Friday
19Jun2009
Movie Review - 'O' Horten'
Friday, June 19, 2009 at 1:04AM | O' Horten
Starring Bard Owe  |
Some movies feel like they're meant to be experienced and others like they're only meant to be watched.
Perhaps it's lost somewhere in the cultural translation, but the Norwegian film O'
Horten keeps you at arm's length emotionally, so you never get much
closer than a casual observer.
I don't personally believe it's a cultural thing; I'm usually a big admirer of films from Northern Europe.
Instead, I'm of the opinion that O Horten is a character study that hasn't defined its character
for us.
Odd Horten (yep, that's the name) is retiring after a life spent as a train engineer. He has kept patterns
over the years that revolve around his schedule, and so he has made acquaintances is small Scandanivian
communities that he visits one last time. Odd (Bard Owe) plans to sell his boat,
wants to fly to Helsinki, and otherwise live it up. Well, relatively. He's 67 and tends to keep to
himself.
If you can stay focused, there is a very droll comedy in here. No punchlines, and in fact, no jokes, just
the sort of slice of life stuff that grows funnier through your own experiences. The trouble is it's
really hard to stay focused, even for the film's 90 minutes.
O' Horten is a quiet film that is in no hurry to get where it's going. Owe goes through the
turnstiles of this character's life with a hangdog face and, eventually, some poor woman's ruby red heels
(don't ask). Horten is trying to adjust to a new life thrust upon him at retirement age, and it's hard to
blame him for being a little unsteady through the adjustment. 
Colin Boyd | Permalink | in Foreign Film, Reviews | Print Article | Email Article | 1 Comment | Share Article
Reader Comments (1)
What makes this film memorable for me is the fascinating visuals. The theme of death, life"s passages and the sheer absurdity of human existence, its random meaningllessness is very well depicted through highly origiinal cinematography . Each frame is a work of art.. This is certainly not a movie for those who wish to have non stop action or complex character study.Here we haves minilnimalism and surrealism combined into a very fine movie making.. The symbolic silent train is a prevailing theme which haunts us throughout the whole 90 minutes of this movie. I would rate the film eight and half out of ten.