I recently saw this film at a screening by the Desert Film Society in Palm Springs. I had wanted to see this at the 2005 Palm Springs International Film Festival where it had it's international debut outside of Norway but screenings were sold out so I was eager to see this as it had good reviews by those I know who saw it. Eric Poppe makes his directorial debut in this film. He had been a cameraman so experience in filming a movie was there but how was he going to direct this story and it's actors? Well this film had a wonderful cast of actors who although they may have not been individually great actors, collectively as an ensemble cast they played their parts with an authenticity that left the viewer as seeing these as real people not just screen characters. I like characters in a film and this has plenty. The implausibility of these stories weaving together is quickly forgotten and in place of the implausible is a wonderful story that you want to climb aboard and ride to it's conclusion. Poppe uses hand held cameras through this film's shooting so effectively that you forget that this is not a huge budget film with track and crane shots but a simple presentation that when effectively done presents the film in a straightforward manor that can be just as effective. No dependency on jerky movements and fast and stylistic camera movement but instead on honest presentation transcribed to film. The sound in this film is outstanding as well. Many films demand great acting performances to carry an other wise weak script. This film had good acting performances delivered from a balanced script. This is a psychological drama and a very good film and I would rate it a 8.0 of a possible 10 and highly recommend it.
32 Reviews
From Norway, with love and issues....a fine film
inkblot1111 September 2006
It is a hot summer day in Oslo, Norway and the lives of various people are heating up, too. A young couple has just welcomed a baby boy but, alas, he has a serious heart defect. It will cost a tremendous amount of money to send him to America for surgery. In another place, a mental patient is set to meet a long lost girlfriend. His mentor at the hospital is encouraging the meeting and looking out for his ward. Meanwhile, the mental patient's not-so-good brother is getting out of jail and hoping to meet up with his sibling, too, so they can travel to Hawaii for a new life. And, finally, two troubled young brothers have lost their father and are hiding from authorities who may have to separate them into different foster homes. But, isn't their mother still alive? Yes, but she has attempted suicide on two occasions. How will these lives intersect? This film is a nice glimpse into the universal and unique qualities of life in Norway. The large city is beset with problems, as all urban areas seemed to have, yes. However, the beautiful, older town is a pleasure to view. All of the actors are quite capable and compelling. Then, too, the use of the kaleidoscope as a scene changer is quite marvelous and lovely. And, above everything else, the story is a woven and intricate winner. All film enthusiasts who love the extraordinary will like this movie. It takes the viewer to a place and time most will never see in person, but, will consider familiar and welcome after the final reel.
Triumphant Tragedy of A Guardian Angel
emily-berry4 March 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Don't we all wish we had a guardian angel watching over us? The film Hawaii Oslo (Erik Poppe, 2004) explores this idea in an interesting way. The lives of ten different people in various tragic circumstances cross paths, centered around Vidar, a man who appears to be an angel. Vidar must try to stop the terrible things he has dreamed will happen, even if it means sacrificing himself. This film has something for just about everyone, with themes of love, loss, separation, brotherhood, and sacrifice. These themes come out through the plot, costumes, editing, and camera work. Before directing his first film, "Hawaii, Oslo", Erik Poppe worked as a cameraman; he clearly knows how to use a camera. The use of a hand held camera along with many close up shots makes the viewer feel close and connected to the characters, as though we are in Oslo with them. This is a film that can appeal to a wide audience, as it is relatable, touching, and entertaining. At the same time, those who love to pick apart film will find this one enjoyable, with many details and techniques to pay attention to.
The film hints, and almost directly states that Vidar is an angel. Throughout the film, he wears a long sleeve white shirt. Right at the beginning of the film, Leon tells Vidar, "You're my guardian angel", and finds a feather falling off of him. A few scenes later, we see Vidar look in a mirror that has wings decorating the frame. He turns his back and for a second it looks like he has wings. He also regularly predicts the future through dreams and knows intimate details about people he has never met. In the end, he supernaturally changes places with Leon, and a few more feathers float off around him.
All of the other characters (besides the delivery girl) seem authentically human, and all are in need of help. There are two sets of brothers in the film, whose lives have many compelling parallels. Within both pairs, the older brother is tougher and angrier, wears a red shirt, and wants to escape (from prison or from an orphanage). The younger brother is quieter, timid, and kind, wears a light tank top, and wants to stay where they are because of a woman (Asa or their mother). The older set of brothers, Leon and Trygve, have been separated for four years since Leon has been locked away in an institution and Trygve has been locked away in prison. The younger brothers, Mikkel and Magne, fear that they are about to be separated and "locked away" in separate orphanages since their father has died. Any viewer with siblings can probably relate to these characters, and understand their motivations. Both relationships are troubled, yet the brothers love each other.
The theme of separation is also seen between Leon and Asa, who have been apart for 11 years. They made an agreement to marry if they were both still single at 25, so on Leon's birthday they finally reunite. Both are nervous and hesitant, but both seem hopeful in following through with their promise. It is easy to root for them, as they are both charming and sincere. At the same time, Mikkel and Magne are reunited with their mother, who has also been separated from them for 11 years. Both of these reunions do not go smoothly at first, but by the end, both end in love and acceptance.
Another one of the themes in the film is death. Mikkel and Magne have recently lost their father. Mikkel believes he is to blame, but Vidar knowingly tells him it was not his fault. Although they don't know it, their mother has also just attempted suicide, but chooses to live once she learns of the fate of her sons. Meanwhile, Millon and Frode are devastated to learn that their newborn son has a rare heart defect that will kill him in a matter of days. This leads into the theme of sacrifice. When Frode learns there is a clinic in the U.S. that can perform an operation on their son for 900,000 kroner, he immediately goes home and sells all his worldly possessions. You can tell this is difficult for him, especially when he sells his prize guitar, but he is willing to give up anything to give his son a chance. A series of events leads to him finding a bag of money right when he has lost all hope. The couple agrees that they will take their chance with the operation.
Vidar, in turn, makes the ultimate sacrifice. As he watches the events of his dream unfold he realizes there is only one thing he can do. We see Leon get hit by the ambulance, but then suddenly Vidar appears in his place. Leon is unscathed, and Vidar's last words are to tell Leon "I love you"; it is quite touching and sad. It is a tragic yet triumphant ending as everyone has ended up exactly where they needed to be. This award winning film will leave you thinking. The complexity, art, intelligence, and meaning in this film make it worth watching more than once.
The film hints, and almost directly states that Vidar is an angel. Throughout the film, he wears a long sleeve white shirt. Right at the beginning of the film, Leon tells Vidar, "You're my guardian angel", and finds a feather falling off of him. A few scenes later, we see Vidar look in a mirror that has wings decorating the frame. He turns his back and for a second it looks like he has wings. He also regularly predicts the future through dreams and knows intimate details about people he has never met. In the end, he supernaturally changes places with Leon, and a few more feathers float off around him.
All of the other characters (besides the delivery girl) seem authentically human, and all are in need of help. There are two sets of brothers in the film, whose lives have many compelling parallels. Within both pairs, the older brother is tougher and angrier, wears a red shirt, and wants to escape (from prison or from an orphanage). The younger brother is quieter, timid, and kind, wears a light tank top, and wants to stay where they are because of a woman (Asa or their mother). The older set of brothers, Leon and Trygve, have been separated for four years since Leon has been locked away in an institution and Trygve has been locked away in prison. The younger brothers, Mikkel and Magne, fear that they are about to be separated and "locked away" in separate orphanages since their father has died. Any viewer with siblings can probably relate to these characters, and understand their motivations. Both relationships are troubled, yet the brothers love each other.
The theme of separation is also seen between Leon and Asa, who have been apart for 11 years. They made an agreement to marry if they were both still single at 25, so on Leon's birthday they finally reunite. Both are nervous and hesitant, but both seem hopeful in following through with their promise. It is easy to root for them, as they are both charming and sincere. At the same time, Mikkel and Magne are reunited with their mother, who has also been separated from them for 11 years. Both of these reunions do not go smoothly at first, but by the end, both end in love and acceptance.
Another one of the themes in the film is death. Mikkel and Magne have recently lost their father. Mikkel believes he is to blame, but Vidar knowingly tells him it was not his fault. Although they don't know it, their mother has also just attempted suicide, but chooses to live once she learns of the fate of her sons. Meanwhile, Millon and Frode are devastated to learn that their newborn son has a rare heart defect that will kill him in a matter of days. This leads into the theme of sacrifice. When Frode learns there is a clinic in the U.S. that can perform an operation on their son for 900,000 kroner, he immediately goes home and sells all his worldly possessions. You can tell this is difficult for him, especially when he sells his prize guitar, but he is willing to give up anything to give his son a chance. A series of events leads to him finding a bag of money right when he has lost all hope. The couple agrees that they will take their chance with the operation.
Vidar, in turn, makes the ultimate sacrifice. As he watches the events of his dream unfold he realizes there is only one thing he can do. We see Leon get hit by the ambulance, but then suddenly Vidar appears in his place. Leon is unscathed, and Vidar's last words are to tell Leon "I love you"; it is quite touching and sad. It is a tragic yet triumphant ending as everyone has ended up exactly where they needed to be. This award winning film will leave you thinking. The complexity, art, intelligence, and meaning in this film make it worth watching more than once.
A truly touching movie
man_of_stars17 October 2004
Warning: Spoilers
First off, I would like everyone to wait until they've seen this movie before they read anything about it, so they can see it with open minds, but if you wont bother, this doesn't really contain bigger spoilers than the mention of two scenes halfway through the movie.
This was one of the most touching movies I've ever seen. It really moved me beyond words, every aspect of it. Especially the two young boys were great. They were both great actors, and when the older one started screaming inside the church, I could no longer hold back my tears. And from there and out, it was a steady flow of said tears. I also really liked the young girl, and Vidar. When they met, and Vidar told her that "You're not who you appear to be" and she answered "Neither are you" is a fantastic scene (even if I didn't get it at the moment). If you ever get the chance to see it (if you're not from Norway, it might prove difficult) I would strongly encourage you to do so. It is worth the time, no doubt about it...
This was one of the most touching movies I've ever seen. It really moved me beyond words, every aspect of it. Especially the two young boys were great. They were both great actors, and when the older one started screaming inside the church, I could no longer hold back my tears. And from there and out, it was a steady flow of said tears. I also really liked the young girl, and Vidar. When they met, and Vidar told her that "You're not who you appear to be" and she answered "Neither are you" is a fantastic scene (even if I didn't get it at the moment). If you ever get the chance to see it (if you're not from Norway, it might prove difficult) I would strongly encourage you to do so. It is worth the time, no doubt about it...
