Tatt av kvinnen

I also saw this at the Toronto Film Festival in Sept. 2007, with my wife. We saw 20 films there, and this was our favorite by far.

Yes, it has stereotypes--that's the point. But they hit home. As the director said in his comments, he originally read the novel in bed and kept laughing, but when his wife read it she said "I don't think that's funny." ha ha. The Marion character is great, and the male lead is just as good in his expressions as he reacts to her.

The plot is simple--a woman who lives in the same apt. building insinuates herself into the life of a happy bachelor by visiting just before his bedtime and talking his ear off. Familiar?? He succumbs to her charms as the easiest course of action, but every once in a while they hit a bump, and he realizes he might be making a mistake. The question is, will he find a backbone and lead his own life, or will he let himself be dominated by Marion? Could this be the story of every marriage??

I have been following Norwegian film for i while now, and in my opinion, there is a development in the right direction. With "Detektor", The Elling Movies,"Gymnaslærer Pedersen" and especially, with "Den Brysomme Mannen", Norwegian film just gets better and better. And after reading the book a couple of years ago, i had my expectations towards "Tatt av Kvinnen". But this one does not disappoint either.

Trond Fausa Aurvaag plays the man with no name. He has seemingly settled down as a young bachelor in a quiet apartment in Sofies Gate, Oslo. But just two minutes into the film, the idyll gets interrupted by a young woman, Maryanne, who starts talking and talking about the beauty of silence. Furtheron, the movie develops into a nice plot where he tries to fall in love with Maryanne, although it looks like he feels he is from another world than her.

Some may say this film includes only stereotypes, and with those I agree. However, the film uses the stereotypes in the belief that every stereotype has an origin. And for that, they succeed. In here also lies the beauty of the film. It has been criticized, especially by feminists, for putting females in a bad light. In my opinion, that is not true. Maryanne is put in this light so that Aurvaag's character is more distinct, and easier to recognize one self in. He feels that he cannot relate to his girlfriend, and he feels puzzled by the situation. He decides to go swimming in the pool, where he meets Glenn, played by Petter Stormare, his soon-to-be mentor. He totally opens up to the resolute and concrete Glenn, who gives him advise on how to develop the relationship with his girlfriend and his life. The film explores the relationship between man and woman in a great way. You can really feel the sensation from the book throughout the film.

The film is one of the best Norwegian films in years. Although it may seem easy and plain on the surface, if you dig deeper there is so many aspects of the film, exciting to investigate. I loved it, and i think everyone should go see it.

8/10. Great acting, nice plot. Go see it!

I recently saw this at the 2008 Palm Springs International Film Festival and it was one of the audience favorites making the Best of the Fest lineup for the festivals final day of films. My screening was also fortunate to have it's filmmaker Petter Naess on hand for a Q&A. This film is Norway's official selection for consideration for an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. Director Naess already has been nominated once before for his film Elling and with this gem he may get yet another nomination. This film is adapted by Naess and Johan Bogaeus from a novel by Erlend Loe. It tells the story of a bachelor (Tron Fausa Aurvaag). who is never really given a name in the film, and his pretty neighbor Marianne (Marian Saastad Otteson) who cherishes silence but talks all the time and somehow worms her way into the bachelor's life and ultimately as his exclusive love interest. Aurvaag and Otteson are great casting and their wonderful facial and body expressions bring this comedic story to life. Also wonderful in great supporting roles are Peter Stormare as the bachelor's buddy Glenn from the gym's pool who has also wormed his way into his life and the two lead characters other love interests, the Parisian Mirlinda (Louise Monet) and the naturalist eagle watcher Tor (Henrik Mestad). This is a fun movie and beautifully photographed and well scripted. Otteson is also great in a supporting role in another feature that played the festival called The Art of Negative Thinking and I would suggest looking for her that wonderful film too. I would give Gone with the Woman an 9.0 out of 10 and highly recommend it for a fresh and fun simple story.

Norwegian film "Tatt Av Kvinnen" has been directed by Petter Naess.He is the same filmmaker who made a popular film called Elling.The humor element of this film is different from that of Elling as Tatt Av Kvinnen is not so gloomy in nature as Elling.Gone with the woman is this film's title in English and it is a very apt title as this film's bachelor protagonist is completely dominated by a capricious,young woman.Director Petter Naess has done a good job by adapting Erlend Loe's book "Tatt Av Kvinnen".The highlight of this film is the depiction of some men as timid individuals.This is really different from the portrayal of some women as intuitive beings.Gone with the woman can be enjoyed as a film describing feelings of love in an European society and its implications on ordinary people.Tatt Av Kvinnen has its own share of funny moments which keep viewers glued to the story even though there are moments in this film which suggest that things can often go wrong in a love story.Norwegian actor Trond Fausa Aurvåg is simply brilliant as the guy who is able to tolerate whims and fancies of his partner Marianne.This charming role has been played by cute actress Marian Saastad Ottesen.

This is a movie that starts being funny the very first scene and then it continues more or less in that fascion all the way through. A bit bizarre and unconventional but in my opinion that only adds to be positive.

Overall good acting, except for some random side role. The two main actors wonderfully portait the dragged-along "Him" and the very impulsive, free-minded and dominant "Marianne".

The movie took perhaps one turn to many in some subjects and got a bit repetitive. I my opinion it was just on the right side of that balance, it could not have been very much longer though.

This is probably the best romantic comedy I've ever seen. I had a smile on my face all the way home from the cinema, and that is none less than 6 km on a bike through icy streets.