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Trier's English-languaged debut has been praised by many, but NOT by me. This is the essence of mediocrity: forgettable, not moving, not interesting, not dramatic. There is really no point to this. The cinematography is beautiful, the editing is quite inspired and interesting, but the script is awfully bland and the otherwise fantastic actors and actresses are wasted and utilized in a horrid way. Eisenberg is just plain old Eisenberg; Byrne can't save his character; and worst of all: Huppert is reduced to a boring character with no real depth or energy. It's all so incredibly lame. There are a few subplots in it, but it doesn't feel like it has a real plot or story that can drive the additions. Besides, the entire thing with the youngest son is that he likes to play Skyrim and he writes bad poetry that brings him success with a girl (realistic much??). This entire premise is horrible and made me sad for whoever wrote this uninspired crap: it's a big bowl of nothing. It's worse than nothing, it's boring, a void, a complete waste of time and Huppert. I hated it and almost couldn't finish it. Besides, a bunch of morals to the story did bother me: none of the characters are likable, but I feel like they were meant to be. The journey is not a journey, but a stagnant and static group of characters in a dull setup. It's not bad. It's just mediocre. Incredibly mediocre. Normally, the quite impressive productive forces behind a movie like this can make it count, but this one will be forgotten completely in five years - only remembered by the handful of people that could relate to one of the characters. I couldn't... Five out of ten. And maybe four on a bad day.

Acclaimed Norwegian filmmakers Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt has done another profound film which will be talked about in years to come. This film was chosen for the main program at this years Cannes festival, after Trier's last movie was shown in the festivals' "Un certain regard"- program. Joachim Triers granddad, Erik Løchen, participated in the main program with his acclaimed "Jakten"/"The hunt" in 1960, and Lars von Trier is also said to be a distant relative, though I haven't found the proof of that.

In this drama we meet the men, and the woman (Isabelle Huppert) of which their life has circled around. The mother died a couple of years ago in a car accident after colliding with a meeting trailer. The husband (Gabriel Byrne), which is a teacher, and the two sons has moved on, and we come into their lives when there is to be a memorial exhibition for her, when the oldest son (Jesse Eisenberg) just see his first kid being born at the hospital, and the youngest (Devin Druid) is seemingly living in his own world and in the video games he plays.

The film must be interpreted by each viewer, and will mean different thing to each one giving time to this film, but I would say the film is about awareness in your own life, as well as the difficulty in living together with other persons, especially if you don't have the communication needed.

The film is also from time to time bringing you into the thought of all the main persons, and especially into the youngest son's stream of consciousness of weird thoughts. The three men communicate, but are all keeping secrets from each other. These secrets seem more or less profound for each of them, and are all stories which should be told. How this all unravels is the excitement and tension of the film.

Well, go watch it! The film has capability to both be life changing and food for thought, and I liked it on that basis. I was expecting the film to have a stronger emotional impact on me, which disappointed me a little, but it sure will do that to others, depending on life experiences.

The style has obviously been very influenced by several great film makers, amongst them, some of the French masters. An obvious reference to me was Louis Malle's masterpiece "Le feu follet", and Luis Bunuel's "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie", but there's many more.

We've just seen the start of the magic to come out of the friendship between Joachim Trier and fellow script writer and filmmaker Eskil Vogt. I sense there are great films to come out of this cooperation.

Well worth a watch, but don't expect an action movie. Be ready to use your brain.

"Louder Than Bombs" (2015 release from Norway/France; 109 min.) brings the story of the Reed family. As the movie opens, we see Jonah Red (played by Jesse Eisenberg) in the hospital with his wife and their newborn baby. After the movie's opening credits, we then shift to Isabelle Reed (played by Isabelle Huppert), a NYT was photographer who perished a few years ago and is now the subject of a retrospective. The NYT reporter who worked with her is going to write a long piece on it, and gives a heads up to widower Gene Reed (played by Gabriel Byrne). Finally, we also get to know Conrad Reed, the younger brother of Jonah. Conrad is struggling in high school, and also at home. At this point we're about 15 minutes into the movie but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this is the latest movie from Norwegian writer-director Joachim Trier, whose previous movie, 2011's "Oslo, August 31st" was outstanding. This is his first English language movie, and here Trier dives into a complex family drama. It took me a while to figure out who was who, and what exactly is going on. Perhaps the emotional linchpin of the movie is young Conrad (played by newcomer--for me anyway Devin Druid), who's sulking character at first is not very likable, but as more and more peels of the onion are removed, the Conrad character is developed deeper and fuller. When older brother Jonah urges Conrad to "sit out" the high school years, Conrad nods but of course does the exact opposite... The movie structure for "Louder Than Bombs" is further complicated because of the multiple flashbacks involving Isabelle. And how exactly did she die anyway? This movie reminded me at times of the Robert Redford-directed family drama "Ordinary People" from 1980. In other words: heavy duty stuff. I don't know whether Eisenberg has played a better role in his still relatively young career. He is vulnerable as the older brother and the husband, trying to deal with a lot of things coming at him in life. Also keep your eyes out for a fairly small role from up-and-coming Rachel Brosnahan as Jonah's ex-girlfriend Erin. People sometimes make good choices, sometimes bad choices, "but you can't plan for what happens after you've made a choice", cautions the NYT journalist at one point. There is a lot of good music in the film, both as to the original score composed by Ola Fløttum (unknown to me), and as to other incidental music (including Tangerine Dream's "Love On a Real Train" in a newly re-recorded and extended version).