One of the best films I have ever seen
snah99911 January 2005
I had heard good things about this film but didn't have too high hopes actually.I didn't even think the first half of the film was that good,but from there on and out it blew my mind!I actually caught myself sitting with an open mouth when the credits started rolling. In Norway we have an expression,the film is good for being a Norwegian film,but this film is just incredibly good.End of discussion!The acting,the mood,the music and the stories are just excellent.If this film don't win an Academy Award, I don't think a Norwegian film ever will.I hope this film will be released in countries outside Scandinavia,because it deserves a big audience.Another Scandinavian film you can compare with Hawaii,Oslo is the Swedish film Tic Tac,which also is a really good film.
A Story About How Love Affects Those Who Need It Most
sojiquex5 March 2010
Hawaii, Oslo is a story about the fear of being alone and the struggle to find someone to love. Set in present day Oslo, Erik Poppe's second film tells three different stories that intertwine. First is the story of Leon, an institutionalized kleptomaniac who is celebrating his 25th birthday. He is waiting for Åsa, a longtime friend and soon to be fiancé if they carry out their pact to marry each other if they are both single at 25. The plan becomes more complicated when his imprisoned brother, Trygve, comes with plans to escape the guard watching him and move to Hawaii with Leon. Leon is unwillingly taken on a journey through the streets of Oslo which seem to be taking him farther and farther from Åsa.
Next, we meet Mikkel and Magne, brothers who are living on their own after the recent death of their father. Mikkel fears separation from his brother if they enter into state care and acts hostile towards two social workers who take them to see their father's funeral. He is also hostile towards his mother, who has not seen her boys in over ten years. She is introduced in the film with a failed suicide attempt, but finds meaning in life when notified of her children's' father's death by Magne. Her battle to become the boys' mother will not be easy as Mikkel and Magne run away to avoid separation in foster homes.
Frode and Mille are the last couple we meet in the film and are the happy parents of a newly-born boy. Their joy over parenthood is destroyed, however, as they learn that their child has a rare heart condition and most likely will not survive for more than a week. Only one hospital in the world has ever fixed this kind of defect, and the operation will cost 900,000 kroner (about $155,000), far more than the couple's assets. Frode will stop at nothing to raise the necessary funds for the operation while Mille gives up on hope for a cure. Their relationship understandably becomes strained over the fate of their child.
While these three story lines intertwine, they are connected by Vidar, a supervisor at the institution where Leon lives. He has the ability to see the future and past in his dreams and seems to have a platonic love for anyone he encounters. As he bumps into the troubled characters of the film, he uses his visions to prepare them for the future and comfort them about the past.
The film centers on the characters' struggle to find love in their life and the fear of losing the love or fallacy of love they already have. The characters are beautifully portrayed in this aspect, and their fears and hopes seem real. Nothing is overplayed or romanticized and the stories create a fear for the worst in the viewer. Leon is driven by the memory of Åsa and is determined to reach her if she shows up. He is also haunted by the fear that she has forgotten him and that he will never see her again. Meanwhile, Frode fears losing his child and will do anything to assure a long and healthy life for the boy. He sells all his assets, including a guitar once owned by Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, but still comes up short in his quest for 900,000 kroner. With the almost certain death of his child approaching, he must act quickly if he wants to save both the boy and his relationship with his wife. At first glance, Mikkel may appear to dislike his brother, often berating and abusing him. However, this is a sign of love as Mikkel fears losing Magne and only wants to control him to keep him close. He fears his mother does not actually love them as she attempts to become their guardian once again. We see this is not true though, for she seems to need them to carry on with her life. There are some other minor story lines about love including an ambulance worker who falls for the boys' mother after saving her and the love Trygve feels for Leon.
The movie also has religious and spiritual themes. Vidar uses his visions to guide and comfort the other characters and is seen as a guardian angel or even as a Jesus-like image. Early in the film, he quotes Jesus in order to stop a patient from harming Leon, saying, "Whatever you do to Leon, you also do to me." He also seems to shed feathers in several scenes and Leon even calls him his guardian angel while holding one of these feathers. There is a great scene later in the movie when we learn that another recurring character is "not who she says she is," but presumably an angel as well. These two divine figures interfere with what appears to be the fate of the characters to be alone and are a driving force for change in the lives of those around them. I did not find this theme particularly compelling but thought it was well done. Poppe presents the divine figures in a very subtle way, not making the movie about them but using them to progress the story. I also think that religious audiences will be more interested in this aspect of the film than I was.
Despite these triumphs, the film does have its drawbacks. The plot takes a long time to set up and the slow nature of the beginning can take viewers out of the story. The film is not particularly unique and has nothing new to say. The ending was especially predictable and turned me off a bit. However, Hawaii, Oslo was fun to watch and really involves the viewer. The experiences in the film are ones that everyone can connect to and sympathize with, and the story, driven by many great performances, is engrossing once it takes off.
7/10
Next, we meet Mikkel and Magne, brothers who are living on their own after the recent death of their father. Mikkel fears separation from his brother if they enter into state care and acts hostile towards two social workers who take them to see their father's funeral. He is also hostile towards his mother, who has not seen her boys in over ten years. She is introduced in the film with a failed suicide attempt, but finds meaning in life when notified of her children's' father's death by Magne. Her battle to become the boys' mother will not be easy as Mikkel and Magne run away to avoid separation in foster homes.
Frode and Mille are the last couple we meet in the film and are the happy parents of a newly-born boy. Their joy over parenthood is destroyed, however, as they learn that their child has a rare heart condition and most likely will not survive for more than a week. Only one hospital in the world has ever fixed this kind of defect, and the operation will cost 900,000 kroner (about $155,000), far more than the couple's assets. Frode will stop at nothing to raise the necessary funds for the operation while Mille gives up on hope for a cure. Their relationship understandably becomes strained over the fate of their child.
While these three story lines intertwine, they are connected by Vidar, a supervisor at the institution where Leon lives. He has the ability to see the future and past in his dreams and seems to have a platonic love for anyone he encounters. As he bumps into the troubled characters of the film, he uses his visions to prepare them for the future and comfort them about the past.
The film centers on the characters' struggle to find love in their life and the fear of losing the love or fallacy of love they already have. The characters are beautifully portrayed in this aspect, and their fears and hopes seem real. Nothing is overplayed or romanticized and the stories create a fear for the worst in the viewer. Leon is driven by the memory of Åsa and is determined to reach her if she shows up. He is also haunted by the fear that she has forgotten him and that he will never see her again. Meanwhile, Frode fears losing his child and will do anything to assure a long and healthy life for the boy. He sells all his assets, including a guitar once owned by Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, but still comes up short in his quest for 900,000 kroner. With the almost certain death of his child approaching, he must act quickly if he wants to save both the boy and his relationship with his wife. At first glance, Mikkel may appear to dislike his brother, often berating and abusing him. However, this is a sign of love as Mikkel fears losing Magne and only wants to control him to keep him close. He fears his mother does not actually love them as she attempts to become their guardian once again. We see this is not true though, for she seems to need them to carry on with her life. There are some other minor story lines about love including an ambulance worker who falls for the boys' mother after saving her and the love Trygve feels for Leon.
The movie also has religious and spiritual themes. Vidar uses his visions to guide and comfort the other characters and is seen as a guardian angel or even as a Jesus-like image. Early in the film, he quotes Jesus in order to stop a patient from harming Leon, saying, "Whatever you do to Leon, you also do to me." He also seems to shed feathers in several scenes and Leon even calls him his guardian angel while holding one of these feathers. There is a great scene later in the movie when we learn that another recurring character is "not who she says she is," but presumably an angel as well. These two divine figures interfere with what appears to be the fate of the characters to be alone and are a driving force for change in the lives of those around them. I did not find this theme particularly compelling but thought it was well done. Poppe presents the divine figures in a very subtle way, not making the movie about them but using them to progress the story. I also think that religious audiences will be more interested in this aspect of the film than I was.
Despite these triumphs, the film does have its drawbacks. The plot takes a long time to set up and the slow nature of the beginning can take viewers out of the story. The film is not particularly unique and has nothing new to say. The ending was especially predictable and turned me off a bit. However, Hawaii, Oslo was fun to watch and really involves the viewer. The experiences in the film are ones that everyone can connect to and sympathize with, and the story, driven by many great performances, is engrossing once it takes off.
7/10
Fine film, important message
Wilde_child16 October 2005
"Hawaii, Oslo" is great, moving, well-acted and brilliantly directed.
I think it's a film about learning to love and be loved. About choices, about forgetting what one did in the past and moving on. About both accepting one's Reality and sacrificing oneself for the good of others...
The narrative is not linear, but we can understand the story easily. All pieces come together when the credits roll, and although it's a very pungently moving film, there is a sense of Hope throughout the whole thing.
All the stories within the story are finely woven, there are no plot holes. The characters are quite believable and every scene has a purpose.
I'm planning to see it again (saw it at a Nordic Cinema Showing in my city) to try and absorb it better.
I think it's a film about learning to love and be loved. About choices, about forgetting what one did in the past and moving on. About both accepting one's Reality and sacrificing oneself for the good of others...
The narrative is not linear, but we can understand the story easily. All pieces come together when the credits roll, and although it's a very pungently moving film, there is a sense of Hope throughout the whole thing.
All the stories within the story are finely woven, there are no plot holes. The characters are quite believable and every scene has a purpose.
I'm planning to see it again (saw it at a Nordic Cinema Showing in my city) to try and absorb it better.
Aloha from Oslo
peterm93 March 2014
Warning: Spoilers
In his 2004 film, Hawaii, Oslo, Norwegian director Erik Poppe and screenplay writer Harald Rosennlow Eeg, explore the idea of the redemptive nature of compassion and love. The film drops the viewer into a kaleidoscope of individuals, set into motion in both the world of dreams and reality. Just as Leon compulsively runs, the movie moves towards a conclusion that seems unchangeable. Yet, individual's choices do change the outcomes. These individual choices reflect love and compassion through the themes of paradise, the guardian angel and the value of individual life. As the film closes, there is no clear resolution. The viewer does not know whether the baby will live, the mother will overcome her depression to raise her children or if Leon will be able to develop his relationship with Asa and live outside of the institution. Yet, the viewer is hopeful because all of the characters witnessing Vidar's death have all experienced the possibilities of healing through love and compassion.
