Beautifully shot, written, acted, edited & directed chronicle of Norwegian twenty-somethings making the transition into adulthood, focusing on two wannabe novelists, close friends.
Much more creative, imaginative, risk-taking and original than similar films made in the US.
Friendship between males is intimate & warm in a way never seen in US movies, where we're too macho for this.
Content is dense & detailed, tho film may appear breezy & casual, which is one of its accomplishments.
But above all, something which isn't even mentioned, the movie is hilariously funny. Can't even reprint most of the jokes, given the yoke of censorship and political correctness around our necks in the US, esp. on the internet. Suffice it to say a punk band plays a song entitled "Fingerpult av Gerhardsen" and obscene fun is had at the expense of politically correct "fascism."
That director Trier, an accomplished skateboarder, got his start in filmmaking by making movies about skateboarding may offer a clue to his irreverence and energy. (His new film, Thelma, is also top notch.)
Much more creative, imaginative, risk-taking and original than similar films made in the US.
Friendship between males is intimate & warm in a way never seen in US movies, where we're too macho for this.
Content is dense & detailed, tho film may appear breezy & casual, which is one of its accomplishments.
But above all, something which isn't even mentioned, the movie is hilariously funny. Can't even reprint most of the jokes, given the yoke of censorship and political correctness around our necks in the US, esp. on the internet. Suffice it to say a punk band plays a song entitled "Fingerpult av Gerhardsen" and obscene fun is had at the expense of politically correct "fascism."
That director Trier, an accomplished skateboarder, got his start in filmmaking by making movies about skateboarding may offer a clue to his irreverence and energy. (His new film, Thelma, is also top notch.)