Palle Sørensen — Portrait of Prisoner No. 22 in Hævnen er vor

The documentary offers an intimate portrait of Palle Sørensen, the man behind Denmark's most spectacular police killing of the post-war era. On 11 August 1965, Sørensen shot four police officers during a dramatic robbery in Aalborg — a crime that shook the nation and made headlines for decades to come.

The film follows Sørensen in prison, where he was known as inmate number 22. Through interviews and observation, it builds a picture of a complex personality who became a symbol of both ruthless criminality and Danish penal practice. Sørensen received Denmark's harshest sentence and remained behind bars for decades, until his release in 1998.

The 1989 documentary captures Sørensen at a point when he had already served more than two decades. It explores not only the crime itself but also life behind the walls, and the question of how society deals with its most serious offenders. The title "Hævnen er vor" ("Vengeance Is Ours") hints at the dilemma between justice, revenge and rehabilitation that Sørensen's case raised.

The film stands as a historical document of one of the darkest chapters in Danish criminal history — and of the man who became its face.