Detektor

For those who don't know: Norwegian filmindustry is very miserable for the moment.Changes have been demanded from media and from the audience. But nothing happens. Until now! Detektor is brand new, it is made by a young crew.The director,writer and the actors as well,are having their debut with this film.The writer,Erlend Loe,is a cult-novelist in Norway. His naive style has captured lots and lots of youngsters, and this movie follows the trend.

The movie is about Daniel Jor,a young shrink,who has a hobby for walking around with a metaldetector.He searches for metallic items in the soil,but maybe he's on the search for more.. (I can't tell)

It's hilarious,it's sad.It's dramatic and thrilling.And on top of it all; it's surprising! Welcome to the movie of the year. And I'm sure it'll be a hit. Maybe beyond norwegian borders as well...

When people think of European cinema they almost immediately will think of Spain or France, but have you ever thought of the Scandinavian countries as being a source of good and interesting movies? You probably already heard of Ingmar Bergman and the Dogme rules, but there are more Scandinavians who know how to make a good movie. The Norwegian Pål Jackman (I admit that he was a complete stranger to me as well) has made with "Detektor" a very enjoyable and intelligent comedy / drama. I really hope he'll make more movies in the near future.

This movie is about two friends who have only one thing in common. Daniel is 28 years old, still lives with his mother and works as a psychiatrist. His friend Ronny lives on his own and has his own radio station (if you can call it that) called 'Radio Illegal. Both share the passion for walking around with a metal detector, searching for some valuables in the ground. One day they find a little jewel with the name Janne engraved in it. Because Daniel wants to give it back to its rightful owner, he makes Ronny announce it on the radio. Soon a woman reacts and she comes to collect the jewel. Meeting her changes Daniel's life completely and eventually he'll find out a lot of hidden secrets about his life and the lives of the ones that he loves.

The story is good and has some surprising twists to offer. The acting is certainly more than just OK and the same can be said about the humor, although I don't know if it will always be understood by people who don't know much about Scandinavia (For instance the jokes about the Laps or Sami). Personally I really enjoyed this movie and I give it an 8/10.

I thought the movie was really funny. I especially liked the alarm clock shaped like a cow, or was it? It's been a while since I saw it. Well, anyway, I would like to recommend it to everyone.

Sure, I had high hopes for this film, having seen lots of mediocre norwegian ones over the years. This one was referred to as a superb example of a new and better norwegian film era, based upon a story by the well-known and very popular domestic novelist; Erlend Loe. Unfortunately, it is the final product that really matters, not its promotion and hype. This must really be one of the most over-rated movies in norway. In addition, it is based on a story by THE most over-rated writer this country has ever seen. Putting in a comedy-character like Harald Eia doesn't make things any better. It seems like Eia is one of the main reasons why lots of people actually wanted to watch it. And, believe me; Eia is not an actor, he is a real-life character. He doesn't play a fictious role, he's just being himself. Therefore you can't take him seriously. The regular viewer wants to see Harald Eia, and that's what he or she actually gets to see. Detektor is surely an OK movie, but nothing more. It's just another one of those "good to be Norwegian-films".

The main character and his friend like to find things with metal detectors (hence the title). One day they find a locket with an inscription. His friend talks about this on the radio, and the owner shows up to claim it. She and the main character fall in love, but then things get strange. To avoid giving too much away, I'll stop there.

I thought the acting was very good, the camera angles interesting, and the story engaging. I simply enjoyed this film more than any other I saw at Cinequest (the San Jose, CA film festival). I saw it on 2/24/2002.