O'Horten (2007)
Odd Horton is dependable and contained: he's a train driver 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?
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good back-story, and good acting
A Disappointing Continuation
I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible
The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.
Watched this in the summer and was bored by it. Lets try again.Odd Horten. A 67 year old pipe smoking train driver about to retire. Lights up pipe. Taciturn. Sucks on pipe. Reticent. Puffs on pipe. Expressionless.Has he got a daft sense of humour? No. A wacky hobby? No. A naughty sex life? No. Has he got any inner life at all? Er, no.The lighting and puffing of this pipe. Is about as interesting as Odd is going to get.The acting is deliberately doggedly dull. The actor is doggedly dull too. Too dull. Distinct lack of oddness.I need some quirk. Eventually some quirk comes. A dry kind of daftness."All my friends jumped but not me. And now its too late" laments Odd. "It seems most things come too late in life".Well, its never too late. To make that (ski) jump.He jumped (of course) Maybe I've only watched this cus its a Norwegian film. And it's December. And i needed to see some lonely snowy winter.What was this film? A tribute to the Everyman – or in this case a Norwegian Nobody.It fell as flat as Bent Hamers other film, that misfiring dud Kitchen Stories.A lot of pipe smoking in that too.
This film got me the same way that The Gods Must Be Crazy did, in that I watched a few minutes of it one day on the Cable channel, but turned off the television for something meaningful. Was I WRONG! As with The Gods Must Be Crazy, one day I watched it all the way through, and found it to be truly enjoyable.About this film, O'Horten, I have read other reviews and most of them got what I did out of it, oh, some things were different, but, something were also the same.As a fine watch is engineered and made to exacting standards, so was this film. Mr. Owe, as well as the others, did as he was hired to do, and he did it so very well.This film has a message in it that a lot of people today need to know about, it will do them some good.I remember thinking as Odd went into the restaurant and sat down, " there ARE still places out of the way like that where people function daily and contribute to the actions that must take place for things to go where they are meant to go."One warning, if you let it, this film will take you into it, and you will go from one scene to another as Odd does. Experience the music, atmosphere, the implied things, and all the other good that radiates from this film.I will very gladly watch this movie over and over again, anytime that I know it is being shown.To those who have read this review, I say, rent it if you can, or catch it on Sat or Cable, but do watch it.My thanks to all involved in the making of the film, Mr. Owe, you did a very fine job Sir.
You could excel in your job like Odd Horton, but what if, like him, you defined your life by what you didn't do. He never ski jumped, and now it is too late. He is 67 and has to retire from being a railroad engineer, and doesn't know what to do with himself.He always stayed with Fru Thøgersen (Ghita Nørby) when he ended his run waiting to go back to Oslo. It never occurs to him that he can visit without a reason now.When he goes on a ride with Dr. Sissener (Espen Skjønberg), and he dies behind the wheel, he just takes the dog and goes home. He doesn't show any emotion. He doesn't have any attachments except to his mother (Bjørn Floberg), who is in a home.The score is magnificent, and the cinematography is excellent. Skjønberg is a real delight.I have to say that there are some strange characters in Norway, if this film is to be believed.It has a surprise, but happy ending, as Odd finally takes the leap and finds that life truly is worth living.
What I most liked about "O'Horten" was the quiet likability of all the characters, and from the most staid to the most eccentric, characters they all are. It's almost as if Norwegians come from a different place than the rest of us. We've seen lots of Swedish films over the decades, but these stoic Norwegians make the Swedes seem positively Mediterranean in comparison! The emotions expressed quietly - very quietly - in the film include love, respect, loyalty, and non-judgmental relationships between strangers. What's more, it's quietly funny! Of course, there is a bigger point, too; i.e., It's never too late.Baard Owe, perfectly cast as Odd Horten, is wonderfully supported by a cast that includes Espen Skjonberg and Henny Moan. A quiet, captivating film.