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quietearth [Film Festival 06.13.09] movie review comedy drama

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Year: 2009
Directors: Rune Denstad Langlo
Writers: Erlend Loe
IMDB: link
Trailer: link
Review by: quietearth
Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Normally I see "foreign comedy" and I run, but after watching this flick I think I'm going to have to change my viewing habits. A road movie with a western twang of sorts, North is a journey of self discovery which bares the soul of all those involved. Humorous, candid, and well written, North trespasses into inviting territory. Huh? Ever wonder about the "old days" when people were friendly and trusting, long before the days of the nightly news scare tactics and paranoia? That's what this film had, open arms for all of us no matter how f***ing weird we are.


The main character Jomar, works at a ski lift. He hates his life and his job too. His love used to be skiing but since he had a nervous breakdown a few years prior to the story, he's weighted with panic attacks and other indecipherable problems. He'd like to stay at the mental hospital playing ping pong but the Doctor repeatedly informs him this is out of the question. Then everything changes when an old friends shows up informing him he has a four year old son. This is enough to get Jomar off his ass, literally leaving a burning trail behind him, and head North. Hence, the name of the film.

This "road trip" is done on a snowmobile through empty landscapes, but early on there's a telling metaphor as Jomar comes to an impasse at a tunnel, but decides to continue anyway, sparks a flyin'. A "booze hound", he tries to find reasons to discontinue his journey but each successive person he meets somehow seems to encourage him and conversely, help themselves.

The humour comes in the form of timing, oddity and each characters heart served on a silver platter for all to see. There's no problem in translation, every story is universal and the dialogue is poignant in it's brevity. See it if you can.


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