for my brain, too.
I make allowances for you constantly.
You think so?
My long-term planning and impulse control
don't work like a grown-up's.
What are you talking about?
I saw your print-out.
What?
It's on the table. When you're 15, you're
just as intelligent as a grown up.
But areas of your brain aren't fully
developed until you're 20.
The same area as Dad's.
Hey, cut it out.
You can't live like that. You won't be
held accountable for your actions,
because your brain isn't fully developed.
We can't live like that.
That would end in a chaotic society.
Hi, Niklas.
Hi.
Thank you for coming. I'm going to ask
you some questions. Okay?
Yes.
Have you experienced any
change in Frederik?
When I read what impulse
control disorder meant,
it all made sense to me.
Can you give us an example?
He didn't behave like an
ordinary grown-up.
In what way?
I remember once...
I was having a girlfriend over.
And my parents let her in.
When I came down, my dad was
saying nasty things to her.
And he didn't do that before he got ill?
I see...
Did you experience any other changes?
Before, he was never home.
And he was always stressed out.
But then three years ago...
He became fun to be around.
He was fun?
We started goofing around.
We made bonfires and
watched Formula One together.
What makes you think this was
caused by the tumor?
Well...
The tumor gave him like a teenage brain.
A teenage brain?
Like mine.
We became like... friends.
Before, he was just a man who came,
and left for work and fought with my mom.
And that was more or less it.
It's so nice that everyone could come.
Mia has got something interesting
to show us.
Yes.
Thanks for coming to my home.
You're welcome.
I brought this.
What's that, Pas-Man, Pas-Man
and Pas-Man?
Yes. Yes.
How many triangles are there?
Good question.
One, two... At least two.
Three.
I would say more.
There are none.
None?
Our brain puts the fragments together to
form a whole, but there is no whole.
It's an illusion.
Our brain leads us to believe we see a
white triangle, but there is none.
Oh, right.
Exactly.
Am I not right in saying...
That it's our ability to perceive
fragments as a whole,
that leads us to believe we
have a free will?
But we don't notice all the unconscious
processes that precede our thoughts,
and our decisions,
so we think we choose more
freely than we really do.
We imagine that we have a free will,
but it's our brain that instantly creates
cohesive wholes like ours just did,
when we saw the illusion
of the Kanizsa Triangle.
It's utterly fascinating.
I'll pass it on.
I feel we have no choice at all.
It's been seven years since Katrine
was diagnosed with a tumor,
and was told she needed surgery
in her left temple.
Close to one of the brain's
language areas.
The evening before her surgery,
we both knew she might lose
her power of speech.
We lay there embracing each other
before we went to sleep.
She suddenly raised
her head and said...
"Maybe I won't ever be able
to say I love you again."
And then she said...
"If I can't tell you again,
please always remember that
I told you tonight."
That's the way it was.
Just breathe naturally.
You're doing great.
Getting sleepy, Frederik?
Say good night to your wife then.
Good night, Mia.
You can say good night to him now.
Good night.
Take a few deep breaths and you
should be asleep soon.
There you go.
He's asleep.
We'll take good care of him.
I love you.
Hi, Dad.
Frederik, don't pull it off.
Brain Surgeon Jan Sittelman.
What did you remove from the defendant?
This is a picture taken during
the surgery.
This is Frederik's brain.
And here is the meningioma.
Before we removed it.
Meningiomas arise from the meninges,
which are the membranous layers
around the brain.
The brain is intact but under pressure
caused by the meningioma.
Can you give us concrete examples
of how the tumor or meningioma has
affected the defendant?
It's complex, because to a
certain extent the brain
is able to compensate for injuries.
The brain is a big network.
Other parts of the network can
take over functions.
So even though you can determine when
the tumor started growing,
you can't determine exactly when
it started affecting him?
Yes, you could say that.
You could say that.
When you look at the brain scan,
can you determine the exact symptoms
the defendant might have?
Yes or no?
No, not precisely.
