ReganRebecca
There's a thing that independent cinema can do so right and that's show the beauty and the strife of ordinary life. No fancy camera tricks, no special effects, just the agony and the ecstasy of a person filling the frame. Joachim Trier's Oslo, August 31st hits this out of the park. The film is about a recovering drug addict named Anders who is ten months into rehab and struggling with slowly reintegrating into life. On August 30th he gets a day pass away from his treatment centre to go out for a job interview and on the way meets people from his past who show us glimpses of who he once was and who he is now. There aren't any major showy lines in the movie and though there are moments of beauty (Trier is very loving in his depiction of Oslo) this character study is quiet, slow- moving and incredibly touching. A compassionate look at addiction and depression and a must see.
Andres-Camara
772/5000 There can be nothing more boring, than when a director begins to put plans that have no meaning. The worst thing is that it does not happen only at the beginning and end of the movie if not what happens in many moments.It is a cold movie, especially because at no time do you empathize with the protagonist, who in fact, personally I dislike. I do not understand you at any time. I also do not understand some moments of the film, nor do I know why it ends that night of partying like that, instead of taking advantage of the moment in front of it. That she can see that girl in him, is something that I will never understand.I do not like photography, if there is photography.The address is totally non-existent. He does not know where he's going or how to roll.He is a worthy apprentice to his cousin Lars
SnoopyStyle
Anders is a 34 year old recovering drug addict in a rehab clinic. He's got 2 more weeks and isn't doing well. He's given leave to go to a job interview in downtown Oslo. He visits his friends Thomas and Rebecca. He and Thomas dig into their lives. The interview turns into a disaster when he admits to his drug past and he spirals out of control. He goes to meet his sister Nina but her friend shows up. Then he starts a night of drinking and parties ending in his darken room.It's small Norwegian film. It has a little too many quiet moments. The lead lacks a certain liveliness at the start. The movie takes too long to generate any power. The directing style is too quiet. It needs energy to match his growing anger and frustration. The overlaying of all the other people's conversations dilute his experience. There is power in his story. However the movie keeps looking away from him. I'm not sold on it. Then it turns into one of those all night party movies which again I'm not sold on as part of his life. I'd think that an addict would break as soon as he starts drinking again. The whole movie lacks that destructive energy that the character seems to imply.
Rodrigo Amaro
"Le Feu Follet" of the 21st century (also based on the same novel basis of the 1963 film directed by Louis Malle) is half the sadness, half the emotion and a little more positive than the heartbreaking original film. A better result? Sadly, no, but in no way it could top such a perfect film. It loses in eloquence, in rhythm, poetry but still manages to present a real portrayal about a desperate young man who is granted a one day release from the rehab, where he's been treated for his drug addiction (alcohol was the issue in the other movie). His leave concerns about a job interview planned some time ago but his most worrying and decisive plan is his eminent suicide. He can't face himself anymore, he's down and out and the only solution is to die, or at least that's what he thinks. We follow a day in the life of Anders (Anders Danielsen Lie), going from his first suicide attempt to his release, already worried about the possibility of his need for consuming drugs after being clean for a long time, and visiting some old and helpful friends, and also trying to contact his ex-girlfriend. All the steps along the way seem to indicate that things might get better and he'll be able to continue with his life in a positive way. Is it? Those around him see it that way, he doesn't. Just pretend, fakes a smile and goes away with the original plan. Why am I more favorable to "Le Feu Follet" ("The Fire Within") than to this new and free adaptation? The incurable romantic character played by Maurice Ronet, although trapped in his mysterious reasons for wanting to die, is a more relatable figure, his pain was something I could identify with, of someone who really didn't have any place to go, no one to love, he's completely lost in that time and space, running at a different speed than everyone else, he can't function while Anders is someone with a brighter future, a job might come on the way and there's people who like him and miss him (Ronet's character also has friends but they're too distant from him, the connection is too broken). I watched "Le Feu Follet" at a time when it was the most needed and that sadness, that frightening world and that honorable truthful ending probably saved my life. It was cinema being close to the truth, it wasn't a case of movies trying to be positive and inspiring. I appreciated that. In here, they left everything dubious, tricky, at times too positive for something that is a point of no return. Depression isn't so easily curable.And if there's something to be admired in here is the performance of Anders Danielsen Lie, although a strange choice because he plays a 30 year-old but could pass as an 18 year-old very easily. He was convincing playing this shattered and helpless young man; but the makeup department could leave him a little more weary, more deteriorated, it doesn't seem like he was into heavy drugs. Technically speaking, the slow pace was quite problematic - works better on a Nouvelle Vague treat like Louis Malle classic was. It sure creates some magical moments - the scene where the characters are riding on bikes as the dawn begins - but it doesn't stay on that path for too long, the quality of the dialogs is great in its early parts, fades away towards its conclusion. For those believing in an open ending, trust me, that's not the case. The ending is the same as in the original with a small variation.Since ignorance can be a bliss, if you haven't touched the magnificence of "The Fire Within" you can try this generic and enjoy it quite well. It's a mere palliative, far from being the cure. 8/10