Hawaii and Oslo evoke different ideas of paradise. Hawaii is a physical paradise that juxtaposes Oslo's long winter. Ironically the action takes place during a heat wave when the temperature in Oslo is similar to average temperatures in Hawaii. Oslo reflects the social paradise of a socialist democracy underwritten by great financial resources. Leon is a beneficiary of such as system and the viewer notices how well he is treated while in institutionalized care. Yet, like the heat bothering Vidar, we glimpse the limits of such ideas of paradise. Physical institutions cannot replace humanity. Throughout the film, institutions fail individuals. Socialized medicine cannot support an "ethically irresponsible" unproven operation for the baby, the bank lender cannot go outside the rules of assets and the boys must be separated for foster homes. So, while paradise cannot be built either in socialist Norway or the tropical climate of Hawaii, individuals have the power to save each other.
The idea of the guardian angel weaves itself throughout the story. The guardian angel is idealized in the characters of Vidar and the newspaper delivery girl. They both acknowledge their special roles when Vidar states to the girl, "You aren't who you say you are." In return she states, "Neither are you." Vidar represents the idea of selfless love. He is the one that teaches Leon to love so that in the end Leon can say, "I love you." As Leon picks up the white feather, he directly calls Vidar his guardian angel. Yet, Vidar is ultimately not only his guardian angel, but also the one who sacrifices himself for all the others. With obvious Biblical references, Vidar tells the other male patient that what he does to Leon, he also does to him. The role of the newspaper girl is subtler. She provides compassion. She cares enough to check and the overdosed woman, to sing and provide comfort at the funeral and finally to hug the older boy when no one else can. Neither Vidar, nor the newspaper girl, develop through the story. Yet, they act as catalysts that propel other characters' development. The ambulance driver once again physically saves the overdosed woman, but through Vidar's urging, he goes beyond his job in order to help her become a mother again. Because he has done this, the mother is able to step forward to help her sons. Asa, who saved Leon from the wave machine, looks to Leon to restore her hope in the world. Leon, who was unable to say, "I love you," takes the gift of love from Vidar and is able to embrace Asa. Lastly Frode is able to give hope to his wife after she can no longer save their child through the connection of the umbilical cords. Frode sums up the kaleidoscope of connections when he recalls their first meeting. " I said without me you were a star with no place in the sky, but it's the other way around." In Hawaii, Oslo, Poppe and Eeg emphasize that human connections are much like the kaleidoscope: unpredictable, circular and interdependent.
Throughout the film, there is a disconcerting idea of institutions being responsible for valuing or instilling the value of life. Trygve, unchanged by his prison sentence, rejects love and compassion for self-interest. Trygve's actions set into place the ultimate tragedy of the story, Vidar's self sacrifice. First, when the paramedic attempts to save the woman dying on the bank floor, Trygve kicks the paramedic off of the woman. The resulting wound impairs the ambulance drive's sight leading to the accident. Second, Trygve's pusuit of Leon in search of the money leads to Leon's flight into the dark streets. Trygve never acts with regard to other human life, but belittles life in pursuit of his own false ideals of paradise. Perhaps influenced by its own institutionalized optimism, the prison's negligence in releasing Trygve costs Vidar his life. Similarly, the viewer is disturbed by the value placed upon the infant's life by the hospital system. Frode directly attacks the doctors by asking, "Who gets to decide who lives." The movie challenges us to question whether an infant, the mentally ill or the orphaned are any less valuable than ourselves and why we allow institutions to define who is or who should be saved.
As the characters gather around Vidar's body, the viewer is reminded that these characters keep walking by each other throughout the movie. Just as they are part of a community, we all form a larger community. Leon's poster asks Asa, "do you remember me?." Similarly the older boy's graffiti says, "I am." Hawaii, Oslo is a poignant reminder that our humanity is not simply who we are, but the sum of how we interact with each other. While institutions can improve life, they cannot provide what every individual needs, compassion and love.
Hawaii and Oslo evoke different ideas of paradise. Hawaii is a physical paradise that juxtaposes Oslo's long winter. Ironically the action takes place during a heat wave when the temperature in Oslo is similar to average temperatures in Hawaii. Oslo reflects the social paradise of a socialist democracy underwritten by great financial resources. Leon is a beneficiary of such as system and the viewer notices how well he is treated while in institutionalized care. Yet, like the heat bothering Vidar, we glimpse the limits of such ideas of paradise. Physical institutions cannot replace humanity. Throughout the film, institutions fail individuals. Socialized medicine cannot support an "ethically irresponsible" unproven operation for the baby, the bank lender cannot go outside the rules of assets and the boys must be separated for foster homes. So, while paradise cannot be built either in socialist Norway or the tropical climate of Hawaii, individuals have the power to save each other.
The idea of the guardian angel weaves itself throughout the story. The guardian angel is idealized in the characters of Vidar and the newspaper delivery girl. They both acknowledge their special roles when Vidar states to the girl, "You aren't who you say you are." In return she states, "Neither are you." Vidar represents the idea of selfless love. He is the one that teaches Leon to love so that in the end Leon can say, "I love you." As Leon picks up the white feather, he directly calls Vidar his guardian angel. Yet, Vidar is ultimately not only his guardian angel, but also the one who sacrifices himself for all the others. With obvious Biblical references, Vidar tells the other male patient that what he does to Leon, he also does to him. The role of the newspaper girl is subtler. She provides compassion. She cares enough to check and the overdosed woman, to sing and provide comfort at the funeral and finally to hug the older boy when no one else can. Neither Vidar, nor the newspaper girl, develop through the story. Yet, they act as catalysts that propel other characters' development. The ambulance driver once again physically saves the overdosed woman, but through Vidar's urging, he goes beyond his job in order to help her become a mother again. Because he has done this, the mother is able to step forward to help her sons. Asa, who saved Leon from the wave machine, looks to Leon to restore her hope in the world. Leon, who was unable to say, "I love you," takes the gift of love from Vidar and is able to embrace Asa. Lastly Frode is able to give hope to his wife after she can no longer save their child through the connection of the umbilical cords. Frode sums up the kaleidoscope of connections when he recalls their first meeting. " I said without me you were a star with no place in the sky, but it's the other way around." In Hawaii, Oslo, Poppe and Eeg emphasize that human connections are much like the kaleidoscope: unpredictable, circular and interdependent.
Throughout the film, there is a disconcerting idea of institutions being responsible for valuing or instilling the value of life. Trygve, unchanged by his prison sentence, rejects love and compassion for self-interest. Trygve's actions set into place the ultimate tragedy of the story, Vidar's self sacrifice. First, when the paramedic attempts to save the woman dying on the bank floor, Trygve kicks the paramedic off of the woman. The resulting wound impairs the ambulance drive's sight leading to the accident. Second, Trygve's pusuit of Leon in search of the money leads to Leon's flight into the dark streets. Trygve never acts with regard to other human life, but belittles life in pursuit of his own false ideals of paradise. Perhaps influenced by its own institutionalized optimism, the prison's negligence in releasing Trygve costs Vidar his life. Similarly, the viewer is disturbed by the value placed upon the infant's life by the hospital system. Frode directly attacks the doctors by asking, "Who gets to decide who lives." The movie challenges us to question whether an infant, the mentally ill or the orphaned are any less valuable than ourselves and why we allow institutions to define who is or who should be saved.
As the characters gather around Vidar's body, the viewer is reminded that these characters keep walking by each other throughout the movie. Just as they are part of a community, we all form a larger community. Leon's poster asks Asa, "do you remember me?." Similarly the older boy's graffiti says, "I am." Hawaii, Oslo is a poignant reminder that our humanity is not simply who we are, but the sum of how we interact with each other. While institutions can improve life, they cannot provide what every individual needs, compassion and love.
one of the best films I have seen in years !
t-weimann27 February 2006
I have seen this film at the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival and truly enjoyed it. "Hawaii, Oslo" is one of the best if not THE best film I have seen for many years. I was really moved by the honest and human story and emotions in the film. Also, the acting is superb and the story clever. I highly recommend this film. Also I spoke to Stig Henrik Hoff, what a nice guy and great actor. THANKS!!! "Hawaii, Oslo" is one of those films you need to see again and again and you will pick up more details every time you see the film. Just about everything about the film is harmonic, the acting, the story, the music, the pictures. I think what makes this film so special is the fact that there are only main characters in this film and they seem to identify 100% with their roles. Great acting by the two boys, too - they are brilliant, too!
Dreamy and beautiful
cinish9 October 2012
Hawaii,Oslo - Norwegian The best movie I have seen this year so far. This one was a very special , a very unique ethereal experience. I can feel my head cool and relaxed due to the blood flowing inside I guess. The movie was at the same intriguing , spiritual , hopeful , emotional.The script has as much content to extract five six movies out and I am surprised I don't see many awards linked to this movie on the DVD cover. It is about people placed in very very delicate situations and then things turning over magically. There is a father whose new-born son would die in a few hours as he is incapable of sustaining without the umbilical chord.The solution is to create an umbilical chord and fix back and the doctors have written off as impossible. The father does not give up and holds the straw of a private clinic operation at the huge cost of 900,000 Kronas that he cannot manage and he sells off everything and is about to attempt a bank robbery when another character in the movie robs the bank just before.The most joyous moment for me was when he sits dejected and one of the robber brothers, who runs away from the robbery .... edited to not reveal one of the many suspenses that the movie offers There is Leon who runs whenever he is not sure what to do next. The first scene of the movie is a dream that Jiddar(Leon's friend) sees and whatever he sees tends to be true. So he gets worried and tries to prevent the mishaps. The story goes through various situations where incident after incident, things turn positive and starts to move more and more away from the dream until the end when the first scene is repeated as it is. The movie is brilliantly engineered and has a lot of beauty to it. Lot of troubled lives trapped in cities. I would think that lot of the trouble would go off if people live together. A lady takes pills to suicide and is saved by a note message that one of her sons who has not seen each her in eleven years sends through a paper-girl. There is the plot of the robber brother who is given parole to meet Leon on his birthday.I started off by seeing this as a sweet gesture where as quickly a deep plan unfolds. The movie is rich. In story , in emotion , in acting , in direction - perfect control and an awesome awesome ride.
Ground-breaking Norwegian movie
blodpupp9 October 2004
This is a movie quite unique in Norwegian film-history. We follow five stories in Oslo through 24 hours. Through the movie, they are all brought together, and it all ends in a climactic scene in the end.
As a Norwegian movie, this is unique. This kind of storytelling is unusual in movies from this country. The editing is also ground-breaking.
Starring some of the best TV/movie/theatre-actors in the country, this becomes a thrilling ride through the streets of Oslo, and through the mind of the characters. Especially Stig Henrik Hoff as the desperate father of a death-sick child need mentioning. Another is the young actor who plays the oldest of the two orphan brothers. Excellent performance! Director Erik Poppe (Schpaaa) shows that he is a man worthy of his position with this one.
