Cop Secret

Two Icelandic cops forced to work together become more than just buddies in this enjoyably explosive send-up of action movies.

Tough, no-nonsense (and sexually repressed) city cop Bússi is furious when he’s partnered with his rival, cool pansexual ex-model Hörður, to investigate a series of heists. But jealousy soon turns to begrudging respect and something more, as the two become partnered beyond the workplace.

In Hannes Þór Halldórsson’s eminently enjoyable romp, the characters’ sexuality is part of the joke, but never the punchline – mainly because it’s too busy poking fun at the sheer absurdity of cop movie clichés, from English-speaking villains and expendable henchmen to exaggerated Mexican stand-offs. Debut feature director – and Iceland’s former international goalkeeper, no less – Halldórsson deftly adds his own surreal flourishes, so when these cops shoot over the top everybody still scores. Screened at the BFI London Film Festival 2021 and BFI Flare London LGBTQIA + Film Festival Festival 2022.