O’HORTEN – Reviewed by Will

A group of Norwegian locomotive engineers gather at a party, quizzing one another on their arcane knowledge of railroad engineering (Finbar McBride, the protagonist of The Station Agent, would be very much at home with this crowd). They are throwing this party to honor Odd Horten (Baard Owe), who at 67 is departing their ranks and retiring. Cautious, reserved and apparently never married, he is respected and liked by his colleagues but doesn’t seem to know what to do with the rest of his life. He visits his mother in her retirement home, speaking genially with her while she hardly seems aware of his presence. Locked out of his friend’s apartment building, he attempts to enter by climbing the exterior scaffolding and ends up spending the night in a small chair by a young boy’s bunk bed. This episode, like most of the events in O’Horten, defies explanation and would arouse suspicion out of context, which might explain why Odd always seems to be making a discreet exit from wherever he is.

O’Horten is one of those quirky but strangely authentic little films that seem to spring up all over the world. Examples include the aforementioned Station Agent, 10 Items or Less and cult favorites from Asia like Shower and Tampopo. It’s funny in an insistently low-key way. Even after 85 or so minutes spent with Odd, he is a fairly blank and enigmatic character. He wanders through strange incidents and meets peculiar people all while wearing a tame smile, but always seems inclined to inhabit the lonely fringe of humanity’s infrastructure where he has spent his working life. Of course, nocturnal outdoor life during a Norwegian winter, so palpably depicted here, would probably be lonely for anybody. Yet, rather than being a cold or depressing film to augment Scandinavia’s already high suicide rate, O’Horten somehow serves to leave its audience warm and uplifted. – [DVD]

Comedy/Drama

Rated PG-13

DVD Release Date: 9/22/09