O' Horten

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.

Odd Horton is dependable and cautious Norwegian train engineer facing retirement. His fellow train workers throw him a big retirement party. He gets locked out of his own party and tries to sneak back in climbing up a scaffolding. He finds a boy who asks him to stay while he sleeps. He oversleeps and misses his train. It's a series of disjointed rambling situations leading him to reconsider his life. As a character, Odd Horten lacks any charisma. It starts off slowly. When it turns strange, the movie lost me. I would rather it go crazy. I couldn't really follow him down the rabbit hole. The movie is well-made and it aims to be profound. I don't hate the attempt but it's not for me.

This is a film unique and intriguing in its own special way. The apparent lack of emotions of the story indeed tells of so many emotions and speaks so many words unspoken. The interactions of Odd with other eccentric people on his retirement night indeed reflect his inner feelings of eagerness for a new start on one hand and his unpreparedness for loss of his routines on the other. The human interactions in the film are portrayed in such a frank and pure way that the whole film is filled with a subtle warmness despite the snowy streets of Oslo. By breaking away from the "rails" that had rooted him to the ground for so many years and by embarking on a new stage of life, Odd finally has the time to redeem, rediscover, and to reappraise, and to finally live a life without pre-set rails and tracks. A very warm, touching and enchanting piece of work which is at times surreal and at all times unique. It may be short of words sometimes but is never short of a uniquely human touch.

Waited a long time for this one. Ever since Water Easy Reached - which stood out in blur of movies from TIFF 98, and the poignantly thoughtful and revealing (about Swed/Norwegian angst) Kitchen Stories. So did expectation get the best of me?

The more I thought about this, the more I like the film. Yes it has it's own pace, but everything is so well thought out. No emotional manipulations, but there are plenty of emotions in the storyline. Great opening shots for the credits, and an amazing score that seems to tell you the mood for the story, plenty of time to digest the dialogue versus the choice of actions by each of the characters.

The story revolves around Odd, a retiring train engineer, the choices he made, makes and will be making and the people he meets along the way. Kind of rebirth, resolution of regrets kind of story. Doesn' sound very controversial or exciting against any other contending films ... even for an audience award. And it is not. But I really admire ... shall we say ... the integrity behind and of this film's character and intent ??? This movie has a soul and you can feel it. Maybe it is saying nothing is too late, reflection is a good thing, being alone physically is not a bad thing when your mind is active and gentle and flexible.

Some scenes/shots reminds me of Aki Murismaki's Drifting Clouds.

Bent was there for the Q&A to explain a few things, like he did for Kitchen Stories. And you see that he is passionate, has lots to say, and stays true to the story, and the character, without being overtly dramatic. I wonder why Bent is the way he is - telling stories in the style and tone that he does; incorporating everyday touches and observatrions from his home country. And probably this film tells you why.

**** spoilers *** and apparently ski jumping is very common in Norway, even Bent has done it. And the woman in the jumping scene is a world champion.

Rhapsodic. Anti-climactic. Deadpan. Superbly lit, shot, and cut. Writer-director-producer Bent Hamer's unique blend of vision and attention to detail makes sure that everything fits in this gem of an art-house movie. It's uneventful and unprecedented at the same time. In the process of telling the story of Odd Horten's retirement, Bent Hamer paints an affectionate portrait of his quiet hero. We never know what's really going on in Odd Horten's mind, but we learn a great deal about him just from watching him go about his daily routine during his final days as an award-winning locomotive driver on the Oslo-Bergen express. Odd is a loving son, an early riser, a drinker of black coffee, a pipe smoker, a boat owner, a late-night sauna-goer. Late one night, on his way home, he meets Trygve, a schizophrenic inventor who likes to drive his Citroen with his eyes closed. What Trygve says of his brother is also true for Odd: He does things in his own way. The segment about Odd's exhausting attempt to pay a visit to his friend Flo, an airport worker, alone is worth the ticket. Great instrumental score by John Erik Kaada. Not for everyone, but if you like it odd, Odd is your man.