Social realism at its funniest
A textbook Norwegian kitchen, 1970's style:
A working-class father hurls abuse at his wayward, elder son across the dinner table: "WHY AREN'T YOU OUT THERE LOOKING FOR A JOB, YOU IDIOT!" Mother pleads with father to keep the peace.
(The menu: Stew, with jello for afters.)
Father doesn't like jello. He yells: I DON'T WANT THIS, I WANT FOOD! FOOD!! Father accuses mother of wasting his hard earned cash on "dessert". Mother is anxious and tearful. Elder son defends mother. Elder son hits father. Father and son starts fighting. Mother breaks down in a torrent of tears. Younger son looks on.
Sounds pretty bleak for an evening's light entertainment, eh?
Except that this is a film by the famous Wam & Vennerød, and they never fail to make things funny, cool and entertaining. Even in a piece of socialist cinema like this, the laughs come hard and heavy. This may well be attributed to the dialogue, which is almost always over the top. (and WAAAY down the other side of the hill!)
You see, Wam & Vennerød pride themselves in never using the subtle approach.
They are the masters of "overstatement". Invariably, their message is hammered home in conversation which is hard-hitting but utterly, completely artificial. The swearing and the coarse language adorn every line, and Marxist slogans are flung around like confetti. A real scream! W & V also have a thing going against "regular people", rendering them as little more than brain-washed zombies. And they really HATE the police! Every action-scene in this movie involves morose policemen out to arrest "our heroes", Lasse & Geir. The only people W & V appear to understand and like are the very young and the innocent, the hapless "victims" of a cruel consumer society. You know - the drop-outs and the drunkards. As for the rest - a bullet will do. It matters little that the filmmaker's intentions are noble and true; you just have to laugh! "Lasse & Geir" could well be the funniest political tract I've ever seen. Even so, most W & V- movies are treasure troves for those who care to search them out.
A working-class father hurls abuse at his wayward, elder son across the dinner table: "WHY AREN'T YOU OUT THERE LOOKING FOR A JOB, YOU IDIOT!" Mother pleads with father to keep the peace.
(The menu: Stew, with jello for afters.)
Father doesn't like jello. He yells: I DON'T WANT THIS, I WANT FOOD! FOOD!! Father accuses mother of wasting his hard earned cash on "dessert". Mother is anxious and tearful. Elder son defends mother. Elder son hits father. Father and son starts fighting. Mother breaks down in a torrent of tears. Younger son looks on.
Sounds pretty bleak for an evening's light entertainment, eh?
Except that this is a film by the famous Wam & Vennerød, and they never fail to make things funny, cool and entertaining. Even in a piece of socialist cinema like this, the laughs come hard and heavy. This may well be attributed to the dialogue, which is almost always over the top. (and WAAAY down the other side of the hill!)
You see, Wam & Vennerød pride themselves in never using the subtle approach.
They are the masters of "overstatement". Invariably, their message is hammered home in conversation which is hard-hitting but utterly, completely artificial. The swearing and the coarse language adorn every line, and Marxist slogans are flung around like confetti. A real scream! W & V also have a thing going against "regular people", rendering them as little more than brain-washed zombies. And they really HATE the police! Every action-scene in this movie involves morose policemen out to arrest "our heroes", Lasse & Geir. The only people W & V appear to understand and like are the very young and the innocent, the hapless "victims" of a cruel consumer society. You know - the drop-outs and the drunkards. As for the rest - a bullet will do. It matters little that the filmmaker's intentions are noble and true; you just have to laugh! "Lasse & Geir" could well be the funniest political tract I've ever seen. Even so, most W & V- movies are treasure troves for those who care to search them out.
- Teach-7
- Apr 22, 1999