A few things though. First, the music needs improvement. When will Norwegian movie-makers understand this? It's just too simple for the complex plots and scenes.
Some of the symbolism could have been a little clearer. Like the "wise newspaper delivery girl" - What's that all about?
This has just been chosen as Norway's contribution to the 2005 Academy Awards. It clearly deserves a nomination. Let's hope the academy gives it one!
8/10
As a Norwegian movie, this is unique. This kind of storytelling is unusual in movies from this country. The editing is also ground-breaking.
Starring some of the best TV/movie/theatre-actors in the country, this becomes a thrilling ride through the streets of Oslo, and through the mind of the characters. Especially Stig Henrik Hoff as the desperate father of a death-sick child need mentioning. Another is the young actor who plays the oldest of the two orphan brothers. Excellent performance! Director Erik Poppe (Schpaaa) shows that he is a man worthy of his position with this one.
A few things though. First, the music needs improvement. When will Norwegian movie-makers understand this? It's just too simple for the complex plots and scenes.
Some of the symbolism could have been a little clearer. Like the "wise newspaper delivery girl" - What's that all about?
This has just been chosen as Norway's contribution to the 2005 Academy Awards. It clearly deserves a nomination. Let's hope the academy gives it one!
8/10
wonderful
n-schuit4 February 2005
Warning: Spoilers
I saw this film at the Rotterdam Film Festival and was absolutely shaken by it. As one of the people that commented before, the scene with the oldest of the two boys in the church just broke my heart. I've seen more films where things and people come together through faith, but never seen it so wonderfully done as in this film. Also, it leaves something to think about when you step out of the cinema. Basically the whole film being about true love between people in all aspects and in all the silly ways that people show this to one another, is too beautiful not to be appreciated for how it's filmed. Maybe you have to still truly believe in love to be able to appreciate this film. Ten out of ten.
Chaos within a Small World
mannb-938-881753 March 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Within the happenings of a twenty-four hour time period, the saying "what a small world" is perfectly captured by director Erik Poppe in this multi award winning film, Hawii, Oslo. The Norwegian film released in 2004 delivers a thrilling plot with a mix of people crossing each other's paths one way or another. Amongst multitude of events all happening during the sweltering hot 24-hours in Oslo, Poppe utilizes various creative filming techniques and intense, emotion-triggering music to make the viewer remember this day they watch on screen forever.
We are introduced to Leon, a man living in an institution, waiting hopefully on his birthday for the arrival of Asa, the lady he promised to marry ten years back. While waiting for her arrival, Leon's brother, in prison for armed robbery, is allowed to go visit and celebrate the day with Leon. Though the prison puts trust in him to visit Leon, he has a secret plan to rob a bank and flee with his brother. As Asa makes her way to reunite with Leon she comes across two young boys, Magne and Mikkel, extremely lost in the world while processing their father's death and about to be separated by the foster care system, who steal her purse. Asa catches Magne, the younger of the two boys, and comes to find the disaster of an apartment and poor conditions the boys have been living in. A little later in the film, the boys' mother, whom recently attempted suicide, appears at the father's funeral because of the notice Magnus leaves her. We also encounter Frode, Milla, and their newborn son Aaron, who has a serious heart defect in need of an expensive surgery. Frode holds on to hope, as Milla has lost hers,and goes on a desperate search for 900,000 kroner to pay for a surgery. Frode unexpectedly crosses paths in a bank with Leon's brother and later in a park with Leon, ending up with the stolen money from Leon's brother's robbery. As extremely chaotic each of the characters lives unravels, each of them interacts with Vidar, a worker at the institution where Leon stays. While Vidar can foresee future events through the dreams he has, he is given insight into each of the people's lives we are following. While conflicted about whether what he knows is a part of reality or just a dream, he runs around Oslo attempting to save the people that might be in danger.
From parts of the movie being filmed using a hand-held camera technique to the raw close-up shots on the faces of the actors during moments of pure intensity and emotion, Poppe flawlessly instills the emotion being portrayed on screen within the audience members. The hand-held camera shots made me feels as if I was one with the event occurring on the screen. The close-up shots during extremely important events, from the reunion of Leon and Asa to the tragic death at the end, allow us to relate to the scene as if we were standing right there with the actors. Both of these techniques utilized by Poppe create such an important connection between the film and audience members.
To further reflect the emotions shown on screen into the viewers, purposefully selected music complements the climaxes of many scenes. The music takes the place of much of the verbal exchange that would otherwise occur between characters. The replaced verbal interaction by music ultimately causes the thoughts of the actors up to interpretation by the audience member. The music sets up a certain mood that correlates perfectly with the scene that may not have been able to be achieved by solely verbal interaction between characters.
With help of the camera techniques and music throughout Hawaii, Oslo, we see the character struggle to accept, uncover, and understand their various realities, as well as the search for the true meaning of sacrifice and acceptance. The way each character deals with either sacrifice or acceptance within the reality they are facing make the viewer realize the complexity of each situation that occurs on screen. While living in complete truth and acceptance of ones reality may seems easy, we are able to see and experience the struggle it really takes through the characters in Hawaii, Oslo.
Among the multitude of incredible aspects Poppe's multiple award winning film, Hawaii, Oslo incorporates, the filming techniques to the intense character-audience connection are some of the most influential parts of the film. These aspects allow the chaotic day in Oslo to impact the viewer as if they were standing in the exact scene. Hawaii, Oslo is a film you will want to see, if not for the creatively constructed piece of art Poppe has put together, but to see how small a world could really be.
We are introduced to Leon, a man living in an institution, waiting hopefully on his birthday for the arrival of Asa, the lady he promised to marry ten years back. While waiting for her arrival, Leon's brother, in prison for armed robbery, is allowed to go visit and celebrate the day with Leon. Though the prison puts trust in him to visit Leon, he has a secret plan to rob a bank and flee with his brother. As Asa makes her way to reunite with Leon she comes across two young boys, Magne and Mikkel, extremely lost in the world while processing their father's death and about to be separated by the foster care system, who steal her purse. Asa catches Magne, the younger of the two boys, and comes to find the disaster of an apartment and poor conditions the boys have been living in. A little later in the film, the boys' mother, whom recently attempted suicide, appears at the father's funeral because of the notice Magnus leaves her. We also encounter Frode, Milla, and their newborn son Aaron, who has a serious heart defect in need of an expensive surgery. Frode holds on to hope, as Milla has lost hers,and goes on a desperate search for 900,000 kroner to pay for a surgery. Frode unexpectedly crosses paths in a bank with Leon's brother and later in a park with Leon, ending up with the stolen money from Leon's brother's robbery. As extremely chaotic each of the characters lives unravels, each of them interacts with Vidar, a worker at the institution where Leon stays. While Vidar can foresee future events through the dreams he has, he is given insight into each of the people's lives we are following. While conflicted about whether what he knows is a part of reality or just a dream, he runs around Oslo attempting to save the people that might be in danger.
From parts of the movie being filmed using a hand-held camera technique to the raw close-up shots on the faces of the actors during moments of pure intensity and emotion, Poppe flawlessly instills the emotion being portrayed on screen within the audience members. The hand-held camera shots made me feels as if I was one with the event occurring on the screen. The close-up shots during extremely important events, from the reunion of Leon and Asa to the tragic death at the end, allow us to relate to the scene as if we were standing right there with the actors. Both of these techniques utilized by Poppe create such an important connection between the film and audience members.
To further reflect the emotions shown on screen into the viewers, purposefully selected music complements the climaxes of many scenes. The music takes the place of much of the verbal exchange that would otherwise occur between characters. The replaced verbal interaction by music ultimately causes the thoughts of the actors up to interpretation by the audience member. The music sets up a certain mood that correlates perfectly with the scene that may not have been able to be achieved by solely verbal interaction between characters.
With help of the camera techniques and music throughout Hawaii, Oslo, we see the character struggle to accept, uncover, and understand their various realities, as well as the search for the true meaning of sacrifice and acceptance. The way each character deals with either sacrifice or acceptance within the reality they are facing make the viewer realize the complexity of each situation that occurs on screen. While living in complete truth and acceptance of ones reality may seems easy, we are able to see and experience the struggle it really takes through the characters in Hawaii, Oslo.
Among the multitude of incredible aspects Poppe's multiple award winning film, Hawaii, Oslo incorporates, the filming techniques to the intense character-audience connection are some of the most influential parts of the film. These aspects allow the chaotic day in Oslo to impact the viewer as if they were standing in the exact scene. Hawaii, Oslo is a film you will want to see, if not for the creatively constructed piece of art Poppe has put together, but to see how small a world could really be.
A big disappointment
sashamalchik14 January 2006
I have to agree with those who were disappointed with this movie.
In fact, it was one of the bigger disappointments of many films I've seen at the last SFIFF. I understand, the director (or script writer, for that matter) have the right to borrow from earlier movies and create on the basis of their associations something new, something of their own. But this was just too much. Practically everything that this movie is based on we've already seen. Multiple times - and, made much better, too! (Thinking of "13 Conversations About One Thing", for example.) Unfortunately, this movie said nothing new, and, trying really hard to touch emotionally, only managed to stay clear of actually accomplishing that.
In fact, it was one of the bigger disappointments of many films I've seen at the last SFIFF. I understand, the director (or script writer, for that matter) have the right to borrow from earlier movies and create on the basis of their associations something new, something of their own. But this was just too much. Practically everything that this movie is based on we've already seen. Multiple times - and, made much better, too! (Thinking of "13 Conversations About One Thing", for example.) Unfortunately, this movie said nothing new, and, trying really hard to touch emotionally, only managed to stay clear of actually accomplishing that.
A very touching movie!!!!
mstoretvedt8 February 2006
Warning: Spoilers
First of all, being a Norwegian myself (studying in Denmark), I have never really been fond of Norwegian movies, until a friend of mine back home send me Hawaii, Oslo as a present.
I got a lot of mixed reaction from my friends back home that have seen this movie, (some didn't like it at all, some thought it was OK, some though it was excellent), so I didn't know whether to watch it or not, so my best friend brought it for me be to hear that i had to say about it
So, I can honesty say now, I don't understand why people wouldn't like this movie!!
This is a beautiful and very touching film. I don't know some of my friends didn't like it (maybe they're not into touching/sad films), but I saw it and I was happy, touched and merely sad in different points throughout the movie. This movie really makes you think with an open mind and I really felt for characters in the movie.
