Pyromaniac

This is a slow moving film, more interested in the character and his position within the small village, than it is in the actual fires themselves. Don't expect a lot of dramatic sequences.

The character that this movie follows is quite interesting. Understanding a pyromaniac is difficult, and I'm sure every case is different. The way this story is presented, you can understand (on some level) what motivates him to do what he does. Some of the best sequences in the film are of him interacting with other locals, where you can feel the tension in him. There's also a few tragic moments, where you can see how he is struggling to find his place in the small village.

For some reason, the director chooses to downplay the possible tension inherit in this movie. I think I like what he is doing, but I can also imagine someone else making a movie that is just as interesting as a character portrait, but doesn't feel as slow.

As a Norwegian, I also have to comment on the weird mix of dialects this movie got going on. It kind of breaks the realism of this being a village from the south of Norway. Oh well.

I was surprised to never had heard of this movie before. And i wish i had not wasted time with it... Its just a drama and not exciting at all. All about mental issues. Still production quality is ok and supporting actors do a fine job. Barely managed to finish it.

This is a story about insecurities and incapability to cope with them. A quiet guy can't find the right words or socially accepted moves to gain acceptance from his small-town neighbourhoods. The anger of failure comes more and more out of control. He thinks he is control when he has safety-matches in his pocket. From that point on, the character gives thrills to viewers, waiting for the moment when something will terribly go wrong. Movie is more about the atmospherics, fater/mother -son relations and disturbing thrills not big twists and turns.

The actual crimes upon which this story is based received quite some press in an otherwise sedate Norwegian society in 1978, and so did Gaute Heivoll's 2010 novel "Før jeg brenner ned" (translated into English as "Before I Burn") in which Heivoll weaves his own autobiographical elements in with the fires set by the title character of this film. Erik Skjoldbjærg's screen version, however, is a disappointingly stale rendition in which nothing seems to move except Dag's flames. Skjoldbjærg sets the tone well, but doesn't seem to know how or be willing to get underneath the characters' skin - least of all Dag, who remains little more than an agent for the plot. There's also not much in the way of dialogue here; the characters act and speak in a manner which feels like a throwback not to the Norwegian way of life in the 1970s, but to the Norwegian film style of the 1970s, which is not exactly a compliment. And Trond Nilssen, who was so good in Kongen av Bastøy, never quite comes to life in the title role.

This movie starts out slow, is kind of a "draggy" movie and the dialogue translations are a little off sometimes, but I found this movie EXTREMELY satisfying to watch.

Dag and I have a whole lot in common. I am also a pyromaniac, just diagnosed not long ago. The depiction of his emotions/feelings when starting a fire are pretty spot on, and his face in that last fire scene was pretty damn accurate too. Helpless and aware that he can't help what he is. That is exactly how you feel...the urges are unavoidable and hard to resist.

I love this movie so much. I am going to go watch it again, even though it is 1:00 in the morning.