O'HORTEN comes from Bent Hamer, the director of KITCHEN STORIES and FACTOTUM. I enjoyed both of those a great deal yet - story-wise - they had very little in common. One is about a project in Scandinavia to watch people in their kitchens 24 hours a day and determine how kitchens can be redesigned. One is about Charles Bukowski's life, focusing more on the comedic aspects but with a great sting in the tail. Given the difference in those two movies, don't bat an eyelid when you find out Hamer's latest is about a retiring train driver from Norway called Odd Horten.
The movie starts with Horten driving the train swiftly through tunnels in a snow-filled landscape. He smokes his pipe and shows little emotion. The camera follows the train in and out of the tunnels, with that satisfying sound train-users will know. Horton barely speaks... in fact he barely speaks for the first half of the movie. He is given a retirement party and seems thoroughly embarrassed by it... especially by the little brass train statue and extended "choo-choo" salute that the other drivers give him. When the party moves to a guy's flat, Horten decides he needs some tobacco for his pipe. By the time he's returned, the door is accidentally locked and he needs to climb in through another window and gets tied up talking to a little kid. It's a strange scene, but a good introduction to the mood of the rest of the movie. Horten becomes caught up with the kid's need for someone to talk to. Much as he wants to get away, Horten eventually is drawn in due to politeness and, later, interest.
Horten is a guy married to his job. Free of that, he's at a loose end and forced to figure out what he wants to do. Hell, life's train has passed him by... hence all those shots at the start of the movie. But, and this is the real strength of the movie, this is never bashed over the viewer's head. It comes across - while being consistently interesting throughout - as just a man getting up to interesting adventures. It never feels self-conscious. The movie ties together at the end, but you're not aware of it building in that direction.
O'HORTEN reminded me of Jim Jarmusch, who gets this sort of realist movie - generally - spot on. Little happens in STRANGERS IN PARADISE and DOWN BY LAW, but there are fascinating characters and situations. They're often wacky, but that wackiness is played straight and leads to some hilarious - and touching - moments. There's that moment in GHOST DOG when Ghost Dog's French pal takes him up to a roof and they look at a man building a boat on the top of an apartment block. The boat could never be lifted off there, the guy is just doing it for the satisfaction of knowing he can do it. Is that happening everywhere? No. But maybe there's someone doing it somewhere, and why not have it in a movie? Life is as dull as the scenes you pick.
Odd Horten meets a bunch of interesting people and gets caught in interesting situations. Horten goes for a late night skinny dip in his local pool, but is disturbed by a couple of lesbians. Cue a hasty escape where the only shoes Horten can find are high heels. He even meets a guy who has driven blindfolded - perfectly - through city streets across the world. Would you believe the guy? Well, what better way to find out than going out on a trip with him? And Horten become increasingly inclined to finally see life rather than letting it pass him by.
In the wrong hands, it could all come across as silly. But, after the initial surprise, it doesn't. In one scene, Horten goes to visit his very elderly mother. She sits silently in her chair - lost in her own world. At one stage, he mentions her ski-jumping skis in the corner of her room and a smile flickers across her face. She always wanted to be a ski-jumper as a kid, and it's only at that moment that the senility breaks and the woman comes through. And that's just one of a number of touching scenes in the movie. And, as through much of the movie, that mood is emphasised by some beautiful camera-work and scenes. They're frozen landscapes, with snow swirling in the wind.
Baard Owe is wonderful in the lead role. It's always hard to judge the acting in foreign-language films because we can't tell if they're pronouncing the dialogue well. Apparently Bergman was never popular in Sweden until after his death, partly for that reason. English speakers often give a free pass to foreign movies, and often have to presume the acting is good. Well, Baard Owe is genuinely great in this one, and you can judge it fully because it's a largely silent performance. He runs a series of emotions with the slightest of movements, depicting a seemingly distant man with something simmering under the surface. The real Baard Owe is known for being an eccentric nut-job who sometimes wears tailored, slightly electrified suits that give you a shock if you touch him. So Owe really had to get in character for Odd Horten.