SO, a basic PLOT that doesn't give away a lot =P: It's based in Oslo and we follow the lives of various people, which was beautifully linked to bring these complete strangers together. All brought together by Vidar, who is considered as a "guardian angel".
There are a lot of critics and people that can lash out saying, they didn't like it and many saying that they did, but honestly, I just think everyone should see the film and decide for themselves whether they liked it or not.
I got a lot of mixed reaction from my friends back home that have seen this movie, (some didn't like it at all, some thought it was OK, some though it was excellent), so I didn't know whether to watch it or not, so my best friend brought it for me be to hear that i had to say about it
So, I can honesty say now, I don't understand why people wouldn't like this movie!!
This is a beautiful and very touching film. I don't know some of my friends didn't like it (maybe they're not into touching/sad films), but I saw it and I was happy, touched and merely sad in different points throughout the movie. This movie really makes you think with an open mind and I really felt for characters in the movie.
SO, a basic PLOT that doesn't give away a lot =P: It's based in Oslo and we follow the lives of various people, which was beautifully linked to bring these complete strangers together. All brought together by Vidar, who is considered as a "guardian angel".
There are a lot of critics and people that can lash out saying, they didn't like it and many saying that they did, but honestly, I just think everyone should see the film and decide for themselves whether they liked it or not.
Overrated eclecticism.
hesbol10 December 2004
This movie got rave reviews in the Norwegian press, and has also been a huge success with the audience. Initially I thought it was sympathetic, albeit very slow - with good actors and some really nice cinematography - but what was it really all about? The script clearly not very original, a cheapo take on the brilliant Altman epos "Short Cuts". OK - the director is in every right to be inspired by great art. But then I started to notice how much was pick pocketed, from the title (Paris, Texas - hello??)- the running character; and the need for a LOT of cash (Run Lola, run)- the angelic characters (Der Himmel über Berlin) - hmmm... the list just goes on and on. Zero originality here,the borderline between_inspiration_and_simple theft is stepped across too many times. On top of this, the director stresses emotions in a not very subtle fashion. I am tempted to call this genre " feelie ", as opposed to the "feel good"-genre so popular these days. Its not feel good, but darn close. The ending of this movie is almost unbelievably sentimental. No wonder people leave the theatre weeping, but this is a response heavily stressed by and wished for of the direction, something I find deeply disturbing - almost unethical!
This movie just serves to justify my life-long suspicion towards the Norwegian film industry and so-called critics alike.
This movie just serves to justify my life-long suspicion towards the Norwegian film industry and so-called critics alike.
Human Connection Crucial in Times of Crisis
friedman-302-40649526 February 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Directed by Erik Poppe, the award-winning Norwegian director behind internationally acclaimed films "Schpaaa" (1998) and "Troubled Water" (2008), "Hawaii, Oslo" takes place in only 24 hours, on the hottest day of the year in Oslo. It follows an eclectic collection of people, including new parents, a mental hospital resident, and two young brothers, as they experience struggles of every kind, both within themselves and with those around them. This film, broken up as it is in order to cover all of the characters, is somewhat of a whirlwind to watch. It contains many separate intrigues, relationships, and emotions, all very intense, which may cause the viewer to become overwhelmed. But perhaps this is exactly the point. "Hawaii, Oslo" is a poignant drama that explores the complicated nature of human beings and the even more complicated connections between them.
To approach this topic "Hawaii, Oslo" touches on a few key themes, one of which is the notion of what people do when they are desperate. In some way, shape, or form all of the main characters in this film are in crisis situations, though to varying degrees. Accordingly, they attempt to cope with their problems in ways that are often irrational, drastic, and highly dangerous. Frode, a new father, must deal with the news that his hours-old son is suffering from a fatal heart defect. The only beacon of hope lies in an extremely expensive and unreliable surgery in the United States. In order to get the money he first sells all of his belongings, then failingly attempts to rob a bank, and finally decides to steal the wad of (stolen) cash he finds strewn around a trash can. What's more, Frode completely disconnects from his wife, Milla, and her wish to forgo the risky surgery in favor of spending what little time she has with their baby. At the same time Mikkel, a young boy whose father has just died in a tragic seizure accident, is stricken by sadness and intense anger. To show his pain he takes to vandalizing buildings, committing petty theft, and worst of all, treating his younger brother, Magne, with disrespect and cruelty. While the quiet, sensitive Magne disagrees with Mikkel's behavior, he must participate or risk being harshly chastised by his brother. When Magne wishes to go to his father's funeral, Mikkel scoffs at him; when they do indeed arrive at the service, Mikkel makes a terrible scene, screaming swear words in the sanctuary and telling their estranged, troubled mother with disgust that he has no desire to speak with her. There are certainly other examples of characters in "Hawaii, Oslo" who find themselves in desperate situations which cause them to take extreme actions. As viewers, we sympathize and often identify with the characters and their suffering. We therefore become involved and invested in their crisis, a process which proves to be difficult and often heartbreaking.
It is clear that the characters' personal struggles influence those around them, which brings us to the next theme: the effects of others on a person's life. There are plenty of examples in this film of humans' negative impacts on one another, including but certainly not limited to Frode's selfish behavior toward Milla and Mikkel's malicious treatment of Magne. However, other relationships in "Hawaii, Oslo" are beneficial and may even make life's trials easier. The relationship between Leon and Åsa is an example of the positive effect one person can have on another. Leon has been living in a mental health facility for many years and one of the only things that has gotten him through it is the promise he made a decade ago with his childhood love, Åsa: if they were both single on Leon's 25th birthday, they would marry each other. Though they have not talked since, Leon never stops believing that they will be reunited and go through with the deal. When he finds out that Åsa is waiting to see him at the local bar, Hawaii, his faith is solidified. The fact that she kept her promise as well as the love and tenderness she shows him that night demonstrates the beauty of human connection. Another example of the incredible way in which one person can influence another is the relationship between Bobbie-Pop and Viggo. After rescuing Bobbie from attempted suicide for the second time, EMT Viggo decides to try to help her. Though at first she rejects his attempts to reach out to her, Bobbie eventually appreciates his genuine interest in her wellbeing. In the scene where the two of them are talking on her couch, we see how by showing Bobbie that she is valued and important Viggo begins to improve her dangerously low self-esteem. This moving scene reminds us how the simple, kind actions of a single person can literally turn someone's life around, or even save that life altogether.
This leads us to the film's most pressing theme, the main message it aims to send to its audience: the inevitability and importance of human connection. The characters in "Hawaii, Oslo" at first seem to be totally disconnected from one another. The film introduces them separately, as if each one is in his/her own little bubble. As the story progresses, they become further intertwined. The scenes contain more and more characters until finally, in the culminating event of the car accident, all of the characters come together. The connections in the film, just as in real life, are often between unexpected people who come into each others' lives in surprising ways. Though these relationships have the potential to be damaging, they are also our only means of support and compassion. Especially at times of desperation and crisis, we must trust in the people around us, whether family, friends, or strangers. This reminder of our own vulnerability and the strength we find in one another is likely what caused "Hawaii, Oslo" to win "Best Film" at the 2005 Amanda Awards.
To approach this topic "Hawaii, Oslo" touches on a few key themes, one of which is the notion of what people do when they are desperate. In some way, shape, or form all of the main characters in this film are in crisis situations, though to varying degrees. Accordingly, they attempt to cope with their problems in ways that are often irrational, drastic, and highly dangerous. Frode, a new father, must deal with the news that his hours-old son is suffering from a fatal heart defect. The only beacon of hope lies in an extremely expensive and unreliable surgery in the United States. In order to get the money he first sells all of his belongings, then failingly attempts to rob a bank, and finally decides to steal the wad of (stolen) cash he finds strewn around a trash can. What's more, Frode completely disconnects from his wife, Milla, and her wish to forgo the risky surgery in favor of spending what little time she has with their baby. At the same time Mikkel, a young boy whose father has just died in a tragic seizure accident, is stricken by sadness and intense anger. To show his pain he takes to vandalizing buildings, committing petty theft, and worst of all, treating his younger brother, Magne, with disrespect and cruelty. While the quiet, sensitive Magne disagrees with Mikkel's behavior, he must participate or risk being harshly chastised by his brother. When Magne wishes to go to his father's funeral, Mikkel scoffs at him; when they do indeed arrive at the service, Mikkel makes a terrible scene, screaming swear words in the sanctuary and telling their estranged, troubled mother with disgust that he has no desire to speak with her. There are certainly other examples of characters in "Hawaii, Oslo" who find themselves in desperate situations which cause them to take extreme actions. As viewers, we sympathize and often identify with the characters and their suffering. We therefore become involved and invested in their crisis, a process which proves to be difficult and often heartbreaking.
It is clear that the characters' personal struggles influence those around them, which brings us to the next theme: the effects of others on a person's life. There are plenty of examples in this film of humans' negative impacts on one another, including but certainly not limited to Frode's selfish behavior toward Milla and Mikkel's malicious treatment of Magne. However, other relationships in "Hawaii, Oslo" are beneficial and may even make life's trials easier. The relationship between Leon and Åsa is an example of the positive effect one person can have on another. Leon has been living in a mental health facility for many years and one of the only things that has gotten him through it is the promise he made a decade ago with his childhood love, Åsa: if they were both single on Leon's 25th birthday, they would marry each other. Though they have not talked since, Leon never stops believing that they will be reunited and go through with the deal. When he finds out that Åsa is waiting to see him at the local bar, Hawaii, his faith is solidified. The fact that she kept her promise as well as the love and tenderness she shows him that night demonstrates the beauty of human connection. Another example of the incredible way in which one person can influence another is the relationship between Bobbie-Pop and Viggo. After rescuing Bobbie from attempted suicide for the second time, EMT Viggo decides to try to help her. Though at first she rejects his attempts to reach out to her, Bobbie eventually appreciates his genuine interest in her wellbeing. In the scene where the two of them are talking on her couch, we see how by showing Bobbie that she is valued and important Viggo begins to improve her dangerously low self-esteem. This moving scene reminds us how the simple, kind actions of a single person can literally turn someone's life around, or even save that life altogether.
This leads us to the film's most pressing theme, the main message it aims to send to its audience: the inevitability and importance of human connection. The characters in "Hawaii, Oslo" at first seem to be totally disconnected from one another. The film introduces them separately, as if each one is in his/her own little bubble. As the story progresses, they become further intertwined. The scenes contain more and more characters until finally, in the culminating event of the car accident, all of the characters come together. The connections in the film, just as in real life, are often between unexpected people who come into each others' lives in surprising ways. Though these relationships have the potential to be damaging, they are also our only means of support and compassion. Especially at times of desperation and crisis, we must trust in the people around us, whether family, friends, or strangers. This reminder of our own vulnerability and the strength we find in one another is likely what caused "Hawaii, Oslo" to win "Best Film" at the 2005 Amanda Awards.
