Oslo, August 31st

If this had come out this year, it'd easily be the best film I've seen in 2012.  I remember seeing the trailer for it earlier this year, so I'm not sure it was released in the states in 2011 or not. I wish I could count it as being released in 2012, because other than this, I haven't seen much at all worthy of being called great this year.

In Oslo, August 31st Anders is a recovering drug addict in an Oslo drug clinic.  He is nearing the end of his rehab and is leaving the facility to attend a job interview.  Before and after the interview he meets people from his past, and wanders Oslo. 

There are very few worthwhile drug addiction films, Oslo and Half Nelson are amongst the best I've seen.  Oslo deals with more of the inability to start fresh, despite the desire to do so.  Anders is in his early 30s, and has been out of work for 6 or 7 years.  He believes he's aged past the point of starting anew, and does not have the experience one should hold at his age.  There's a devastating moment where his friend ensures him everything will be alright, and he replies "but it won't" and his emotion shifts from laughter to emptiness.  I've always felt the ability of an actor to show emotion without words speaks volumes of his talent.  I've never seen Anders Danielsen Lie before, but he's perfect in this role.

In his job interview he is constantly pressed to answer what he'd been doing for those 6 years where there's a gap on his resume.  He breaks down and angrily admits his addiction and storms out, and begins wandering Oslo interacting and confronting people from his past.

There are a few content-less things that Oslo does quite well, that really impressed me that I want to make a mention of.  There's one scene where Anders is in a cafe, and we're looking at him from afar as he walks towards the exit.  As he opens the door, the camera traverses the glass cafe windows, and enters the street.  The moment this happens, all the cafe conversations and noises stop, and we shift to the quiet serenity of the empty street.

Another quick camera trick I quite enjoyed was that the subject, Anders, was often blurred, while the background was in focus.  Even as Anders walked towards the camera, he remained blurred.  Obviously metaphorical, but I've never seen this tactic used quite as effectively.

Oslo is presently streaming on Netflix and well worth a watch.  Joachim Trier (director) and Anders Danielsen Lie have collaborated and on earlier film, Reprise, that I assume is worth checking out as well. 

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