O'Horten DVD, 2007

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MovieMail's Review

The Norwegian director Bent Hamer made his international reputation with the delightfully peculiar Kitchen Stories. After a brief detour in America to make Factotum, he returned home for another lopsided slice of Nordic eccentricity.

After forty years of train driving, Odd Horten (‘Odd’ being an ironic Christian name, since he’s rather normal) has reached retirement age and is obliged to hang up his engineer’s cap. We follow him as he tries, largely unsuccessfully, to adjust to his new situation. The film proceeds in a series of vignettes and set-pieces that serve to bewilder poor Horten; he craves a quiet life, yet such a thing seems ever beyond his grasp.

The mordant atmosphere and surreal overtones bring to mind the work of other Scandinavian directors, notably (the Finnish) Aki Kaurismäki and (the Swedish) Roy Andersson. Although very funny, the jokes are never emphasised: Hamer keeps a discreet distance from the silliness and allows Horten to keep at least some of his dignity. This is a generous, warm-hearted film that’s genuine pleasure to watch.

James Oliver on 1st July 2009
View all 116 of James Oliver's reviews

Film Information

Director - Bent Hamer

Produced - 2007

Main Language - Norwegian with English subtitles

Countries & Regions - European Film, French Film, German Film, Scandinavian Film

Cast - Baard Owe, Bjorn Floberg, Ghita Norby, Espen Skjonberg, Henny Moan, Kai Remlow

DVD Details

Certificate:	12	Publisher:	Artificial Eye	Region:	2
Length:	87 mins	Aspect:	1.78:1 widescreen	Cat No:	ART441DVD
Format:	DVD Colour	Subtitles:	English

DVD Extras

Interviews: Bent Hamer (Director), John Erik Kaada (Composer)

Film Description

Humorously melancholic tale about the unexpected events that befall a soon-to-retire train driver in Norway. As he prepares for his penultimate day's work, Odd Horten (Baard Owe) meticulously plans his every move. For 40 years as a train driver on the Oslo to Bergen line, Odd's life has run like clockwork, but after his colleagues throw him an unexpected party at the end of the day, he soon finds himself out of his comfort zone. After a night on the tiles, Odd sleeps in, and, for the first time in his career, arrives late at the station, only to find the train has left without him. Now, as the reality of his retirement sinks in, Odd embarks on a series of encounters that cause him to re-evaluate his life thus far, and encourage him to take bold strides into the future.