So the exact symptoms
can't be determined
by either the location or size of
a meningioma?
Frederik, is your sex drive
stronger than usual?
Frederik.
Hmm...
I think we have a fairly normal sex life.
For a married couple.
What do you mean?
We don't have sex.
That's not true.
But we don't.
We lost the spark after Niklas was born.
But we didn't.
We're just too busy and too
tired at night.
I asked you if your sex drive was
stronger than usual?
I don't know what "usual" is.
Our sex life stopped ages ago.
That's not true.
I've done my best.
That's just it. Your perfectionism
suffocates everything.
Why didn't you stick to
your fuck buddies, then?
Maybe I should have.
After he was discharged,
he tried to rape me.
That's not true.
Yes. It is.
I kissed him and then...
a few seconds later...
He was ramming away at me.
I didn't recognize him.
He was like a horny wild dog.
That feeling of...
Frederik, any thoughts on what
Mia just said?
Well...
We are husband and wife.
We'll make it through this, won't we?
I think I know what we both
need rig ht now.
Stop.
Stop.
Stop.
Come on.
Come on!
Come on!
Come on!
No, don't... don't wake up Niklas.
Mom?
Go back to your room!
What's going on?
What are you doing to Mom?
It's okay, Niklas.
Stop!
Stop it
I'm sorry.
Don't apologize.
You were just protecting me.
Right?
Go to your room.
Mia?
Mia. Come here.
Mia.
Come here.
What happens to the brain's equilibrium
when a tumor shifts it?
Our brain's basic driving force ensures
homeostasis.
That is, it keeps our organism stable.
It's too strong to be overruled.
If the driving force that regulates
our breathing.
Gets coupled with the constant washing of
hands, as seen in OCD patients,
it's easy to see how wrong
couplings in the brain
can push you in the wrong direction.
So if the defendant's
impulse control
is destabilized, could it make
him invest in the same manner
as an OCD patient who washes
his hands constantly?
The brain is a network,
in which billions of
nerve cells communicate.
If pans of this network stop working,
and it doesn't take much
to destabilize it,
it's not odd that a tumor can make
people act against the norm.
So a tumor can make people act
against the norm?
Yes.
Then you became principal
of Saxtorph Private School.
Mmm.
You may recognize these photos.
As a new principal, you didn't have
direct access to school accounts.
How did you get that?
I bought these 12 Wegner chairs online.
That I...
I bought most of the stuff online.
But I was highest bidder for those for
two days. It was great.
But Frederik
I just waited, and an hour
before the auction ended,
a new bid was placed.
I'd really like to move on now.
I'd never have forgiven myself...
To those accounts.
Mia speaking.
It's Bernard Bergmann
Hi.
I called to say that an appraiser will be
stopping by on Thursday.
The school is entitled to all
of Frederik's belongings,
and half of your shared belongings.
I know...
It's dreadful.
Yes.
I'll be there...
But you have to be there as well.
I don't know if Frederik will
ever be himself again.
The doctors say he'll get better now,
but no one knows how well he will be.
He's a different person.
I'm actually afraid of him.
Mia.
I know you can handle the
appraiser's visit.
How do you know that?
Because it's much easier than caring for
your ill husband.
And you do that admirably...
Thank you.
I'm having a glass of wine.
Laarke's asleep.
Are you having wine as well?
Mmm.
How about a toast then?
Good idea.
Cheers.
Cheers.
You're being put to the test.
But you aren't even considering
leaving him.
I think that's fantastic.
Yes.
That's the first thing I noticed
about you.
Your fidelity.
I think the way you support your wife,
and never leave her side is fantastic.
When you've chosen to be with each other,
it can't be any other way.
I fee! The same way.
We're alike when it comes to fidelity.
Not many people could muster
the same kind of fidelity.
That's howl feel.
What are you laughing at?
What is it?
What? I don't know.
Free will.
Can a tumor override your free will?
Yes well...
That's a good question.
Do we have a free will?
I don't know.
Who determines the choices we make?
