O’Horten (Bent Hamer, 2007): Norway | Germany | France

Reviewed by David Brown. Viewed at the AFI Film Festival, Arclight Hollywood.

This movie isn’t going to be for everyone but if you’re a little weird you might really love this one. O’Horten is a unique look at one individual’s life. The movie doesn’t really have a huge story that is involved and complicated but a simple and sweet story. The movie is gorgeous looking and has a lot to offer. The audience at the AFI film festival was breaking into laughter most of the movie and silent at other times when the story turns and becomes dramatic.

This was my first Sweedish movie experience and I must say that I am very impressed not only with the direction but the way the story was told. It is in no way a typical American movie. The story falls a bit flat as far as the three acts are concerned but does take a road of its own. The acting is very honest and it feels like the characters are doing so much when they are barely doing anything at all.

This story follows a man named Odd that has been a train conductor for almost 40 years. He finally has reached his retirement and has just one train ride left. We follow Odd through a weird series of events before he can finally actually reach his retirement. Throughout the movie it seems like he is reaching for something much more than retirement itself. He is on a journey to find out what he really wants to do now because he has been driving trains for so long. The trip to retirement is an adventure that can only be described as very, very odd.

The acting in this movie feels very friendly, warm, and natural. Nothing seems to be forced it just feels like we are watching this man’s life happen in front of us. There are very few speaking parts but when the speaking happens it is very clever and thoughtful. The acting couldn’t be any better fit for this movie. The directing in this movie feels like a very classical style. The shots are never handheld or shaky but very smooth and still. All of the shots are beautifully composed and lit. The shots look like old photographs and use the conventions of photography to its advantage. The lighting is very classical and feels like real life. The music is very subtle and not noticed most of the time but when it’s there it is always adding to the feeling of that moment in that scene. Everything seems to fit together well like a completed puzzle in this movie. The editing you don’t even notice because the whole movie is cut together very slowly and precisely. All of the edit points match so well and there is nothing out of the ordinary just again that classical feel to the editing.

I’ve tried thinking about movies that I have personally seen to compare this movie to and was having trouble a lot of trouble. You could say this movie is much like some independent movies that have a very odd and not typical story like Napoleon Dynamite or Juno. It has the feel of a small movie but means so much more than those movies. It actually feels like someone painted pictures with the frames of this movie and those other two don’t feel like that at all. This movie has a style very much its own. It is very much a classical style film in a time period when the time and care aren’t really put into shots anymore. The shots are so well balanced and well framed and well lit and well thought out you could honestly compare them to any of Stanley Kubrick’s films. The story doesn’t reach even close to the complexity of Stanley’s films but the framing of shots and the lighting is just so well done that you might confuse the two once or twice.

This movie is a very enjoyable movie for almost anyone. There are so many great moments of laughter and honesty that a bigger audience should like this movie. This movie probably isn’t for everyone though because there are a lot of slow parts where there is no dialogue but sometimes shots are held because they just look so good. This movie is a must see because it will be different and enjoyable.