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O'Horten directed by Bent Hamer
We're introduced to Odd Horten on the penultimate day before he retires after forty years as a train driver. A quiet man who keeps himself to himself, he's seen in total control and relaxed in his train cab but not enjoying himself at his retirement party having to mingle with the other train engineers. When an unforeseen incident makes him oversleep on his last working morning making him miss his train, his life opens up in a series of strange encounters.
This is one of those lovely, slow paced eccentric films I find really endearing. Bard Owe plays Horten completely deadpan even through some very droll scenes one of which only lasting a minute or so I had to rewind and look again it was so funny, but nothing more was made of it - such an enchanting way of filming!
The film is a series of beautifully framed tableau through which you wholly understand Odd's life even though he hardly speaks all through the film.
Like Bent Hamer's other film I reviewed about (Kitchen Stories) this is a story about an orderly man breaking out of a methodical life after a lifetime of convention but not in a deliberate way. The charm of the film is that things happen to Odd and it's only after a little while he takes hold of the rest of his life.
4/5
We're introduced to Odd Horten on the penultimate day before he retires after forty years as a train driver. A quiet man who keeps himself to himself, he's seen in total control and relaxed in his train cab but not enjoying himself at his retirement party having to mingle with the other train engineers. When an unforeseen incident makes him oversleep on his last working morning making him miss his train, his life opens up in a series of strange encounters.
This is one of those lovely, slow paced eccentric films I find really endearing. Bard Owe plays Horten completely deadpan even through some very droll scenes one of which only lasting a minute or so I had to rewind and look again it was so funny, but nothing more was made of it - such an enchanting way of filming!
The film is a series of beautifully framed tableau through which you wholly understand Odd's life even though he hardly speaks all through the film.
Like Bent Hamer's other film I reviewed about (Kitchen Stories) this is a story about an orderly man breaking out of a methodical life after a lifetime of convention but not in a deliberate way. The charm of the film is that things happen to Odd and it's only after a little while he takes hold of the rest of his life.
4/5