Who are you?
No, but...
At the end of the day
we and our brains
are made up of millions of nerve cells
that communicate.
In other words, we are pure chemistry.
So we're just following the
laws of nature?
Everything is predetermined.
Cause and effect, causality. Is that it?
It's a matter of interpretation.
I think it's very deterministic to
think that you are who you are.
That's nonsense.
You're not the same man you
were ten years ago.
I know.
Physically, all the cells in your body
have been replaced several times.
Your mindset has changed, too.
You've learnt a lot.
Your brain has changed.
In the time we've been talking here,
the brain has formed new synapses.
In the time we've been here, new brain
connections have been formed.
That is how fast we and
our brains change?
We are pure chemistry. We change.
So are we controlled by our chemistry
or our free will?
It's all us.
There is no conflict.
Let me rephrase the question.
So if the defendant is pure chemistry,
is he accountable for his actions,
if they spring from his chemistry
and not his free will?
You could say...
That the will lies in the chemistry.
If the chemistry is affected,
so is the thing we call the will.
Do you feel that your partner has become
more or less dominating?
She decides everything.
Like what?
Whether I can drive.
I can't.
Whether I can go online. I can't.
She won't let me go shopping,
or have any money.
I can't even call anyone.
I'm going insane.
Why does she restrict you like that?
Ask her. I've asked her many times.
She always gives me
the same answer...
"You don't understand. You're ill."
But you don't feel ill?
Well...
Do I seem ill to you?
How would you like
to be called ill all the time?
How does it affect you to hear...
It infuriates me!
Of course it infuriates me.
It infuriates me when people...
I'm a school principal. She goes on
and on about how ill I am.
Wonderful furniture.
Do you intend to keep it?
Yes.
As much as possible.
Yes.
Have you had this chair appraised?
The designer isn't very well-known.
It's Pierre Paulin.
It's his Oyster chair.
All the receipts are in my name.
We have to find a basis for distribution.
If you shared Frederik's larger salary,
and spent it on Danish designer furniture,
the school is entitled to half of
your salary in that period.
But I collected this furniture
myself over many years.
But my client is still entitled to half,
if Frederik's salary paid for it.
But you can't!
Yes, we can.
Let's go over this later, okay?
Okay?
Sure.
Oh well...
Did you do this yourselves?
Yes.
We did it together, Frederik and I.
The price just dropped
a couple of hundred thousand kroner there.
It's only two years ago. It's all new.
Yes, but bathrooms should be done by
professionals.
You want it to be flush.
Could you keep some of it,
like that,
and tear down the rest?
Yes, maybe...
Go ahead.
I just need to stay here for a bit.
You're going to stay for a bit?
Yes.
Mia.
Nature's will...
Consultant Psychiatrist Herd is Lebech.
I'd like to go into your diagnosis.
Please tell us what symptoms
you found in the defendant.
Yes.
We found an adherence
disorder, emotional lability,
that is sudden bursts of anger or sorrow.
Pardon me for interrupting.
Yes?
Could that be mood swings?
Sure, you could say mood swings.
The defendant suffered from those early
on in his marriage, before the tumor.
Irritability, aggressive outbursts,
unrestrained impulse-driven behavior...
So selfish, risk-prone behavior?
Have we heard about that
before the tumor? Yes.
Long-windedness, perseveration, that
is sticking to a linguistic pattern,
and being unable to move on.
He's shown signs of that, too.
So you're dedicated...
Pardon me?
No, go on.
Thank you.
And finally, altered sexual behavior.
For instance hyposexuality
or perversions.
Can that lead to having affairs?
Yes.
The defendant had an affair
seven years ago.
Could that be related to the tumor?
No, it's too long ago.
It's too long ago? Okay.
Yes.
Good.
Herdis Lebech, how can you be sure that
the defendant didn't have these traits
before the tumor,
because many things point to that?
To assess that, you need a mental
examination done before he got ill,
and we haven't one.
So we don't know if the defendant had
these traits before the tumor.