Oslo Trilogy - Excellent second installment
EdgarST7 February 2022
With «Hawaii, Oslo» Erik Poppe continued his Oslo Trilogy (begun with «Schpaaa»), as well as making the second feature in his filmography. From a script by Harald Rosenløw-Eeg, based on an idea of the two, Poppe built a choral film that, for a second foray into the fiction feature film, is a leap not of 7 but of 14 leagues! Movies with several interconnected stories are not a novelty and, if it is about finding similarities, it would be necessary to cite Altman, Kieslowski, P. T. Anderson or Iñárritu, whose «Amores perros» I remembered in the first minutes of «Hawaii, Oslo.»
According to Poppe, during the shooting of «Schpaaa», he met people in Oslo whose stories he wanted to capture in a collective drama. The mystery of the premonitory dream is the unifying thread of the incidents, through the character of Vidar (Trond Espen Seim), a nurse at a psychological care center, who glimpses relationships, exchanges, transformations and deaths .
During the hottest day of 2004 in Oslo, Vidar dreams that Leon, a young patient waiting for a visit from a childhood friend on his birthday, is run over by an ambulance, and so begins the multiple and parallel account of the lives of two boys whose father has died and are going to be separated by social workers, their singer mother whom they have not seen for 11 years and who has just been rescued from a suicide attempt, a couple who must raise $105,000 in 12 hours to pay in the United States for the operation of their son who was just born with a congenital malformation, Leon's brother that obtains a provisional leave from prison to celebrate his brother's birthday and who has a hidden agenda, the driver of a fatal ambulance, a newspaper-delivery and psychic little girl, plus doctors, bankers and Oslo marginal people. And lots of action: people racing, runaway cars and the ticking of the clock which never stops.
The result is an exciting drama, solidly put together by editor Einar Egeland, with plot twists and reversal of fortune that sometimes surprise us and others, confirm our feelings. However, the entire package is irreproachable compact, with very good performances and values in the technical areas. When I finished watching it, I thought that the best world cinema is made without fanfare by Poppe, Sorrentino, Weerasethakul, and many other lesser known filmmakers, showing beings with lives similar to yours and mine, not hollow characters in stuffy melodramas, with or without Netflix support." See it. You will be grateful.
According to Poppe, during the shooting of «Schpaaa», he met people in Oslo whose stories he wanted to capture in a collective drama. The mystery of the premonitory dream is the unifying thread of the incidents, through the character of Vidar (Trond Espen Seim), a nurse at a psychological care center, who glimpses relationships, exchanges, transformations and deaths .
During the hottest day of 2004 in Oslo, Vidar dreams that Leon, a young patient waiting for a visit from a childhood friend on his birthday, is run over by an ambulance, and so begins the multiple and parallel account of the lives of two boys whose father has died and are going to be separated by social workers, their singer mother whom they have not seen for 11 years and who has just been rescued from a suicide attempt, a couple who must raise $105,000 in 12 hours to pay in the United States for the operation of their son who was just born with a congenital malformation, Leon's brother that obtains a provisional leave from prison to celebrate his brother's birthday and who has a hidden agenda, the driver of a fatal ambulance, a newspaper-delivery and psychic little girl, plus doctors, bankers and Oslo marginal people. And lots of action: people racing, runaway cars and the ticking of the clock which never stops.
The result is an exciting drama, solidly put together by editor Einar Egeland, with plot twists and reversal of fortune that sometimes surprise us and others, confirm our feelings. However, the entire package is irreproachable compact, with very good performances and values in the technical areas. When I finished watching it, I thought that the best world cinema is made without fanfare by Poppe, Sorrentino, Weerasethakul, and many other lesser known filmmakers, showing beings with lives similar to yours and mine, not hollow characters in stuffy melodramas, with or without Netflix support." See it. You will be grateful.
"Hawaii Sucks, but this movie doesn't"
malay-677-4457894 March 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Hawaii Sucks! This movie, however, does not. Great movies make you question your own understanding of the world and your place within it. Hawaii Oslo delivers with unique questions, themes, and relationships which demand the observer to watch, comprehend, and believe. The movie, set in Oslo revolves in a unique patchwork way around Hawaii, first as an alternative reality to Leon's brother being incarcerated and second as the bar in which Leon and Asa would finally meet. The use of Hawaii represents the main theme of the film which maintains throughout and entices the viewer; that all is not as it appears. The use of which can be seen in the characters, their relationships, their actions, and within the film itself.
The characters themselves represent a contradiction of realities; Vidar seems to be able to witness events which have not occurred. We witness this reality in the opening of the film in which Vidar dreams that Leon is struck by an ambulance while running, yet the ending of the film makes us question his ability. In addition Vidar and the paper girl share a unique moment when both describe the other as not who they appear. Additional character divisiveness exists in Frode the father of a baby who is born with a unique heart defect – this man who appears at the outset to be only concerned with his self, but by the end has given away all that he is and risks jail time for the life of his child. This is only compounded by the mother of two young men who have lost their father, who we meet attempting suicide (only successful with her cat), but by the end is working diligently to reclaim her boys and build a life for them. The distinct realities of the characters makes one question their own role in life; for these individuals self-sacrifice to another either saved them or brought out the best in them.
Relationships within the film also present a contradiction of reality, in both Leon's relationship to his brother and the mother to her two boys. We find Leon's brother in prison for armed robbery, yet Leon is told and believes to some extent that his brother is in Hawaii the whole time. Throughout the film Leon is used by his brother for his own ends and Leon's one true goal in life, to meet up with Asa, is almost lost to his brother's actions. Instead we find Vidar being more of a brother or guardian angel to Leon than his own flesh and blood; looking out for Leon's safety and goal at the expense of his own health. The same is true for the boys who found a family with one another and whose mother seemed to give little concern for them and focused instead upon her depression. Relationships within this film carry a two fold message: 1. that family does not necessarily equate to blood ties and 2. That a true friend or family member is willing to sacrifice themselves for those they care about.
The actions of the characters throughout the film define this concept of self-sacrifice for those who you care, but also demonstrate that focus upon one's self eventually leads to fruitless ends. Whether we take the example of Vidar and Leon, Frode, Leon's brother, or the mother and her children the outcome is the same. Those that in the end were willing to look beyond themselves for the benefit of another were rewarded or at least felt as though a burden had been lifted, while those whom stayed focused upon their self, namely Leon's brother, received only added burden. This idea is intriguing throughout the film for as one watches, one can not help but realize the extent to which each of the characters, with the exception of Vidar and the paper girl, are wrapped up in themselves, their careers, their goals, or their loss.
Finally, the film overall presented a reality of Vidar's dream at the beginning of the film and a series of events which lead to an alternate, but similar conclusion. The film's use of Hawaii flower breaks exacerbates the feeling that the entire film rather than simply the beginning is a dream or the replay of events in an individuals head before the end. This sense of mystery and illusion adds greatly to the viewers' enjoyment, as one tries to piece the stories together and realizes how all choices and actions affect not one character or two, but all individual characters. In a world today marked by self-centered individuals, companies, and government which seek only the best for the bottom line this film has a serious and beneficial message; that your individual actions affect more than just you and that only through self-sacrifice to others can we remove our own burdens.
Vidar's advice to Frode, at the birth of his son, is key to the entire movie, "Cherish it" – cherish the moments for they are all anyone truly has in life. Even if you don't like Norwegian films or believe that the message and purpose of this film would be lost upon your-self or does not apply, see it. Out of a number of foreign films I have seen this one by far had a simple message for all to take away, with a story and cinematic elements which create an excellent viewing experience, worth your time.
The characters themselves represent a contradiction of realities; Vidar seems to be able to witness events which have not occurred. We witness this reality in the opening of the film in which Vidar dreams that Leon is struck by an ambulance while running, yet the ending of the film makes us question his ability. In addition Vidar and the paper girl share a unique moment when both describe the other as not who they appear. Additional character divisiveness exists in Frode the father of a baby who is born with a unique heart defect – this man who appears at the outset to be only concerned with his self, but by the end has given away all that he is and risks jail time for the life of his child. This is only compounded by the mother of two young men who have lost their father, who we meet attempting suicide (only successful with her cat), but by the end is working diligently to reclaim her boys and build a life for them. The distinct realities of the characters makes one question their own role in life; for these individuals self-sacrifice to another either saved them or brought out the best in them.
Relationships within the film also present a contradiction of reality, in both Leon's relationship to his brother and the mother to her two boys. We find Leon's brother in prison for armed robbery, yet Leon is told and believes to some extent that his brother is in Hawaii the whole time. Throughout the film Leon is used by his brother for his own ends and Leon's one true goal in life, to meet up with Asa, is almost lost to his brother's actions. Instead we find Vidar being more of a brother or guardian angel to Leon than his own flesh and blood; looking out for Leon's safety and goal at the expense of his own health. The same is true for the boys who found a family with one another and whose mother seemed to give little concern for them and focused instead upon her depression. Relationships within this film carry a two fold message: 1. that family does not necessarily equate to blood ties and 2. That a true friend or family member is willing to sacrifice themselves for those they care about.
The actions of the characters throughout the film define this concept of self-sacrifice for those who you care, but also demonstrate that focus upon one's self eventually leads to fruitless ends. Whether we take the example of Vidar and Leon, Frode, Leon's brother, or the mother and her children the outcome is the same. Those that in the end were willing to look beyond themselves for the benefit of another were rewarded or at least felt as though a burden had been lifted, while those whom stayed focused upon their self, namely Leon's brother, received only added burden. This idea is intriguing throughout the film for as one watches, one can not help but realize the extent to which each of the characters, with the exception of Vidar and the paper girl, are wrapped up in themselves, their careers, their goals, or their loss.
Finally, the film overall presented a reality of Vidar's dream at the beginning of the film and a series of events which lead to an alternate, but similar conclusion. The film's use of Hawaii flower breaks exacerbates the feeling that the entire film rather than simply the beginning is a dream or the replay of events in an individuals head before the end. This sense of mystery and illusion adds greatly to the viewers' enjoyment, as one tries to piece the stories together and realizes how all choices and actions affect not one character or two, but all individual characters. In a world today marked by self-centered individuals, companies, and government which seek only the best for the bottom line this film has a serious and beneficial message; that your individual actions affect more than just you and that only through self-sacrifice to others can we remove our own burdens.
