Hawaii, Oslo

I had heard good things about this film but didn't have too high hopes actually.I didn't even think the first half of the film was that good,but from there on and out it blew my mind!I actually caught myself sitting with an open mouth when the credits started rolling. In Norway we have an expression,the film is good for being a Norwegian film,but this film is just incredibly good.End of discussion!The acting,the mood,the music and the stories are just excellent.If this film don't win an Academy Award, I don't think a Norwegian film ever will.I hope this film will be released in countries outside Scandinavia,because it deserves a big audience.Another Scandinavian film you can compare with Hawaii,Oslo is the Swedish film Tic Tac,which also is a really good film.

"Hawaii, Oslo" is great, moving, well-acted and brilliantly directed.

I think it's a film about learning to love and be loved. About choices, about forgetting what one did in the past and moving on. About both accepting one's Reality and sacrificing oneself for the good of others...

The narrative is not linear, but we can understand the story easily. All pieces come together when the credits roll, and although it's a very pungently moving film, there is a sense of Hope throughout the whole thing.

All the stories within the story are finely woven, there are no plot holes. The characters are quite believable and every scene has a purpose.

I'm planning to see it again (saw it at a Nordic Cinema Showing in my city) to try and absorb it better.

I have seen this film at the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival and truly enjoyed it. "Hawaii, Oslo" is one of the best if not THE best film I have seen for many years. I was really moved by the honest and human story and emotions in the film. Also, the acting is superb and the story clever. I highly recommend this film. Also I spoke to Stig Henrik Hoff, what a nice guy and great actor. THANKS!!! "Hawaii, Oslo" is one of those films you need to see again and again and you will pick up more details every time you see the film. Just about everything about the film is harmonic, the acting, the story, the music, the pictures. I think what makes this film so special is the fact that there are only main characters in this film and they seem to identify 100% with their roles. Great acting by the two boys, too - they are brilliant, too!

It is a hot summer day in Oslo, Norway and the lives of various people are heating up, too. A young couple has just welcomed a baby boy but, alas, he has a serious heart defect. It will cost a tremendous amount of money to send him to America for surgery. In another place, a mental patient is set to meet a long lost girlfriend. His mentor at the hospital is encouraging the meeting and looking out for his ward. Meanwhile, the mental patient's not-so-good brother is getting out of jail and hoping to meet up with his sibling, too, so they can travel to Hawaii for a new life. And, finally, two troubled young brothers have lost their father and are hiding from authorities who may have to separate them into different foster homes. But, isn't their mother still alive? Yes, but she has attempted suicide on two occasions. How will these lives intersect? This film is a nice glimpse into the universal and unique qualities of life in Norway. The large city is beset with problems, as all urban areas seemed to have, yes. However, the beautiful, older town is a pleasure to view. All of the actors are quite capable and compelling. Then, too, the use of the kaleidoscope as a scene changer is quite marvelous and lovely. And, above everything else, the story is a woven and intricate winner. All film enthusiasts who love the extraordinary will like this movie. It takes the viewer to a place and time most will never see in person, but, will consider familiar and welcome after the final reel.

This was one of the films that most people kept telling me to go and watch. I just saw it and I really must admit that i don't quite understand what all the hype is about. Reading some of the reviews of it in Misc. Norwegian newspaper one could easily be lead to believe that this was one of the best Norwegian films of all time.

It wasn't bad, but it wasn't that good either. Sure, most of the actors did a good job and in the Norwegian film industry the script was original even though it's been done before in other countries. I feel that the pace was to slow which lead your mind to focus on other things than what was happening on screen. The soundtrack could need some improving too.

Overall I would say its a 5 on the 1 to 10 scale, OK, but not groundbreaking or the film of the century as some people have stated that it is.