Thus it's unclear whether the tumor is
the cause of the symptoms. Correct?
10 of hearts.
That'll cost you 500.
No.
This is all I've got.
Thanks.
Why did you choose that pile again?
It has the highest prizes.
I don't want to be here all day.
The 3 of spades... earns you 100 kroner.
The Queen of clubs.
That'll cost you 1,000 kroner.
Let me just pick one more...
No, the test is over, Frederik.
Your mother arranged it all?
All of it.
Hi.
Hi.
Hi. Thank you for inviting us.
Of course.
Have you been to the day center today?
Yes.
What did you do?
You know what? I don't remember.
"You know what" is a good pression.
Our language is rich with pressions.
Expressions.
Expressions?
It's "expressions".
Thank you.
There's pie.
And the little ones...
That's mozzarella.
Ah.
Would you like some?
There are two of them
and that's unusual...
Frederik?
Do you think Bernard is any good?
What do you mean?
Will he get you acquitted?
Ah...
Will you get him acquitted?
If I do, it's nature's will.
We hope the prosecution will agree to
subject Frederik to a mental examination.
That's the plan, anyway.
Fingers crossed.
It applies to everyone in prison.
They're...
mentally ill, the lot of them.
Only 400 years ago people thought...
They thought that the mentally ill had
made a pact with the Devil.
They were burnt alive
in front of the whole village.
Because they were mentally ill, you see?
Yes.
Of course you don't burn people today.
Nor do you put them in prison just
because they're mentally ill.
Based on these
symptoms, I wonder...
Shouldn't Frederik have realized
he wasn't well,
and informed the board?
No.
No. Denial of illness is one of the
symptoms, so he couldn't.
But shouldn't Frederik have grasped the
consequences of his actions and stopped?
No.
His condition made him unable
to understand the consequences
of his actions.
He couldn't.
Ah.
So the tumor made Frederik
unable to act responsibly?
Yes.
Is Frederik well today?
Our tests show that Frederik's ability
to concentrate, his empathy,
and structural abilities are
above average today.
Of his own accord, he has applied for
positions as a substitute teacher.
In vain, as far as I gather.
So, rig ht now,
Frederik is well?
Yes, I'd say so.
I'm betraying my husband.
I am my brain, and my brain
is all fat and synapses.
I am a biological system and so are you.
Yes, but he's ill.
These processes started millions
of years ago.
It's all predetermined.
But you're betraying your wife.
Yes.
But if it happens, it's nature's will.
And nothing is stronger than the laws of
nature. Am I wrong?
No.
We're irreproachable.
We can't help it.
No.
No.
Without guilt.
I've got the result of the
mental examination.
Well?
What?
What does it say?
Let's see.
"Frederik Halling suffers from an
orbitofrontal syndrome,
caused by a brain tumor."
Okay.
"Frederik Halling was presumably insane
at the time of the illegal transactions."
Congratulations.
Hi. Just put it down there.
Let me introduce my lawyer, Bernard,
and my wife, Mia.
Hi.
Hi.
My name's Khayatt. Welcome to the block.
Yes.
Great.
On, shit.
Frederik, give me a hand, will you?
What?
Can you help?
With What?
Raking.
I need to take a piss.
Niklas, help me get this done.
Dad's doing better, don't you think?
Now he needs to pee, or sleep,
or watch TV.
His impulse control is much better.
Don't you think?
No. Not at all.
Can't you see that Dad is getting better?
Let's see just how well he gets.
It's time for the prosecution's
closing arguments.
Please proceed.
Thank you, Your Honor.
I've met the defendant in the
course of this day.
And he strikes me as a dedicated man,
who no doubt has done a lot of
good as school principal.
Still, I believe that he
quite deliberately
embezzled the school funds with
criminal intent.
The defendant ascribes the embezzlement
to his tumor-induced personality change.
The defense has tried to prop up
this claim,
with fumbling evidence given by his
fragile wife and doting son.