Vidar's advice to Frode, at the birth of his son, is key to the entire movie, "Cherish it" – cherish the moments for they are all anyone truly has in life. Even if you don't like Norwegian films or believe that the message and purpose of this film would be lost upon your-self or does not apply, see it. Out of a number of foreign films I have seen this one by far had a simple message for all to take away, with a story and cinematic elements which create an excellent viewing experience, worth your time.
YAWN! Huh, sorry, I fell asleep in the ambulance...
earlgoldcrap4 February 2006
Brief Synopsis: Vidar can dream into the future. What he sees frightens him. Extreme Foreshadowing! He runs a Hostel for mildly "touched" Leon who pines for his girlfriend of fifteen years ago, Asa, now a detached stewardess character with no lines, no backstory, and no character development, who's returning to celebrate Leon's birthday and presumably to marry him, due to a "pact" they made when children, along with Leon's brother, Trygve, who is temporarily released from prison (serving time for being represented with homo-erotic undertones -- wet and naked in jail! -- and armed robbery), and uses the birthday as an excuse to escape prison, while on the OTHER side of town a couple gives birth to a child with a heart condition in an ambulance that will soon embark to rescue a mother of two indigent children who is attempting suicide for the second or third time...
You know what, I give up. There are like seven more characters and two more plots. Only a few of these many many MANY characters have any real life to them (all of them are men, for some reason), and in the end you just want Bruce Willis to come in and save everyone from a burning building and get it over with. We could have used just one of these plot s to realize a handful of characters, a real story, with real exposition.
Influences: Rips Off (Half Heartedly) "Les Arbre De Desire", "Run Lola Run", "If Lucy Fell", with a wee bit of "Rainman" and "Mystery Train" thrown in for color.
Sorry Norway, you're no Morocco! For a great movie about learning how to love, see "Roads to Koktebel" or "Viva Laldjerie".
You know what, I give up. There are like seven more characters and two more plots. Only a few of these many many MANY characters have any real life to them (all of them are men, for some reason), and in the end you just want Bruce Willis to come in and save everyone from a burning building and get it over with. We could have used just one of these plot s to realize a handful of characters, a real story, with real exposition.
Influences: Rips Off (Half Heartedly) "Les Arbre De Desire", "Run Lola Run", "If Lucy Fell", with a wee bit of "Rainman" and "Mystery Train" thrown in for color.
Sorry Norway, you're no Morocco! For a great movie about learning how to love, see "Roads to Koktebel" or "Viva Laldjerie".
Hawaii, Oslo - A Connective Film
cebernhardt5 March 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Erik Poppe's Hawaii, Oslo (2004) catapults into a four-branched plot line when a psychiatric ward guardian – Vidar – awakes from a dark prophetic dream, in which a friend of his is hit by an ambulance and killed. In the dream a man runs along the streets of Oslo and is hit suddenly by an ambulance. Each character featured in the film approaches the dying man on the street to find out what has happened. The film then unfolds in a manner that reveals to us the background of each character, as well as their role in the prophecy dreamt by Vidar.
While the branches of the plot are linked together through Vidar in his pursuit to rectify the fate he has foreseen, the characters from each corner of the film don't really interact in substantial ways in day-to-day life. Their stories are connected, although they themselves are not. However, they are connected in ways beyond their revolving around Vidar.
Themes pop up in repeated places, showing the viewer what these people have in common. Brotherly relations, for one, are heavily focused upon. Both sets of brothers, Leon/Trygve and Mikkel/Magne, pair a dominant, yet broken elder brother with an inferior, misunderstood, and wise little brother. Both Leon and Magne are dominated by their elder brothers, as they appear to be falling apart more visibly at the surface. However, we soon see that although he may take more charge in attempting to control his own life than Leon does, Trygve is the truly broken and lost sibling. Additionally, Mikkel represses emotion as a coping mechanism. Both elder brothers suppress their more emotionally in-touch younger brothers as a means by which to exert control over something in their lives. Poppe intelligently deconstructs this relationship by providing us with examples of this theme at two different stages of life – boyhood and adulthood.
We also see two paralleled parenthoods. Mille and Frode feud over how to approach the nearing death of their newborn son. Frode does everything possible to prevent it, even when doctors and his spouse alike tell him the baby cannot be saved. Mille focuses on spending as much time with her baby boy as she can, so Frode must have hope enough for the both of them. "You need to stop dreaming. You need to wake up!" says Mille. "I am awake! Listen to yourself!" replies Frode. When the doctor tells the couple he cannot morally advise them to explore this experimental procedure, Frode explodes, "So we should just give up?!" With conflicting viewpoints, the couple works through the adversity confronting them.
Meanwhile, Tina gives up all hope on her own life and attempts to commit suicide, only to be revived and find out that her former lover has passed away. Deciding that her children now need her in their lives, she sets out to forsake her own desire to die in order to be present for her boys. Life and death sit at the forefront of these two familial livelihoods, but the theme remains the same: There is an innate human need for parents to do anything possible for their children.
While these family units strive to become whole in their respective story lines, we see Asa and Leon work to fulfill a marriage pact made over a decade ago. The prospect of love and happiness are what drives these two characters from the start of the film. Leon thus resolves the brother theme by deciding to reject his role as inferior, and take over his own life. What better way to depict this rejection of the inferior brother role than to present his character with the opportunity for romantic love? Choosing a successful loving relationship over a dysfunctional one, Leon selects Asa's Hawaii rather than the one Trygve presents him with. He also becomes linked with Frode and Mille as he embarks on a romantic partnership, and all the themes related to achieving a successful one.
From a filmic standpoint, taking on this many characters and story lines can be daunting for the filmmaker. But Poppe rises to the occasion, effectively utilizing every last moment of screen time for each person in the film. As tensions rise, and the climax arrives in each situation, Poppe strategically cuts from storyline to storyline. Just when we are hungry for more from Frode and Mille, we are presented with Magne and Mikkel's struggle. Frustrated perhaps at first with the jarring transition, we quickly remember that we had to be torn away from Magne and Mikkel as well. The viewer never feels spread too thinly among these stories, but rather intrigued and compelled by each one all the way through. Poppe's use of effective dialogue (not too much and never too little), as well as his succinct introduction to the characters coagulates to effectively form a well-constructed and interesting set of players. We know just as much as we need to about each character, but we always want to know more due to how beautiful and engaging we find them.
Poppe smartly creates a character solar system, in which every character revolves around a prophet named Vidar. Yet, he takes it one step further by creating thematic links among these well-constructed characters. This intelligent web he has spun not only makes for an intriguing, heart-wrenching human story, but also shows the viewer that people are connected in more ways than they may know, or ever even see. With the cornucopia of events set before us, very viewer can find a character, relationship, or situation with which to relate. The audience can go from there in order to see how different situations and relationships, as polar as they may seem, have a surprising amount in common. Underlying each of these thematic events and existences is the concept of human control over fate, something every living person ponders at some point or other in their lives.
While the branches of the plot are linked together through Vidar in his pursuit to rectify the fate he has foreseen, the characters from each corner of the film don't really interact in substantial ways in day-to-day life. Their stories are connected, although they themselves are not. However, they are connected in ways beyond their revolving around Vidar.
Themes pop up in repeated places, showing the viewer what these people have in common. Brotherly relations, for one, are heavily focused upon. Both sets of brothers, Leon/Trygve and Mikkel/Magne, pair a dominant, yet broken elder brother with an inferior, misunderstood, and wise little brother. Both Leon and Magne are dominated by their elder brothers, as they appear to be falling apart more visibly at the surface. However, we soon see that although he may take more charge in attempting to control his own life than Leon does, Trygve is the truly broken and lost sibling. Additionally, Mikkel represses emotion as a coping mechanism. Both elder brothers suppress their more emotionally in-touch younger brothers as a means by which to exert control over something in their lives. Poppe intelligently deconstructs this relationship by providing us with examples of this theme at two different stages of life – boyhood and adulthood.
We also see two paralleled parenthoods. Mille and Frode feud over how to approach the nearing death of their newborn son. Frode does everything possible to prevent it, even when doctors and his spouse alike tell him the baby cannot be saved. Mille focuses on spending as much time with her baby boy as she can, so Frode must have hope enough for the both of them. "You need to stop dreaming. You need to wake up!" says Mille. "I am awake! Listen to yourself!" replies Frode. When the doctor tells the couple he cannot morally advise them to explore this experimental procedure, Frode explodes, "So we should just give up?!" With conflicting viewpoints, the couple works through the adversity confronting them.
Meanwhile, Tina gives up all hope on her own life and attempts to commit suicide, only to be revived and find out that her former lover has passed away. Deciding that her children now need her in their lives, she sets out to forsake her own desire to die in order to be present for her boys. Life and death sit at the forefront of these two familial livelihoods, but the theme remains the same: There is an innate human need for parents to do anything possible for their children.
While these family units strive to become whole in their respective story lines, we see Asa and Leon work to fulfill a marriage pact made over a decade ago. The prospect of love and happiness are what drives these two characters from the start of the film. Leon thus resolves the brother theme by deciding to reject his role as inferior, and take over his own life. What better way to depict this rejection of the inferior brother role than to present his character with the opportunity for romantic love? Choosing a successful loving relationship over a dysfunctional one, Leon selects Asa's Hawaii rather than the one Trygve presents him with. He also becomes linked with Frode and Mille as he embarks on a romantic partnership, and all the themes related to achieving a successful one.
From a filmic standpoint, taking on this many characters and story lines can be daunting for the filmmaker. But Poppe rises to the occasion, effectively utilizing every last moment of screen time for each person in the film. As tensions rise, and the climax arrives in each situation, Poppe strategically cuts from storyline to storyline. Just when we are hungry for more from Frode and Mille, we are presented with Magne and Mikkel's struggle. Frustrated perhaps at first with the jarring transition, we quickly remember that we had to be torn away from Magne and Mikkel as well. The viewer never feels spread too thinly among these stories, but rather intrigued and compelled by each one all the way through. Poppe's use of effective dialogue (not too much and never too little), as well as his succinct introduction to the characters coagulates to effectively form a well-constructed and interesting set of players. We know just as much as we need to about each character, but we always want to know more due to how beautiful and engaging we find them.
Poppe smartly creates a character solar system, in which every character revolves around a prophet named Vidar. Yet, he takes it one step further by creating thematic links among these well-constructed characters. This intelligent web he has spun not only makes for an intriguing, heart-wrenching human story, but also shows the viewer that people are connected in more ways than they may know, or ever even see. With the cornucopia of events set before us, very viewer can find a character, relationship, or situation with which to relate. The audience can go from there in order to see how different situations and relationships, as polar as they may seem, have a surprising amount in common. Underlying each of these thematic events and existences is the concept of human control over fate, something every living person ponders at some point or other in their lives.
