Carl Lange by Kjell Askildsen

Disaster enters Carl Lange´s life like a bolt from the blue. The police knock on the door and Carl Lange finds himself suspected of child rape. The evidence is sparse, but the investigation takes time and in the meantime Carl Lange´s feeling of uncertainty grows. The policeman, Osmundsen, keeps turning up in order to pursue his inquiries. His behaviour is correct, but these continual confrontations based on vague suspicions lead to Carl Lange gradually losing his hold on reality. The very position 'suspect' makes him seem more and more suspicious and Osmundsen´s desire to prove that this is the guilty man grows at the same rate. How is Carl Lange to break out of this vicious circle? If in fact he is innocent? Kjell Askildsen provides us with an intense study of power and impotence. What chance has the individual against the legitimate right of the authorities to expert power? Carl Lange is based on a short story by Kjell Askildsen, adapted and dramatized for television by ULF Breistrand.