Hawaii, Oslo

This movie got rave reviews in the Norwegian press, and has also been a huge success with the audience. Initially I thought it was sympathetic, albeit very slow - with good actors and some really nice cinematography - but what was it really all about? The script clearly not very original, a cheapo take on the brilliant Altman epos "Short Cuts". OK - the director is in every right to be inspired by great art. But then I started to notice how much was pick pocketed, from the title (Paris, Texas - hello??)- the running character; and the need for a LOT of cash (Run Lola, run)- the angelic characters (Der Himmel über Berlin) - hmmm... the list just goes on and on. Zero originality here,the borderline between_inspiration_and_simple theft is stepped across too many times. On top of this, the director stresses emotions in a not very subtle fashion. I am tempted to call this genre " feelie ", as opposed to the "feel good"-genre so popular these days. Its not feel good, but darn close. The ending of this movie is almost unbelievably sentimental. No wonder people leave the theatre weeping, but this is a response heavily stressed by and wished for of the direction, something I find deeply disturbing - almost unethical!

This movie just serves to justify my life-long suspicion towards the Norwegian film industry and so-called critics alike.

I had heard good things about this film but didn't have too high hopes actually.I didn't even think the first half of the film was that good,but from there on and out it blew my mind!I actually caught myself sitting with an open mouth when the credits started rolling. In Norway we have an expression,the film is good for being a Norwegian film,but this film is just incredibly good.End of discussion!The acting,the mood,the music and the stories are just excellent.If this film don't win an Academy Award, I don't think a Norwegian film ever will.I hope this film will be released in countries outside Scandinavia,because it deserves a big audience.Another Scandinavian film you can compare with Hawaii,Oslo is the Swedish film Tic Tac,which also is a really good film.

This was one of the films that most people kept telling me to go and watch. I just saw it and I really must admit that i don't quite understand what all the hype is about. Reading some of the reviews of it in Misc. Norwegian newspaper one could easily be lead to believe that this was one of the best Norwegian films of all time.

It wasn't bad, but it wasn't that good either. Sure, most of the actors did a good job and in the Norwegian film industry the script was original even though it's been done before in other countries. I feel that the pace was to slow which lead your mind to focus on other things than what was happening on screen. The soundtrack could need some improving too.

Overall I would say its a 5 on the 1 to 10 scale, OK, but not groundbreaking or the film of the century as some people have stated that it is.

"Hawaii, Oslo" is great, moving, well-acted and brilliantly directed.

I think it's a film about learning to love and be loved. About choices, about forgetting what one did in the past and moving on. About both accepting one's Reality and sacrificing oneself for the good of others...

The narrative is not linear, but we can understand the story easily. All pieces come together when the credits roll, and although it's a very pungently moving film, there is a sense of Hope throughout the whole thing.

All the stories within the story are finely woven, there are no plot holes. The characters are quite believable and every scene has a purpose.

I'm planning to see it again (saw it at a Nordic Cinema Showing in my city) to try and absorb it better.

I recently saw this film at a screening by the Desert Film Society in Palm Springs. I had wanted to see this at the 2005 Palm Springs International Film Festival where it had it's international debut outside of Norway but screenings were sold out so I was eager to see this as it had good reviews by those I know who saw it. Eric Poppe makes his directorial debut in this film. He had been a cameraman so experience in filming a movie was there but how was he going to direct this story and it's actors? Well this film had a wonderful cast of actors who although they may have not been individually great actors, collectively as an ensemble cast they played their parts with an authenticity that left the viewer as seeing these as real people not just screen characters. I like characters in a film and this has plenty. The implausibility of these stories weaving together is quickly forgotten and in place of the implausible is a wonderful story that you want to climb aboard and ride to it's conclusion. Poppe uses hand held cameras through this film's shooting so effectively that you forget that this is not a huge budget film with track and crane shots but a simple presentation that when effectively done presents the film in a straightforward manor that can be just as effective. No dependency on jerky movements and fast and stylistic camera movement but instead on honest presentation transcribed to film. The sound in this film is outstanding as well. Many films demand great acting performances to carry an other wise weak script. This film had good acting performances delivered from a balanced script. This is a psychological drama and a very good film and I would rate it a 8.0 of a possible 10 and highly recommend it.