An awfully long, boring and predictable movie.
moijk31 October 2004
Warning: Spoilers
It was the first movie I ever saw where i was about to stand up in my chair at the cinema and scream out loud "Can anything happened soon?'.
From the first scene to the last you can almost predict everything. The stories are told in such a dull matter, that it doesn't really matter that a couple of the actors also preformed fairly poor.
They blew the highlights by running the camera like it was beck or something. They never tried to create the moods that were appropriate for the scenes - everything felt like it was rushed and moments that were sad or romantic wasn't directed good enough to give you time to reflect - making it seem flat, meaningless and boring.
It's been a lot of great movies from norwey in the past years, but this isn't worth it at all.
From the first scene to the last you can almost predict everything. The stories are told in such a dull matter, that it doesn't really matter that a couple of the actors also preformed fairly poor.
They blew the highlights by running the camera like it was beck or something. They never tried to create the moods that were appropriate for the scenes - everything felt like it was rushed and moments that were sad or romantic wasn't directed good enough to give you time to reflect - making it seem flat, meaningless and boring.
It's been a lot of great movies from norwey in the past years, but this isn't worth it at all.
An essential in my collection
ratcityfilmsociety28 March 2010
Erik Poppe created a masterpiece with this work. Wonderful characters fill this brilliantly shot film. The intertwined stories are a common enough device, but they work particularly well in this movie. Each of these diverse characters is so well developed that I would watch a film built around any of them with great interest. It has become my "go to" DVD when I am in need of a powerful film to lift a sagging soul. I give it the highest possible compliment when I call it Steinbeckian. A Steinbeckian film to me is one where the humanity of all the characters, no matter how evil their actions, is on view. Empathy is generated where other films will often resort to caricature. The tension in this film leaves my heart pounding every time I watch, knowing full well what happens next. At the same time I see new nuances every time I watch it. You know, I may just pop it in the machine right now.
Fascinating to watch, but too frenetic to believe or care about
jm107017 July 2011
This is a remarkably well constructed movie that is fascinating to watch yet somehow manages to fall flat. The many characters race constantly around Oslo on an atypically scorching summer day (nobody seems to walk there, regardless of the heat and sweat, or to drive slowly) on their various frantic individual quests, briefly intersecting or passing each other unknown and unknowing, until they all come together magically in the end.
As others have already said, there is much in this movie that is derivative of earlier movies, but a good movie does not have to be innovative. However, it does - for me - almost always have to make me care about the characters, and that is what this one failed almost completely to do.
I cared about only one of the dozen or so main characters scurrying and caroming around the city like pinballs, and he was the least frantic, the most unassuming of them all: little Magne, the younger (and quieter) of the younger pair of brothers, played with exquisite, tender understatement by Ferdinand Falsen Hiis.
Magne was like a small but solid rock in this swirling storm of a movie, and it would have been been crushed under the weight of its own overwrought melodrama without him. To use a contrasting metaphor, he is like the gravity that keeps the universe from spinning out into nothingness.
Erik Poppe gets one star for choreographing this frenetic dance, and Ferdinand Falsen Hiis gets four stars for holding it together just by being in it. He makes it worth watching. ALL the adults are just too frenzied to either believe or care about.
As others have already said, there is much in this movie that is derivative of earlier movies, but a good movie does not have to be innovative. However, it does - for me - almost always have to make me care about the characters, and that is what this one failed almost completely to do.
I cared about only one of the dozen or so main characters scurrying and caroming around the city like pinballs, and he was the least frantic, the most unassuming of them all: little Magne, the younger (and quieter) of the younger pair of brothers, played with exquisite, tender understatement by Ferdinand Falsen Hiis.
Magne was like a small but solid rock in this swirling storm of a movie, and it would have been been crushed under the weight of its own overwrought melodrama without him. To use a contrasting metaphor, he is like the gravity that keeps the universe from spinning out into nothingness.
Erik Poppe gets one star for choreographing this frenetic dance, and Ferdinand Falsen Hiis gets four stars for holding it together just by being in it. He makes it worth watching. ALL the adults are just too frenzied to either believe or care about.
"Hawaii, Oslo" illuminates the serendipitous world in which we live
drumgirlelena5 March 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Serendipity and coincidence are phenomena we experience every day in this strange world of ours. There are even songs about it – think "Ironic" by Alanis Morissette. No, a free ride when you have already paid is not ironic, but it is coincidental and surprising – just like a dozen or so people's lives colliding in the middle of the night in the middle of Oslo. That is the story of Erik Poppe's "Hawaii, Oslo," and through these moments of serendipity and tragedy, we are introduced to a host of tough spots, hard issues and happy coincidences that force us to question the concepts of fate and chance.
To tie these stories together with simple words would be a struggle – their stories are many- faceted and hopelessly intertwined. The story starts with Leon, who is waiting for Åsa, who crosses paths with Magne and Mikkel, who have a deep but mysterious connection to Bobbie, who forms a relationship with Viggo, who delivered the dying child of Frode and Milla, who, desperately seeking care, cross paths with Trygve, who is Leon's criminal brother. And to top it all off, there is the character Vidar, more or less an angel with premonitions that send him all over the city, encountering nearly all of the characters, in his search for Leon. Please, let me confuse you more. However, in the two hours it takes to establish and connect these stories, we get an overwhelming sense that these are normal people with normal lives in a very abnormal 24-hour period of time. The reason for this abnormality is fate, chance, coincidence, serendipity – nobody understands the concept quite the same way, but it that which makes the world so wildly unpredictable and brings about the miracles that some are so baffled by they can't help but attribute them to a higher power. Some people call it God's will – but maybe not the Norwegians.
So how do you convey so much anguish and excitement into just a couple of hours?
It starts with the plot. Without giving too much away, there are many plot devices that bring these people together. There is birth, death, illness, love, grief, suicide, promise, theft, desperation and a sense of the divine. There are posters, ambulances, hospitals, pills, churches, restaurants, parks, parties, pets and jails. Somehow, all of these people experience all of these emotions in all of these places together. And it connects them in a way neither they nor we can fully understand.
Then there are the technical aspects. The movie is filmed with a hand-held camera, which brings a reality to the characters' struggles and successes. It is almost as if the viewer is there with the people, experiencing their emotions and more, because we as a viewer know that there is so much more complexity to each situation than the individual characters can see. This simultaneously brings a sense of grandeur and simplicity to each scene, as we realize that the world is as complex as the film, and in every moment we experience, there are billions of other people having experiences around the world, many of which likely connect in some way or another to ours. There are countless connections happening every day to everyone and we simply don't notice because of our limited perspective.
Another element of the film that contributes to this sense of mystery is the music. To me, it sounds like a creepy birthday party – coincidentally, something that actually happens in the film. The whole thing is very suspenseful, hinting that things are relatively dandy right now, but they may not be what they seem, which more or less describes the lives of each of these characters; Things seem all right, until they are not. The quality of the music, a sort of conspicuous xylophone that you cannot ignore, perplexingly contributes to the realism as well. Because the music is so obvious, it is clearly an addition, something that could be tossed in to a documentary without distracting from the truth of the image.
Personally, I think this movie is not only entertaining, but also a very successful and thought- provoking film. It sets out to explore the idea of coincidence and how the world is so much smaller than we think, and it does so without being cheesy or unbelievable. It is suspenseful, yet not frustratingly so. And the film is unique – there are very few films that do such an incredible job of informing the audience, maintaining suspense and pulling so many different story lines together. This seamless merging of stories, themes and sensations helps the audience to focus on the deeper motifs of fate and coincidence and leave with contemplations stirring in their head.
To tie these stories together with simple words would be a struggle – their stories are many- faceted and hopelessly intertwined. The story starts with Leon, who is waiting for Åsa, who crosses paths with Magne and Mikkel, who have a deep but mysterious connection to Bobbie, who forms a relationship with Viggo, who delivered the dying child of Frode and Milla, who, desperately seeking care, cross paths with Trygve, who is Leon's criminal brother. And to top it all off, there is the character Vidar, more or less an angel with premonitions that send him all over the city, encountering nearly all of the characters, in his search for Leon. Please, let me confuse you more. However, in the two hours it takes to establish and connect these stories, we get an overwhelming sense that these are normal people with normal lives in a very abnormal 24-hour period of time. The reason for this abnormality is fate, chance, coincidence, serendipity – nobody understands the concept quite the same way, but it that which makes the world so wildly unpredictable and brings about the miracles that some are so baffled by they can't help but attribute them to a higher power. Some people call it God's will – but maybe not the Norwegians.
So how do you convey so much anguish and excitement into just a couple of hours?
It starts with the plot. Without giving too much away, there are many plot devices that bring these people together. There is birth, death, illness, love, grief, suicide, promise, theft, desperation and a sense of the divine. There are posters, ambulances, hospitals, pills, churches, restaurants, parks, parties, pets and jails. Somehow, all of these people experience all of these emotions in all of these places together. And it connects them in a way neither they nor we can fully understand.
Then there are the technical aspects. The movie is filmed with a hand-held camera, which brings a reality to the characters' struggles and successes. It is almost as if the viewer is there with the people, experiencing their emotions and more, because we as a viewer know that there is so much more complexity to each situation than the individual characters can see. This simultaneously brings a sense of grandeur and simplicity to each scene, as we realize that the world is as complex as the film, and in every moment we experience, there are billions of other people having experiences around the world, many of which likely connect in some way or another to ours. There are countless connections happening every day to everyone and we simply don't notice because of our limited perspective.
Another element of the film that contributes to this sense of mystery is the music. To me, it sounds like a creepy birthday party – coincidentally, something that actually happens in the film. The whole thing is very suspenseful, hinting that things are relatively dandy right now, but they may not be what they seem, which more or less describes the lives of each of these characters; Things seem all right, until they are not. The quality of the music, a sort of conspicuous xylophone that you cannot ignore, perplexingly contributes to the realism as well. Because the music is so obvious, it is clearly an addition, something that could be tossed in to a documentary without distracting from the truth of the image.
Personally, I think this movie is not only entertaining, but also a very successful and thought- provoking film. It sets out to explore the idea of coincidence and how the world is so much smaller than we think, and it does so without being cheesy or unbelievable. It is suspenseful, yet not frustratingly so. And the film is unique – there are very few films that do such an incredible job of informing the audience, maintaining suspense and pulling so many different story lines together. This seamless merging of stories, themes and sensations helps the audience to focus on the deeper motifs of fate and coincidence and leave with contemplations stirring in their head.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
