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delga
Oslo, August 31st
Director: Joachim Trier
Writers: Joachim Trier, Eskil Vogt; Pierre Drieu La Rochelle (novel)
Cast: Anders Danielsen Lie
Trailer
My review process this week has been pretty straightforward, but [Wednesday] evening I saw a Norwegian film that I am having difficulty talking about. Part of this is because I think it is a much better film to talk about at 11pm than it is to watch. Part of this is because it is pretty difficult to summarise.
Or is it? Anders is a recovering addict who, as part of his program, has day release from rehab to attend an interview in Oslo. His day starts with a failed suicide attempt, so it's little surprise when he sabotages the interview. He spends the day reconnecting with people and places he knows, and as we follow him, we discover Oslo. The film is a modern adaptation of a French novel by Pierre Drieu La Rochelle, called Le Feu Follet (The Fire Within) which follows the last days of an alcoholic.
Oslo is the story of an addict, but not one of addiction. This is not a narrative that interrogates the sensation of highs and lows. Rather it is the story of a man who failed to live up to his own high expectations, and - when presented with a 'clean' future, his life handed back to him - buckles. Over the course of twenty-four hours, we meet Anders' friends and see his city though we do not meet his family. The film is shot in 35mm which gives the film immense depth, the day scenes flooded with bright light. Constructed in a mix of documentary and typically-indie film styles, the film begins with a sequence of one sentence voiceovers, memories of Oslo over a slow-waking city. Joachim Trier, the director, is a film-school graduate, and it shows. There are whole interludes when we are very close to Anders, listening to his remembrances in a manner not unlike Scout Finch's narration of To Kill a Mockingbird. At other times, scenes are intercut with repeated frames, or shots from moments yet to come, as though Anders cannot remain in the present but is already thinking ahead to what comes next. There is a whole sequence in a café where Anders - and therefore we - overhears snippets of conversations. This is the cinema of a person who grew up with home movies and well-nurtured understanding of film academia, but also of a keen observer. The café scene does not further the plot, but it says a lot about Anders. We hear what he hears, and so, for a moment, we are exactly where he is.
I don't want to talk about the end of the film too much save to say that when it ended the audience remained silent until after the credits had rolled and the lights came up. So quiet was the end - especially in comparison to the rollicking, bass-heavy third act - that we hated to disturb the silence, instead only applauding when we knew it was completely done.
If you go to see this film when it's released on 4th November, the take someone with you. It is not a film I think you will watch for the purpose of being entertained, but it is a film you will want to talk about. Trier has drawn an intriguing portrait of self-loathing that is curiously devoid of the usual clichés. Unlike other films that cover the topic, the drama unfolds within Anders, not the people around him. He cuts a tragic figure and his disconnect is explicit in this urban love letter. Anders Danielsen Lie quietly commands your attention throughout the film, and when it ends, I suspect you, too, will not want to disturb the peace.