O'HORTEN is a quiet movie. These types of movies are often called "gentle" but I think this packs more of a punch than that. And I think that's the big connection between all three of Bent Hamer's movies. They meander along, seemingly without direction, but they get somewhere great. If you're up for that kind of movie, this will fit the bill almost perfectly. Crack open a beer or some wine, and sink into it.
The movie starts with Horten driving the train swiftly through tunnels in a snow-filled landscape. He smokes his pipe and shows little emotion. The camera follows the train in and out of the tunnels, with that satisfying sound train-users will know. Horton barely speaks... in fact he barely speaks for the first half of the movie. He is given a retirement party and seems thoroughly embarrassed by it... especially by the little brass train statue and extended "choo-choo" salute that the other drivers give him. When the party moves to a guy's flat, Horten decides he needs some tobacco for his pipe. By the time he's returned, the door is accidentally locked and he needs to climb in through another window and gets tied up talking to a little kid. It's a strange scene, but a good introduction to the mood of the rest of the movie. Horten becomes caught up with the kid's need for someone to talk to. Much as he wants to get away, Horten eventually is drawn in due to politeness and, later, interest.
Horten is a guy married to his job. Free of that, he's at a loose end and forced to figure out what he wants to do. Hell, life's train has passed him by... hence all those shots at the start of the movie. But, and this is the real strength of the movie, this is never bashed over the viewer's head. It comes across - while being consistently interesting throughout - as just a man getting up to interesting adventures. It never feels self-conscious. The movie ties together at the end, but you're not aware of it building in that direction.
O'HORTEN reminded me of Jim Jarmusch, who gets this sort of realist movie - generally - spot on. Little happens in STRANGERS IN PARADISE and DOWN BY LAW, but there are fascinating characters and situations. They're often wacky, but that wackiness is played straight and leads to some hilarious - and touching - moments. There's that moment in GHOST DOG when Ghost Dog's French pal takes him up to a roof and they look at a man building a boat on the top of an apartment block. The boat could never be lifted off there, the guy is just doing it for the satisfaction of knowing he can do it. Is that happening everywhere? No. But maybe there's someone doing it somewhere, and why not have it in a movie? Life is as dull as the scenes you pick.
Odd Horten meets a bunch of interesting people and gets caught in interesting situations. Horten goes for a late night skinny dip in his local pool, but is disturbed by a couple of lesbians. Cue a hasty escape where the only shoes Horten can find are high heels. He even meets a guy who has driven blindfolded - perfectly - through city streets across the world. Would you believe the guy? Well, what better way to find out than going out on a trip with him? And Horten become increasingly inclined to finally see life rather than letting it pass him by.
In the wrong hands, it could all come across as silly. But, after the initial surprise, it doesn't. In one scene, Horten goes to visit his very elderly mother. She sits silently in her chair - lost in her own world. At one stage, he mentions her ski-jumping skis in the corner of her room and a smile flickers across her face. She always wanted to be a ski-jumper as a kid, and it's only at that moment that the senility breaks and the woman comes through. And that's just one of a number of touching scenes in the movie. And, as through much of the movie, that mood is emphasised by some beautiful camera-work and scenes. They're frozen landscapes, with snow swirling in the wind.
Baard Owe is wonderful in the lead role. It's always hard to judge the acting in foreign-language films because we can't tell if they're pronouncing the dialogue well. Apparently Bergman was never popular in Sweden until after his death, partly for that reason. English speakers often give a free pass to foreign movies, and often have to presume the acting is good. Well, Baard Owe is genuinely great in this one, and you can judge it fully because it's a largely silent performance. He runs a series of emotions with the slightest of movements, depicting a seemingly distant man with something simmering under the surface. The real Baard Owe is known for being an eccentric nut-job who sometimes wears tailored, slightly electrified suits that give you a shock if you touch him. So Owe really had to get in character for Odd Horten.
O'HORTEN is a quiet movie. These types of movies are often called "gentle" but I think this packs more of a punch than that. And I think that's the big connection between all three of Bent Hamer's movies. They meander along, seemingly without direction, but they get somewhere great. If you're up for that kind of movie, this will fit the bill almost perfectly. Crack open a beer or some wine, and sink into it.