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Reviews
Heftig og begeistret (2001)
The Little Things
Sometimes it's easy to forget the little things in life. There are so many things to keep us busy and to keep us moving along, with little time to pause for a break. As a college student in the United States, I often am kept very busy and being near a city, it's easy to forget a lot of important things. Obviously the culture in Norway is different, but I feel that the idea still applies. "Cool and Crazy" is a documentary about a group of men in a choir in a small town in Finnmark, in the northern part of Norway. I wasn't the biggest fan of the film, but I tried to understand why it would be a popular film and why others found it important.
This town in Finnmark was relatively isolated and untouched by some aspects of urban culture. It seemed to be mainly inhabited by elderly couples or single people. The choir is obviously a very important part of the community, and the documentary focused mainly on the choir. It was very different to the documentaries that I'm accustomed to seeing though. Everything was filmed with a hand-held camera on location. There were no interviews in studios or computer-generated sequences. I felt like this made it so much more real than what I'm used to seeing. The singing scenes were set up, but it seemed as though everything else was filmed as it was. They interviewed the men in their own homes, so the men continued to go about their daily life and talk to the camera about whatever they wished.
The film captured a number of aspects of life that seem to be often overlooked, but that are a part of daily life nevertheless. Personally, I don't see why it was necessary to film an elderly man in his bath tub or to go look in a man's closet, but it's true that those are parts of daily life. Everything seems much simpler in the film and life seems so much simpler. It seems that the men that were filmed had the time to do what they wanted and weren't pressured by society like so many people are today. They made sure to appreciate the little things in life.
The fact that the entire film was about older men was very different, because most films aren't about the elderly. It gave the viewer a different perspective. We are able to see more about their lives and what it's like living in an isolated town in northern Norway. It has a sort of mystical feel to it, the fact that it's so far removed from anything else. It seems as though it could also be a bit nerve-wracking, being in a tiny fishing village in northern Norway where it can obviously get extremely cold. To me, it doesn't seem like the most "comfortable" place to live, but everybody in the film seems extremely happy with where they are. It could very well be something that is just difficult for some people to understand if they've never experienced it.
As a native English speaker with only some knowledge of Norwegian, I found it difficult to understand a lot of what was going on, and I feel that a large part of what they were saying may have been lost in translation. A lot of what happened didn't make sense to me, which could be why I didn't like it very much. There didn't seem to be any sort of storyline at all, other than that the choir was going to go to Murmansk. Most documentaries seem to have an educational goal or idea, whereas "Cool and Crazy", as far as I could tell, was extremely random and followed no storyline. To be blunt, it was simply a mix of stories and interviews from a group of men who sing in a choir together and then get on a bus to go sing in Murmansk.
"Cool and Crazy" does a good job at portraying the normal, daily lives of the men in the choir and showing how some of the little things in life can be important too. That being said, it is certainly not a very gripping film. It really does show the daily lives of a number of men, and from my point of view, these men don't have extremely exciting lives. It's not something I would enjoy watching for an extended period of time. While it may be interesting to some people and have important cultural value to some people, I did not find it entertaining, gripping, or educational.
deUsynlige (2008)
A Second Chance
"Troubled Water" is a film that encourages viewers to think about truth, forgiveness, and second chances. Jan is seeking to start a new life after he is released from prison for a crime he says he didn't commit, and so he finds a job as an organist in a church. He was imprisoned for the murder of a four-year-old boy, and later on in the film, the viewers meet the family of the boy that died. It isn't until later in the film that the two sides of the story meet and the story becomes clear, so the viewers spend a large part of the film wondering what actually happened to the boy that died. Director Erik Poppe uses flashbacks to show bits and pieces of what happened, but not the full story until later. This method of releasing information little by little can create feelings of suspense, but can also cause confusion and frustration.
Poppe often jumps back and forth between parts of a story. It was very common in another of his films, "Hawaii, Oslo" and is prevalent in this film as well. The film starts with Jan's story about starting his new life and seeking a second chance, and then dives in to Agnes's story about what her life has been like after her son died. Jumping around from story to story causes suspense, which can be good, but it also frustrated me. I couldn't believe that Jan would leave Jens on his own with the bike, after everything Jan had been through, going to prison, and now starting his life over again. It seemed to me that Jan was being extremely reckless in that scene, and it frustrated me even more when Poppe didn't show us what happened until much later. This very well could have been his intention, to create suspense, but I found it almost annoying. It makes it difficult to discern the truth.
"Truth" is also used in a religious sense in the film, when Jan and Anna are discussing religious matters and what they believe in. Jan is trying to find some truth within himself, as far as where he belongs and what his place is in the world. Playing organ for a church seems to have an interesting impact on him, while he begins a new life and is surrounded by Christians. Eventually he joins in and receives Communion. Agnes is also searching for a truth, because she wants to know what really happened and is unwilling to forgive Jan.
