FILM REVIEWS

“OSLO, AUGUST 31^st” is Norwegian director Joachim Trier’s second feature film, following the well–received 2006 “Reprise,” which received numerous international awards, including Best Director at Karlovy Vary and the Discovery Award at Toronto.

The likeable hero is Anders, a smart, 34 year old guy, is about to complete effective treatment at a drug rehab in the countryside. As part of the program, he is allowed to go into Oslo for a job interview, but instead uses the opportunity to revisit friends and places they used to hang out.

Clever, handsome, educated, and hailing from a good family, Anders is nonetheless  deeply haunted by all the opportunities he has wasted and all the people he has let down due to his drug addiction.

Though still relatively young, he feels his life is already over in many ways. For the remainder of the day and long into the night, he wrestles with the chance of love and the possibility of a new life.

Spanning a short period of time, this tense and intense drama is both well directed and well acted, Oachim Trier was also named one of Variety’s 10 Directors to Watch at Sundance. REPRISE also won the Amanda (Norwegian Oscar) for Best Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay.