O' Horten

What I most liked about "O'Horten" was the quiet likability of all the characters, and from the most staid to the most eccentric, characters they all are. It's almost as if Norwegians come from a different place than the rest of us.

We've seen lots of Swedish films over the decades, but these stoic Norwegians make the Swedes seem positively Mediterranean in comparison! The emotions expressed quietly - very quietly - in the film include love, respect, loyalty, and non-judgmental relationships between strangers. What's more, it's quietly funny! Of course, there is a bigger point, too; i.e., It's never too late.

Baard Owe, perfectly cast as Odd Horten, is wonderfully supported by a cast that includes Espen Skjonberg and Henny Moan. A quiet, captivating film.

In Norway, the sixty-seven year-old train machinist Odd Horten (Bård Owe) retires after forty years of service. He receives a silver locomotive from his colleagues in a dinner party and loses his last trip. After the retirement, the plain Horten seems to be lost and wanders through Oslo, where he helps Trygve Sissener (Espen Skjønberg) and they become friends. When Trygve invites him to take a ride in his car, the driver dies and Horten takes his dog Molly and his pair of skies. Horten has never worn a pair of skies and he tries for the first time. Later he travels with Molly and meets his old friend Svea (Henny Moan).

"O' Horten" is a cold film about retirement in Norway. The story is weird and the behavior of the characters is strange for a Brazilian. When the cooker is arrested in the restaurant, nobody moves from their tables. When Mr. Horten forgets his silver train at the room, his colleagues send it by mail. These cold relationships are really unusual in my tropical country. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Caro Sr. Horten"("Dear Mr. Horten")

From PASTO, COLOMBIA-Via: L. A. CA; CALI, COLOMBIA & ORLANDO, FL

FIRST... Let us FOCUS on the Title´s content and context!

And...First order of business: The IMDb Intro Blurb on O'HORTEN: If you haven't read it...DON'T! If you have, forget about it and read my Review! The Blurb just doesn't prepare you for the tone and feel of the movie! The only thing I'll reveal about the "Storyline" occurs only 15 or 20 minutes into the movie, so no harm in that, eh?

ODD (Yes, that's his name!) has never been late nor missed his train in nearly 40 years as an engineer. He seems just a tad anxious about his soon- to-be retirement. His house-of-cards life is about to undergo a seismic shift and collapse. This is foreshadowed just a bit as things begin to spin out of control on the eve of his last scheduled trip at the helm as engineer...which cause him to.....Well.... Better You see what then ensues!!!

It's doubtful many people will agree with me on this, but the ONLY movie O'HORTEN vaguely reminds me of is 1979's BEING THERE. Both have a slightly surreal feel to them, and the lead characters (Remember Peter Sellers as Chauncey Gardiner?) do share a lot of things in common. A chain of serendipitous occurrences lead up to events that early on seemed obvious, but later, fades into the background as something just not meant to be! If an ending has a lot to do with defining a film's genre...Then please, be patient and hold-off on classifying this one until you see the end credits.

BTW, the music is delicate, haunting and provides absolutely perfect accompaniment. The photography is also superb and pleasantly stylized.

8*.....ENJOY! / DISFRUTELA!

This was among my favorites of films I saw at the 2009 Palm Springs International Film Festival. From Norwegian writer/director Bent Hamer this a wonderfully quirky and surrealistic dry comedy. Odd Horten (Baard Owe) is a button down, dedicated locomotive conductor who at the age of 67 is making his final run before retirement. He is unmarried but has an opportunity for romance and a possible wife to share his retirement years with but he is unsure of how to adapt to retirement after a long dedicated career that took him from coal trains to super speed electric rail travel. You meet a delightful variety of characters in this character driven film. Like his name of Odd, he is an odd eccentric, always very proper in dress and mannerism and he constantly finds himself in odd situations. We also meet his aging nursing home bound mother, a special lady friend, his fellow locomotive drivers who throw a retirement party for him, a tavern keeper, the wife of his tobacconist, a man who wants to buy his boat and many more throughout this strangely wonderful film. Veteran actor Espen Skjonberg plays a retired diplomat who befriends Odd in the middle of the night. Skjonberg is great in this role and it's a great role in itself that leads to a series of the some of the film's more memorable scenes. Owe is fantastic in a role in which he basically has very little to do with very little range of emotion but it works. This film is like some Norwegian acid trip. I would give it an 9.0 out of 10 and recommend it.

I'm not certain if this is the first Norwegian film I've ever seen but, if it is, it's a wonderful beginning! I found the film to be utterly enchanting: Charming, quirky, eccentric, and delightful! The cinematography is flawless -- every frame was interesting to watch. The score is an absolute joy, fitting the film to perfection, yet never intruding or proclaiming itself.

I was deeply impressed by the natural, highly specific work done by the actors: They performed with great truth and honesty, saying more with a look or a gesture than they did with words.

I must confess to being something of a railroad lover -- so the inclusion of locomotives in the film was an added benefit. There is a strange dialectic between the freedom of travel and the limited mobility of trains that fits the characters and enriches the story.

So if you're the type who enjoys simple, direct, character-driven storytelling, this is the film for you. I look forward to seeing it again, and hope it will be released on DVD in the US soon!