The theater's Sunday matinée screening where I saw this at this past weekend turned out to be a private screening, as in: I literally was the only person in the theater. That is a darn shame. I recognize that this type of film isn't going to attract big crowds, but not even a small crowd? Jeez... Maybe this movie will find a larger audience on VOD or when it is eventually released on DVD/Blu-ray. Regardless, if you are in the movie for a heavy duty family drama that features some great performances, you cannot go wrong with this. "Louder Than Bombs" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

'LOUDER THAN BOMBS': Four and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

Insightful drama flick, from Norwegian filmmaker Joachim Trier (in his English-language film debut). The movie tells the story of a husband, and his two sons, that are trying to cope with the death of the boys' mother. It was directed and co-written by Trier, with Eskil Vogt (Trier's usual writing partner). The film stars Gabriel Byrne, Jesse Eisenberg, Devin Druid, Isabelle Huppert, David Strathairn and Amy Ryan. It's a really well made movie, and it's also intensely involving.

Isabelle Reed (Huppert) was a very famous, and successful, war photographer; until her death, in a horrible car accident. Gene Reed (Byrne), and his sons, Jonah (Eisenberg) and Conrad (Druid), are still trying to get over her death. It appears as though Isabelle's death was a suicide, and her former coworker, Richard (Strathairn), is about to publish a newspaper article saying so. Gene wants to tell Conrad, who doesn't know this about his mother's passing, before the article is released; but Conrad is becoming increasingly hard for his father to talk to. Jonah recently had a child of his own, and he's just returned home, for the first time in a long while, to spend time with Gene and his depressed brother.

The movie is really well directed, and written, and the performances are all decent as well. It's a really sad story, with very well thought out and realistic characters. What's most impressive about the movie, is how inspiring it is (despite all this). Finding light in seemingly overpowering darkness, is a really hard thing to do; but Trier impressively pulls it off. He also tells the story in a pretty fresh, and unique way too. I really like this film.

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Most coming-of-age films lean on the romantic comedy or melodrama for shape and structure, usually with a linear storyline that leads to a metaphorical awakening or some other resolution. As you might expect from a Norwegian director, Louder than Bombs (2015) avoids this well-trodden approach by telling a multi-layered fractured tale that looks more like a thriller than a teen-drama. Adolescents who clam-up tightly to exclude the world while they catch up with its emotional challenges are common stories. The one in this film is like a bomb about to explode and his story forms the narrative spine along which several sub-plots radiate in all directions.

Conrad is an introspective young war-gamer who has closed off to the world since his famous war photographer mother Isabelle was killed three years ago. He keeps to himself at school and defiantly ignores his well-meaning ex-TV star father. A photo exhibition is planned to commemorate Isabelle's work and a former colleague plans an article that will reveal the secret truth of Isabelle's suicide. Conrad has been shielded from this truth, as well as from the affairs of his father and brother. Over-protection has increasingly isolated him until he tries to connect with a girl in class. It's a complex non-liner plot line with several flashbacks that shift across narrative lines to create the visual effect of a perfect storm of fractured people. Isabelle's war images and her memory keep appearing but the battle we are seeing is raging in the minds of those she left behind who struggle to move on with their lives.

The film has an unsettling asymmetrical style about it. You find it in the withholding of truths, in the gender inversion of a war zone mother and a TV soapies father, and in hair-trigger Conrad lashing out in all directions. While the acting is often melodramatic, the filming is edgy with sharp editing cuts and sudden discordant images that feel out of context (like tumbling aerial schoolgirls). It has an uneven but reflective pace that disorients the viewer and leaves them uncertain how the story can hold together. But through the foggy mess of their lives appears hope for better times. More art-house than spoon-fed, the film feels refreshingly free of clichés and leaves you thinking about the impact of distant memories on daily lives.