News of Norway

film
worth
the ride
by anne myklebust
Usually, the old adage, “this is the first day of the rest of your
life,” exudes comfort rather than despair. But in the Norwegian
film “O’Horten,” aging train driver Odd Horten finds anything
but comfort in contemplating his future. And he will have to face the
rest of his days sooner rather than later, as he only has one last train to
steer across the mountains of western Norway before retirement looms.
This delightful mixture of melancholy and comedy opens in U.S. theaters
in May this year.
“O’Horten” is written and directed by Bent Hamer, a name which
will sound familiar to many film buffs. Three years ago, Hamer directed
the U.S. film “Factotum,” an adaptation of a novel by Charles
Bukowski, which featured Matt Dillon and Marisa Tomei. “O’Horten,”
Hamer’s fifth feature, is more mellow than the poignant “Kitchen
Stories,” which has become a staple of contemporary Scandinavian
filmmaking.
“O’Horten” explores the familiar, yet never boring, theme of locating
a stable platform in one’s existence. For Odd Horten, that platform
is – literally as well as figuratively – his job. When he realizes that his
future existence is one without fixed timetables or familiar destinations,
the ground no longer feels so solid under his feet.
As one has come to expect from Hamer, the film’s depth lies in its
direction as much as in its dialogue. Hamer has taken great care
to ensure that all parts of the film reflect just how central the railroad
is to Horten’s life. In the opening segments, we see that even his
small apartment lies in the shadow of the tracks.
The film’s well-rounded production package has not gone unnoticed
by U.S. critics, and was described as “aces,” by Variety’s Alissa
Simon, who states that the film, “provides a warm and gently humorous
divertissement that should be appreciated by niche arthouse auds
worldwide.”
The thought that went into the creation of the soundtrack underlines
the quality of the film. John Erik Kaada, described by
Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet as “Norway’s film music
guru,” has done an excellent job accentuating the sparse dialogue. His
music becomes a voice just as significant as those of the film's characters.
As Alexis Madden states in a review for Moving Pictures:
“Kaada’s score subtly influences the viewer’s mood, adding the underlying
magic from which the audience can feel the film as well as
observe it.”
As one would suspect, creating this “underlying magic” was anything
but easy. In an exclusive interview, John Erik Kaada commented
on the collaborative process of creating this unique soundtrack. “The
collaboration between the director and the writer varies from film to
film. In some productions, we literally work side by side, while in others,
one is left alone to make the music, and the director will leave most
decisions to the composer. I’m not really sure which method of working
I prefer. Somewhere in between would be ideal. Which was the
case with O’Horten. The whole process began with me sending a series
of snippets and suggestions on a couple of CDs. Then Bent would
select what he liked the most, and I would work from there. This was
before shooting started. Often I get ideas from reading the script, in
which case I will start recording immediately,” the composer said.
Considering Kaada’s success in Norway, one might not expect him
to dream about working on a U.S. production in the future. As it turns
out, he does. “I am often envious of composers who are able to be
overtly pompous, and create music with a huge orchestra. There are not
a lot of Norwegian films this would work for – “O’Horten,” would certainly
not be one of them. Bent Hamer’s characters are so frail. It is difficult
to find the balance between how much music and pomposity one
can add. Usually, with these kinds of films, it is the simple things that
work best.”
PHOTO BY JOACHIM DRAGELAND ISAKSEN
1997:
"The Other Side of Sunday"
("Søndagsengler") by Berit
Nesheim is nominated for an
Oscar in the best foreign film
category, and subsequently
released in movie theaters in
the United States.
2002:
Director Petter Næss's "Elling" is
nominated for a best foreign
film Oscar. The film is based on
Ingvar Ambjørnsen's novel
"Blood brothers" from 1996, one
of four books in a series about a
neurotic Elling.
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