But the transaction trail identifies
the defendant as the perpetrator.
And in light of the complex crime
there is no doubt,
that the defendant didn't embezzle
without criminal intent.
Does it work? I can't hear anything.
It's set to phono.
Porno?
Hi Freddy, Nobody's selling porno here.
Hey!
Alright, man!
Freddy, you have a visitor.
Hi.
Hi.
Do you want a record?
"Skylight"? No, I want to talk to you.
The prosecution claims the mental
examination is insufficiently reviewed.
Meaning what?
It will delay the case. He wants the
medico-legal council to review it.
Okay.
The medico-legal council?
The highest you can go in the Danish
system. Nothing over or equal.
The medico-legal council will do its own
review of the mental examination.
Is there any chance they might conclude
that I wasn't temporarily insane?
Let's just hope they come to the
same conclusion.
Do you understand?
Yes.
Is Mia home?
Yes.
I'll go and tell her. See you. Good luck.
Freddy, my man. How would you like a
permanent job with us?
How are you going to survive
without this house?
Well, we're going to sell everything and
buy a boat and sail around the world.
Henning.
Yes?
Henning, enough of your voyage
around the world.
You'll never do it.
Lalalalala.
We're sick of hearing about it.
No, we've got it all mapped out.
We're heading south from the Caribbean...
I've heard this a million times.
Before you come over,
Mia always says...
"Please don't let Henning talk about
sailing around the world again."
What are you saying to me?
What do you mean?
Why is she talking to me like that?
What's the problem? Why are you angry?
We're sick of hearing about it.
Just because we want to see the world?
I don't want to hear about your voyage
until I read it on a card from Fiji.
Until then, shut the fuck up!
Frederik, stop. He can't help it.
Excuse me?
He says one thing and does another.
Our impulses to act are formed in another
area of the brain,
than the area that regulates
what we say and do.
Even the slightest injury to the frontal
lobes impairs that connection.
There is no neural contact between
words and actions.
Are you calling me brain-damaged?
Henning.
No.
But that's what she's...
She says I'm brain-injured.
No, she says you're an idiot.
And she's rig ht.
Let's have some wine.
Fuck yeah.
No more wine for Frederik.
What?
What are you talking about?
Let's do it.
I'll get some wine.
I'm coming along.
It's great to see that Frederik
is well again.
Well? What do you mean?
He's well and that's more important than
your having to move.
But he's not well, far from it.
Before Frederik got ill,
he wasn't like this at all.
Mia, I don't know how to say this...
What?
Maybe Frederik wasn't the perfect man
that you remember him as.
You know?
You don't understand.
I'm just trying to help.
I know, but you don't understand.
Okay, I'm trying to do you a favor.
You don't understand, okay?
We've also heard the defendant's close
friend and chairman, Laust Saxtorph,
who didn't notice any changes
prior to the charge.
Finally, most important of all, we have
the medico-legal council's evaluation.
They conclude that the defendant's mental
state at the time of the crime...
didn't prevent him from being aware of the
consequences of his actions.
So his actions were deliberate.
The huge sum is an aggravating factor as
is the long period of time,
as well as the fact that the defendant has
abused his position as principal.
I therefore see no grounds for a
suspended sentence.
As 12 million kroner were embezzled the
defendant should be sentenced...
to three and a half years in prison.
"The medico-legal council doesn't find
that Frederik Halling was mentally unsound
at the time of the crime.
He was...
fully aware of the consequences of his
actions and as such accountable."
This means that medico-legal council...
disagrees with the conclusion of
the mental examination.
But the mental examination stated...
They say your mental abilities were
reduced at the time of the crime,
but that you were well enough to resist
your selfish impulses.
But this isn't a verdict.
What if they are wrong?
If their evaluation is wrong?
Let's say they made a mistake, then what?
We contact the council, and tell them
they overlooked something.
But that requires that we present new
facts they haven't been privy to.
I've told them everything.
Is there anyone you've worked closely with
in recent years that we could interview?
