What is the cost of a momentary lapse in the sterile, cold world of medicine that demands perfection? Danish director Zinnini Elkington takes us to the darkest corners of this question in her debut feature film Second Victims (Det andet offer). One of the most talked-about productions of 2025, this film shifts the focus from the patient to the professional crushed under the weight of the error made.
Here’s an Apartment No:26 review of this high-tension psychological drama that incisively probes the hidden wounds of the modern healthcare system:
In most medical dramas, we see doctors as heroes and errors as tragic obstacles. But Second Victims turns its lens on the real psychological phenomenon known as “Second Victim Syndrome.” When a medical error occurs, the patient is the first victim; the healthcare worker who made the mistake—living with lifelong guilt, trauma, and career-ending doubts—is the “second victim.”
A 92-Minute Court of Conscience
The film’s story revolves around successful neurologist Dr. Alexandra, working in a chaotic Danish hospital plagued by understaffing. Alexandra dismisses a young man with a routine headache complaint as a simple case due to workload and time pressure, sending him home. When the young man suffers a brain hemorrhage and falls into a coma, Alexandra’s life enters a 92-minute phase of professional and personal collapse.
The film depicts a relentless internal trial—not in a courtroom, but in Alexandra’s own mind and the hospital’s sterile corridors.
Why Watch It? A Masterpiece of Hyper-Realism
Özlem Sağlanmak’s Towering Performance: Lead actress Özlem Sağlanmak portrays the transformation of professional arrogance into trembling vulnerability through physical changes alone, without needing words. This performance earned her the 2025 Ove Sprogøe Prize.
Systemic Critique: There is no single “villain” in the film. The true antagonist is the bureaucratic and administrative system that forces doctors to work beyond human limits and abandons them when errors occur.
Visual Language and “Anxiety Aesthetics”: Director Elkington rejects the usual cold blues and grays of hospitals. Instead, she uses bright oranges, yellows, and reds to create a paradoxical sense of anxiety in a sterile environment.
A New Trend in 2025 Cinema: “Burnout” Aesthetics
Second Victims stands at the forefront of 2025’s rising film trend: “Institutional Trauma Drama.” These productions focus on the psychological devastation systems (hospitals, tech giants, educational institutions) inflict on employees, rather than individual weaknesses.
“The modern viewer no longer wants flawless heroes but real professionals who make mistakes, fear, and are crushed between the gears of the system.”
Apartment No:26 Note
Second Victims is not just a medical thriller; it is also a harsh manifesto on empathy. If you love high-paced, character-driven films with intellectual depth like The Bear, Tár, or A Hijacking, this production will be a masterpiece for you.
This award-winning gem of Danish cinema poses that difficult question—one that will linger in your mind for days after it ends: Is it possible to remain human in a profession where there is no right to make mistakes?
