First, I wanna say thank you to Karsten for encouraging me to watch this. Oslo, August 31st quickly became one of my favorite films after seeing it, and I was eager but for some reason hesitant to jump back into Joachim Trier's filmography.

Reprise stars the same fantastic Anders Danielsen Lie (I'm developing a serious liking to this guy) as Phillip, and along side his best friend Erik, they are two aspiring writers in Oslo who each have their own ways of dealing with success after they both get published. One of them gets published first and sparks a kind of competition and unspoken jealousy between the two. Once the other gets published as well, their real colors come to…

I found this to be an extremely impressive debut from Joachim Trier the first time I saw it, and I’m even more impressed upon a second viewing. Reprise is full-to-bursting with life and youthful energy, from high points of exuberance to low points of almost pitiful despair. It's about two friends, Phillip and Erik, who as children have both been inspired to become writers by a reclusive and enigmatic local writer. When they grow up and get published, one after the other, their paths diverge and they no longer have their shared dream to aspire to. It's an emotionally relevant film, but it is the structure and stylistic elements that really push it from great to excellent.

The opening scene…

Joachim Trier showed a lot of promise as a director with his most recent feature, Oslo, August 31. Yes, it had its fair share of problems, but I was mostly impressed with Trier's budding talent. When I learned his debut feature was available on Netflix, I knew it had to be a part of this May challenge. Unfortunately, Trier seems to have multiplied my complaints about Oslo ten times, which makes his debut less stunning, and more of a drag with some great artistic flourishes and solid performances.

Two friends and aspiring book writers pluck up the courage to send their books to a publisher. Both eventually get published, but the overnight stars handle the pressure of fame and their…

Part 13 of the 30 Countries project.

For the purposes of this project this movie is classed as at least partially being of Norwegian origin as per its listing on imdb.

Joachim Trier is a very interesting director. He takes a little of the Amelie gimmick and rubs it in a heavy dose of coming of age realism to create a sobering yet joyful experience filled with poetic visuals and somehow succeeded in making a quite lovely film despite it being is debut.

I actually dismissed this film repeatedly back when it came in to the video store, deciding not to watch it as it was heavily promoted by people who thought Control was a great comparison for it. I…

Certain films hit you harder than you could ever expect, and take root in your mind for days and weeks after you see them. Such was the effect of Oslo, August 31st on me, an effect so profound and probing that I felt immediately motivated to see its director's previous (and only other) film. Reprise is not as good as Joachim Trier's follow-up, but nor did I expect it to be. What it is is a staggeringly assured debut from a filmmaker with a striking ability to cut to the heart of his characters, and through them his audience. This is an intensely emotional experience, the searing pain at its heart no less stark then in Trier's later work. Anders…

Joachim Trier showed a lot of promise as a director with his most recent feature, Oslo, August 31. Yes, it had its fair share of problems, but I was mostly impressed with Trier's budding talent. When I learned his debut feature was available on Netflix, I knew it had to be a part of this May challenge. Unfortunately, Trier seems to have multiplied my complaints about Oslo ten times, which makes his debut less stunning, and more of a drag with some great artistic flourishes and solid performances.

Two friends and aspiring book writers pluck up the courage to send their books to a publisher. Both eventually get published, but the overnight stars handle the pressure of fame and their…

An enjoyable debut film from Joachim Trier, but less cohesive than Oslo, August 31st. The intimate camera work and mopey acting is constantly contrasted by upbeat narrated flashbacks or flashforwards. It's used consistently to tell the full story in the circular form that the title hints at, but it makes the whole thing feel a bit choppy and it's easy to lose track of the story.

Another consistent quirk in the storytelling is how it goes back and forth between two protagonists. The transitions are quite smooth and it's nice to leave each character for a little bit, as they are both battling with heavy issues.

The story and themes go off in different directions, but in the end there's…

Part 13 of the 30 Countries project.

For the purposes of this project this movie is classed as at least partially being of Norwegian origin as per its listing on imdb.

Joachim Trier is a very interesting director. He takes a little of the Amelie gimmick and rubs it in a heavy dose of coming of age realism to create a sobering yet joyful experience filled with poetic visuals and somehow succeeded in making a quite lovely film despite it being is debut.

I actually dismissed this film repeatedly back when it came in to the video store, deciding not to watch it as it was heavily promoted by people who thought Control was a great comparison for it. I…

First, I wanna say thank you to Karsten for encouraging me to watch this. Oslo, August 31st quickly became one of my favorite films after seeing it, and I was eager but for some reason hesitant to jump back into Joachim Trier's filmography.

Reprise stars the same fantastic Anders Danielsen Lie (I'm developing a serious liking to this guy) as Phillip, and along side his best friend Erik, they are two aspiring writers in Oslo who each have their own ways of dealing with success after they both get published. One of them gets published first and sparks a kind of competition and unspoken jealousy between the two. Once the other gets published as well, their real colors come to…