O'Horten
2007 ‘O' Horten’ Directed by Bent Hamer
Synopsis
Odd Horton is dependable and contained: he's a train engineer retiring after 40 years of service, living a simple life. His idea of adventure is to fly from one city in Norway to another. Starting on the night of his retirement dinner, Odd has a series of dislocating experiences: a boy insists that Odd sit by his bedside while he falls asleep; misadventure causes Odd to miss his last run; he witnesses an arrest; he assists an old man and makes a friend; he takes a trip with a blindfolded driver; he adopts a dog; he takes stock late one night at the roundhouse; he revisits his mother's disappointment in him. How should he live the rest of his life?
Popular reviews
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When you're smiling through almost every minute of a film, something has gone right.
O'Horten has that slightly Buddhist sense of calm ordered openness that often pervades recent Scandinavian comedies and dramas, and I'd forgotten how much I love it. Need it, even.
And the title character himself, widowed, recently retired train driver Odd Horten, has a subtle gravitas which carries him almost unperturbed, but never inhuman, through a ludicrous series of embarrassing and occasionally upsetting events. However hilarious, these occur with a gentle, present bewilderment; the direction rarely contains those metaphorical arrows and foghorns saying "Look! quirky thing!" Whilst Odd isn't travelling, the way he's repeatedly overtaken by absurd occurrences put me in mind of Planes, Trains and Automobiles…
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Cultural differences noted whilst watching O'Horten.
1) Norwegian Rail have a far better uniform than British Rail services. They look like U Boat commanders and put our sweaty armpit patched button straining sky blue shirted rail workers to shame.
2) There's simply no way a British film could incorporate a scene involving a 67 year old man effectively breaking in to a complete strangers apartment and having to spend the night in the child's bedroom as that child refuses to let him leave until he's fallen asleep, for comedic effect.
If you like your humour quirky, almost Tati-esque, or if you like trains or Norwegian films in general, I recommend O'Horten.
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Delightfully Odd.
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Slow paced but very deliberate. thoughtful. Amazing mood, brilliant soundtrack. The ending was a bit typical, wrapping up all the pieces, but that's not always a bad thing. I guess I've seen enough films that I prefer the open-ended ones because they feel more realistic, but a film doesn't lose too many points for trying to tie things up neatly, I suppose. I'm making way too much of it here, it's so very slight tying up in this film, and it's got such a great atmosphere that it almost doesn't matter how it ends. The bottom line is that A) life doesn't end at retirement and B) it's never too late for things to get interesting. Lots of hinted at…
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Odd Horten es un conductor de trenes quien se retira despues de 40 años de servicio. Desafortunadamente no tiene mucho que hacer con su tiempo.
Esta cinta de origen noruega es extraña. Tiene tintes comicos aunque realmente no es una comedia (al menos no de esas tipicas de Hollywood). Mas que contar una historia, consta de viñetas cotidianas en la vida de Horten y su encuentro con gente excentrica (como un hombre que aparentemente puede manejar vendado).
Aunque no es una pelicula muy entretenida, si resulta un interesante y nostalgico viaje. -
Cultural differences noted whilst watching O'Horten.
1) Norwegian Rail have a far better uniform than British Rail services. They look like U Boat commanders and put our sweaty armpit patched button straining sky blue shirted rail workers to shame.
2) There's simply no way a British film could incorporate a scene involving a 67 year old man effectively breaking in to a complete strangers apartment and having to spend the night in the child's bedroom as that child refuses to let him leave until he's fallen asleep, for comedic effect.
If you like your humour quirky, almost Tati-esque, or if you like trains or Norwegian films in general, I recommend O'Horten.
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When you're smiling through almost every minute of a film, something has gone right.
O'Horten has that slightly Buddhist sense of calm ordered openness that often pervades recent Scandinavian comedies and dramas, and I'd forgotten how much I love it. Need it, even.
And the title character himself, widowed, recently retired train driver Odd Horten, has a subtle gravitas which carries him almost unperturbed, but never inhuman, through a ludicrous series of embarrassing and occasionally upsetting events. However hilarious, these occur with a gentle, present bewilderment; the direction rarely contains those metaphorical arrows and foghorns saying "Look! quirky thing!" Whilst Odd isn't travelling, the way he's repeatedly overtaken by absurd occurrences put me in mind of Planes, Trains and Automobiles…
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Joins SUGAR with being another Sony Classics film that seems decent, but I can't find a damn thing to say about.
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I enjoyed this movie. Nice pace and cinematography. Unexpected plot and nice sense of humor.
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3 out of 5 (B-)
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