Someone who can confirm that
your behavior has changed?
No. Well, the three secretaries at
school, but...
But they all work for Laust and the new
management. That won't get us anywhere.
I could go straight to Laust.
No, that won't do.
You don't have to pretend to
understand me.
I do understand you.
Aren't you well enough to know that your
empathy and emotions are limited?
No, I'm trying to understand you.
But your brain prevents you.
But I do understand you.
You have to say that.
I understand you. I understand you.
Acknowledgment of illness, Frederik.
I understand you. I understand you.
You keep repeating yourself.
You're perseverating.
You're not well.
Why aren't you with Bernard?
If I weren't here,
you could be happy together.
Everyone would be happy.
Don't say that.
But...
You'd make a great couple. I can tell.
You'd make a really great couple.
Stop saying that.
I'm just stating a fact.
I understand if you don't want to
have sex with me again.
I understand.
I think you have to leave me.
I'm dragging you down.
I'm dragging you down.
Let's talk about it later.
Talk about it later?
That means you've made up your mind.
You're going to leave me.
I can't...
I can't...
I can't... I can't turn back time
and undo things.
I've said I'm sorry for each...
If I'm ill, I'm ill,
but I can't feel it myself, damn it.
This is a stupid time. We're in the
middle of moving... Sorry.
Now for the defense's closing arguments.
Thank you, Your Honor.
All day we have scrutinized
the life of a man,
whose life was turned upside down
because of a tumor.
Which changed the defendant's personality
and decision-making ability.
I claim that we have proven today that
the defendant's free will,
and ability to act with intent
has been suspended.
The surgeon showed us
there actually was...
a tumor in the defendant's brain.
Both the defendant's wife, his son and
the psychiatrist explained,
how the tumor changed his personality in
a manner he could not control.
The defendant's actions have indeed been
devastating to the school.
But could he have acted any other way
with the tumor's strain on his brain?
Hi.
I was just passing by.
It's nice to see you.
It is?
Our life has changed, too.
We've moved.
We've lost our pensions.
The car...
My furniture... everything.
I trusted Frederik more than anyone
else in the world.
But so did I. We didn't know he was ill.
Then one day he goes to the bank,
and robs the school of 850,000 kroner.
We'd had coffee and cake and had
discussed the future of the school,
and then he marches on down and
robs us of 850,000 kroner.
He must have known it would
mean the end of the school!
What's going on in his head?
He knew very well!
He was a different person, Laust.
The bastard!
He was ill. But the tumor is gone,
and he's slowly getting better.
He's getting better.
He really is.
Mia, we felt sorry for you.
He couldn't stand being with you.
I know.
He said you bored him.
Oh, did he?
Yes.
He said there was no back and forth.
But all that changed, didn't it?
In the years up to his diagnosis,
he liked staying home with me.
After the suicide stuff.
He had to stay home to look after you.
What suicide?
Your suicide attempt in the kitchen.
Don't you remember?
Three years ago in the kitchen.
I didn't attempt suicide. He said that?
Everybody knew.
Everybody thinks I attempted suicide?
There were pills everywhere.
There weren't any pills.
Oh, come on. Mia, for God's sake.
There weren't any pills.
There weren't any pills, Laust!
Can you give us a hand?
Grab the speaker, please. Thanks.
It must be terrible not to be
able to enjoy music.
I'd do anything to get that joy back.
I thought the speaker was broken.
Only sounds came out of it.
No coherent melodies.
No.
Let me take that.
People underestimate hearing.
I don't understand people who spend a
fortune on expensive homes.
Expensive mansions, stuff like that.
But they don't spend a dime on speakers.
The focus is on the sense of sight.
They never consider how ugly
their stereo sounds.
Have you considered electrostatics?
That's a tough choice...
Consultant Psychiatrist Herd is Lebech,
explained the well-known symptoms
of this diagnosis,
including impulse control disorder.
So no, the defendant couldn't
have acted any other way,
because the tumor forced
him to act this way.
The question before us is...
