1001 Gram

Norwegian female scientist. Her man seems to have left her and she only meets him, or watches his car, sometimes when he returns to their house to collect things. Her father works at the same place, but has some alcohol problems. They are keepers of an item to be compared to The Holy Graal. The official Norwegian kilo prototype.

She has to go to Paris to have it checked, together with the rest of the world. She's a woman who hardly ever smiles, probably because she's not familiar with what a soul means. Or its weight.

This is supposed to be a comedy, but it's too slow and not enough funny. Not that a comedy has to be fast, but somehow this tempo seems a little about having difficulty to fill 1,5 hour.

"You must be patient," someone says to the protagonist, Maria, about halfway through the movie. Ain't it the truth. I kept waiting for something to happen. A new acquaintance tells her he's working on a project about how birds change their song when they go from the country to the city. This is the most interesting thing that has happened so far, I thought to myself. Ever keep watching a movie you hated all the way to the end just because you couldn't believe what you were watching could be that bad and you just had to see if something, anything was going to salvage it from disaster? Well, I did keep watching and toward the end a few things do finally happen, including a scene the movie had basically been building up to in its effort to show us how clever it is (if I may be permitted to anthropomorphize a movie). Also, some philosophy gets thrown around as does some hanky-panky and some more measurements (in one case to complement the hanky-panky) and we get to hear the birds again. Perhaps, dear fellow film fan, you are more patient than I and when the credits finally begin to roll you will sigh and whisper to your beloved, or to yourself if, sadly, you are alone, "Ah, that was a lovely movie." As for me, my TV menu informs me that Die-hard 2 will be showing this afternoon. I don't know if I will like it, but I do know that I need it.

This movie does a lot of things right. It's beautiful to look at (especially if you like blue!), in regards to both the cinematography and the settings used. At times is uses visuals really well to further the story, like the shots of her apartment. The actors plays their parts really well, either a product of great casting, or the actors shaping the character. Or both. The story is interesting too, with this fictional department of adjustments that at first seems absurd, but then appear to be a reasonable establishment. It seems to have its science down, when it comes to the whole kilo-business, but manages to keep a healthy distance from the technobabble.

The plot is where the problem lies. It is OK, but does not really justify being at the center of a feature length movie. The overall plot is good, and I'm into the "arch" of the characters as well. It has some really funny moments, but maybe too few. Maybe that is the movie's biggest problem? Balancing the absurd and the realistic is obviously difficult, and you have to get both right for the best moments.

Check it out if it seems like its up your alley. Bent Hamer is great, and if you like him then you'll like this movie too. Maybe his previous movies just set the bar too high?