Wednesday, July 8, 2009

O’Horten: Here’s a … Who?; New Film by Bent Hamer

Today we have a blog post from Nichole, our membership coordinator, about a Norwegian film that's just come out in the U.S. It's of special interest to me because I have had the pleasure of meeting the director, Bent Hamer, on a few occasions and got to spend a bit of time with him back in '04 or '05 when he was here in the Twin Cities to film Factotum. He was an interesting guy for sure, so I'm super excited to see what he's doing now.

Summer heat getting to you? Take respite in a cool movie theater and explore Norwegian culture! In theaters now (at the Edina Four in Minneapolis; across the country here) is a contemporary Norwegian film by Bent Hamer, a Sandefjord native. Best known for Kitchen Stories (Salmer fra kjøkkenet) and the American independent film Factotum, Hamer once again meets with some critical acclaim on O’Horten, his fifth feature length film.

Described in News of Norway as a “delightful mixture of melancholy and comedy,” the film follows train driver, Odd Horten, as he prepares to embrace a life after retirement. It also features a unique soundtrack, composed by Norwegian John Erik Kaada, well known throughout the country for his work for films.

Have you seen it? Well….thumbs up or down?

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