"Oslo Ausgust 31st" : Therapeutic Tour Through A City And A Life

Rarely a film comes along that seems to represent a generation. A film that seems to capture the escape of youth and the reality of human life in modern society, and doing so in such a beautiful, organic and stunningly poetic manner. "Oslo, August 31st" is a Norwegian film that will linger in your mind for a long time, the dialogue, the scenery, the tender moments of a "failed" soul that seems to try to hold to something real. The simplicity of the premise is captivating, yet, if it wouldn't be so wonderfully written, it would seem totally unrealistic because of the amount of events that occur in one day. However, all these encounters seem totally feasible and unprovoked.

The film tells the story of Anders (Anders Danielsen Lie), who is a recently cleaned drug addict who is given a day out from his rehab facility to attend a job interview. This implies he will be back to his home city of Oslo, where everyone from his past still lives. Throughout one day we see Anders visit his old friend Thomas (Hans Olav Brenner), then attend the interview, then a lunch date to which his sister doesn't show up, then a night of drinking and catching up with old friends. All of these indeed seem not out of the ordinary, but the conversations he has , and the way they are presented bring this film to the level of visual poetry. A mixture of a love letter to the city of Oslo and a close look at broken promises, failed plans, the longing for redemption, and the brutal confrontation with the past and the wrong steps taken in it.

Anders shows such great acting qualities, always at the verge of breaking down yet holding some sort of pride to what he is. He tells stories of how his parents brought him up, lost friends, and the absence of love. There is beautiful shots in the film, it has some sort of resemblance to experimental pieces, visually abstract at times, playing with sight and perception. Sometimes following random people that walk by to show the mundane nature of existence. At times giving us a false and eerie sense of hope, trying to convince us that perhaps not everything is lost for Anders, or even for ourselves. Then comes the past and shatters that thin layer of optimism and slaps us in the face with a mixture of sadness and beauty. Its hard to take it all at once, to seem go through this ordeal. So profound yet connected to reality.

This is just a generation-defining film. Whether is Oslo, Los Angeles or Tokyo. The emptiness of youth is widespread in modern, capitalist societies. This common experience of wanting to be everything, of changing the world, yet still being destructively narcissistic and entitled. Living life as if the world must accept our failures and help us get another chance even if we are bound to fuck that up too. Anders knows this, and strolls across a city that encapsulates his life. The drugs, the love affairs, the vanished writing career, and bits and pieces of a family that is now gone. I would dare to call this a perfect film. Every encounter, every line recited, every wordless image and the abstract touches paint a picture of how immensely irrelevant a single day can be, or how vastly miraculous living another day should be.

Not a film with big names, or exciting twists, or perhaps too nihilist for most. Nevertheless, if you are up for something originally crafted and that will ask some soul searching, you might just love this film too. Directed by Joachim Trier, "Oslo, August 31st" has been revered around the world, no surprise there, and its hitting shelves this upcoming Tuesday on DVD. Grade A+