Ut og stjæle hester

Every apparently unspectacular event, from the felling of a tree to the galloping of a restless horse, takes on a narrative value, a truly beautiful film

Out stealing horses (Ut å stjæle hester) is a very careful adaption of the very successful novel with the same name by Norwegian author Per Petterson, a novel which have solid millions in at least 50 languages. The film won the silver bear in The Berlin International film Festival.

Let this be said up front: if you're not up to watching a slow storytelling, and not able to sense the small and careful waves of air, glimmers of sun and the wet sensation of rain woven into the nostalgia here, this film will not be for you. You need to be completely at ease when watching, otherwise the film will feel very slow.

Hans Petter Moland has made a film true to the poetic and nostalgic tone of the book, which tells the story about a newly pensioned man, in grieve after the loss of his wife, moving out in the remote countryside, not too far from where he have had childhood memories. The he randomly meets a neighbor which he realizes he must have known some 50 years back. This brings back a lot of forgotten memories from the past. Memories of fondness and great tragedy.

The film is slo and thoughtful, with a stark nostalgic thread, but also a tiny fracture of humor. The film is very sensible, with a lot of thoughts put into photography, with pictures of grass and wind. The film is narrated by the mans telling voice, which in this case adds to the feeling of storytelling. A work of art of a film!

Full of fascinating...ographies and curious adolescent...chologies but as bland as wallpaper paste mixed with plain flour, only curiosity is why they've stolen your sleep sheep and replaced them with this - same effect - lights out!

There are no spoilers in this review.

This magnificent film is based on Per Petterson's novel 'Out Stealing Horses' (Ut Og Stjæle Hester). I discovered this film at the 2019 Scandinavian Film Festival in Australia. It is mesmerising, poetic, and the cinematography is truely breathtaking. The soundtrack is both haunting and unique. Each scene was an exercise in detail. Waterfalls, owls, rainstorms, wind, moss, rivers, trees, and horses in the Norwegian forest provided a rich tapestry of backdrops which were seamlessly integrated into the story.

The clever use of seasons made the story's timeline easy to follow. The major storyline took place in the summer of 1948, and the flashbacks (from the main character, Trond) were from the winter of 1999. There was also one short scene that took place during the German occupation of Norway, and another brief scene from around 1957.

This film is both visual and script driven. The acting from every character was flawless. It goes without saying that the performances from both Stellan Skarsgård (the 67 year old Trond) and Tobias Santelmann (Trond's father) were brilliant - as always from these two seasoned actors. The real stunner, however, was Jon Ranes playing the 15 year old Trond who did a lot of the heavy lifting for this film. He was amazing and really brought life to the character and the story. I think great things await Ranes as an actor going forward.

The movie is about a 67 year old Norwegian man (Trond) reflecting back on a summer he spent with his father when he was 15 years old. The movie navigates multiple issues. These include how traumatic events early in ones life can affect a person, coming of age, father/son relationships & rivalries, loss, overcoming life's obstacles, and abandonment were all explored. If you love beautiful and deeply meaningful movies - this one should not be missed. It is really something special.

What a amazing talent of working ,beautiful piece of work a unrest soul coming out from Director. Very deep soulful and strong acting.Very emotional movie.