Can the defendant's actions be ascribed
to the tumor in his brain and only that?
And does that justify punishing him now?
Now that it's removed?
No. I claim acquittal according to
section 16 of the criminal code...
"Anyone deemed temporarily insane
at the time of the crime
is not to be punished."
I rest my case. Thank you.
I will set down the case for judgment
and deliver it later today.
I expect to deliver judgment in an hour.
Khayatt is awesome.
He sells these old records in
the parking lot.
You help him, right, Dad?
Your dad shouldn't sell junk in the
parking lot.
He's a principal, not one of them.
Relax, will you?
He just wants to help.
When I had my stomach pumped,
what did you tell people?
About Done?
No.
What did you tell people?
I think I said you'd had one too many.
You said I'd swallowed pills.
You said I attempted suicide because
I couldn't live without you.
That's not true.
That's just not true.
Even though that was the case.
That's why I came home.
To look after you.
So that's why you cut down on your work?
That's why you changed?
I don't know that I changed.
So now you didn't change
because of the tumor?
I think we're in for a tough
day in court tomorrow.
Darling, I did it because I love you.
You love me? You're pathetic.
Okay.
So I'm pathetic. Fine, I'm pathetic.
From Greek pathetikos.
Sensitive and passionate.
Just like our relationship in fact.
I'd say.
I'm sensitive and passionate when it
comes to you, darling. I really am.
I am.
I'm having an affair with Bernard.
I can't live with you anymore.
You're having an affair with Bernard?
Yes.
Our... my lawyer?
Yes.
Yes. He's going to divorce Laarke
and put her in an institution.
Don't you think you're imagining things?
Huh?
Mia.
I think you're imagining things.
Bernard isn't like that.
I think you're imagining it.
After the trial I'm going to
move in with Bernard.
I understand if you feel a
need to punish me somehow.
But this, Mia...
Why do you have to say that crap?
Dad.
Dad.
Niklas.
Frederik.
Frederik.
Niklas.
Niklas.
Do you think he went to Khayatfs?
Why didn't you just jump in
front of a train back then?
So I didn't have to find you
with the tequila and the pills!
There weren't any pills, Niklas.
Stop that!
Niklas.
I can't talk now.
I need to talk to you.
Not now. I have an important call.
Bernard.
Did you tell Frederik we were
having an affair?
He told you?
It would be very unprofessional of me.
Would I sleep with my client's wife?
What the hell were you thinking?
I'm sorry. It just burst out.
Don't go saying that about me.
Sorry, but I have to make this call.
We'll meet again, won't we?
Yes, tomorrow in court.
But what about afterwards?
Whatever you're thinking,
my answer is no.
There's never been anything between us,
and there never will be.
Excuse me, but I have to make a call now.
People ask me how well
I know my husband.
But what makes us who we are?
Help!
Are we shaped by the judgmental
eyes of others?
Or are only we responsible for the
person we become?
Are we just a patchwork of misconstrued
experiences and washed-out memories?
Just pee here, honey.
No, I want a proper toilet.
Dad?
Dad?
Frederik.
Or is everything predetermined?
Is our destiny in our DNA?
In the chemistry of our brain?
In the Saws of nature?
Does the chemical state of our brain
determine who we are at any given time?
And only that?
The Court finds:
Frederik Halling is sentenced to three
years and three months in prison.
The verdict is unanimous.
Please be seated.
The Court finds, in accordance with the
defendant's admission,
supported by the other evidence,
the defendant guilty of
embezzlement as charged.
Notably the evaluation of the
medico-legal council as well as the
evidence given doesn't prove to the court
that the defendant committed the crime
under the influence of
orbitofrontal syndrome.
Therefore, the Court finds that the
defendant was not temporarily insane
at the time of the crime and so
the defendant is found guilty.
In consideration of the embezzled
sum the sentence is determined
to three years and three months in prison.
The defendant is also liable to pay
the claimed.
We accept the verdict.
Duly noted.
The Court is adjourned.