up_north_girl

"Gymnaslærer Pedersen" is based on the novel " Gymnaslærer Pedersens beretning om den store politiske vekkelsen som har gjemsøkt vårt land" by Dag Solstad, one of the greatest Norwegian authors in modern time. The title means (in somewhat directly translated English): " Gymnaslærer(Gymnaslærer: teacher working in upper secondary school)Pedersens (name) report on the great political awakening that has haunted our country" The political awakening we're talking about, is the Marxist-Leninist movement, also called AKP (Arbeidernes kommunistparti:The labour communist party) The action takes place in the 1970's, and is a description of how the communist-movement rose and fell. The communist-movement used a romanticized description of both Soviet and China (during Mao), as an example of how they wanted the world to be. In an increasingly capitalist country, the communists dreamed of armed revolution. Pedersen tells his story of how these thoughts affected him, and how he experienced AKP and the Marxist-Leninism.

I think this is a great movie, not only because it has a simple but touching story, but also because it has elegant ways of emphasizing points and references. It also have some great filming.

The whole story is really good, but melancholy and thought-provoking, which are qualities I like in a movie. I think this movie really makes you think through your political beliefs (if you have some), and it makes you realize how important it is to view issues from more than just one angle. I don't think it is a political movie, because it doesn't tell you what to believe. It merely gives you an impression of how this political awakening affected some lives, and what became of it. Enjoy:)

It is difficult to judge this movie for me, as a Norwegian, because I've heard this fairytale since I was a child. The story is an old folk tale, written down in the mid 1800, by the "folk tale collectors" Asbjørnsen and Moe. The tale is very similar to both "the beauty and the beast", and especially the old Greek myth of Eros and Psyche.

The tale is built up as an ordinary fairytale, with the "3-times rule" and the moral. This movie can be a bit boring, and confusing, if you don't know the story. That is why my vote for the movie is 5, and an extra point for the fabulous fairytale:) I encourage anyone to read the tale of "Kvitebjørn KOng Valemon", especially if they would like to watch this movie.

"Elling" is an unbelievable movie made after the books by Ingvar Ambjørnsen. These books about the kind of lost character Elling, are all amazing, and this movie really catches the "atmosphere" in the book.

The actor Per Christian Ellefsen who plays Elling, does a great job, and so does Sven Nordin who plays Bjarne. The scene in the cafeteria, when Elling wants " Flesk og duppe " and finds out thats not on the menu, is so well played, I almost thought it actually WAS Elling and Bjarne.

If you enjoyed this movie, I recommend you to see "Mors Elling". This movie explains what happened before the action in " Elling " takes place.