Forgiveness is something that Jan and Agnes are both struggling with. Jan discusses forgiveness with Anna. Agnes is unwilling to forgive Jan for what he did, partially because she doesn't know exactly what happened, but also because she believes he killed her son, which would be unforgivable. Agnes's husband, Jon, is more willing to move on with life and let it go, and he is able to provide a voice of reason for Agnes, who goes out of control toward the end of the film. It was hard for me to watch the part where Agnes takes Jens away from Jan. At first it seems like she's taking him just to get back at Jan, because she's in a terrible mood and is being rather irrational. It seems to be a classic case of "two wrongs don't make a right". I thought that Agnes was moving too quickly and out of control, and it seemed like she was going to cause more trouble. Eventually it becomes clear that she was trying to protect Jens, in a way, but I think she did more harm than good.
Jan is given a second chance to do something good with his life when he is released from prison to go play organ at a church. Although we later find out that he did essentially kill the young boy, the people at the church are willing to let him work there, to give him a second chance. In one scene, Agnes is upset with the church for allowing him to work there. The man from the church says that he is not defending Jan's previous actions, but there is no better place for him to receive a second chance than at the church. Agnes still struggles with what Jan did do her son though, and she won't forgive him or give him a second chance.
Erik Poppe encourages viewers to think about their own lives and what is important. He uses truth and forgiveness to encourage thought and reflection. I found "Troubled Water" to be a wonderful catalyst for reflection on my own life, although there were various aspects of the film that I was rather annoyed with, specifically jumping between stories and Agnes's rash action. Nevertheless, Poppe delivered an entertaining and thought-provoking film with a good story to tell.
Elling (2001)
There's some "Elling" in everyone.
"Elling" is a film with the potential to resonate in a variety of audiences, with people from all over the world, from various cultural, social, and economic backgrounds. It deals with universal issues that are not restricted to Oslo, Norway, or anywhere else in the world for that matter. Director Peter Næss does an excellent job of portraying common issues of anxiety, shyness, and confusion in social situations in his characters Elling and Kjell Bjarne. Elling and Kjell Bjarne can teach us a thing or two about the way we think about society and the world today, and maybe even something about ourselves.
It's important to note that while both main characters are socially inexperienced, neither of them has a documented disability of any kind. All we know is that they lived extremely sheltered lives, and now that they are adults they must learn to fend for themselves as everybody else does. They're normal people, just like everyone else, they've just been sheltered and are therefore nervous about stepping out into the world outside. Everybody gets nervous in new situations. Most people don't experience it to the same extent as Elling and Kjell Bjarne, but it's something most people can relate to on some level.
Society today often looks down on people who are unable to cope with certain social situations or who can't live on their own, unless they have some sort of disability. It seems that we tend to think that they are less deserving than so-called "normal" people. The film does a good job of portraying them as portraying them as "normal" people with a variety of social anxiety issues due to their sheltered lives. We are meant sympathize and relate to the characters as opposed to look down on them. The film seems to be a realistic portrayal of the welfare system in Norway, and might be very different to what an international audience is accustomed to.
After living in an institution for a few years, Elling and Kjell Bjarne are given an apartment and a stipend, funded by the Norwegian government, in order to assimilate into the world outside the institution. They're trying to prove that Elling and Kjell Bjarne can live on their own and become fully functioning members of society. Their social worker, Frank Asli, can be rather harsh and demanding, but he succeeds in helping Elling and Kjell Bjarne adapt to the world outside their institution, so one could say that his methods are effective. In Norway's welfare system, everybody is given a chance to live the fullest life possible, and programs are often funded by the state in order to provide equal opportunities.
It's important to note that the institution placed Elling and Kjell Bjarne in an apartment together, so that they can help each other with their issues. They each have their own strengths and can help each other with different things. At first, Kjell Bjarne is more comfortable going out in public, so he does the shopping and eventually gets Elling to accompany him to the café for pork and gravy. Elling struggles with going out in public until he finds something that he can do for himself, when he decides to go to a "poetry meeting". He wants to prove to Kjell Bjarne that he can do things on his own too. Elling wants to be the more responsible, sophisticated one. They set examples for each other to follow, and each one wants to be able to do what the other one can, so they essentially end up teaching and learning together about their new world in Oslo.
"Elling" is a film that almost everyone can relate to. Almost everybody gets nervous in certain situations, whether it's public speaking, flying, going on a ship, or just going to the grocery store. Because Elling and Kjell Bjarne have no documented ability, it's easier for the audience to relate to the characters and to see a little bit of the characters in themselves. It's easy for the audience to laugh along with the characters as they adventure in their new world. It can also provoke thoughts about the way that society deals with people like Elling and Kjell Bjarne, how people view them on the street, and how the government treats them. In the film, they receive support from the government, and reactions to the welfare system in Norway can vary depending on where a viewer is from. Perhaps one of the most important aspects of the film, however, is the importance of working together as a team. Elling and Kjell Bjarne are in this situation together, and they eventually are able to overcome their differences to work together and begin to find their place in the world.