By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.2 cats
Director: Joachim Trier
Starring: Anders Danielsen Lie | Espen Klouman-Høiner | Henrik Elvestad | Viktoria Winge
Country: norway
Year: 2008
Running time: 105
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0827517/
Bruce says: “Two young men, Philip (Anders Danielsen Lie) and Erik (Espen Klouman Høiner), graduate from university with a shared dream of becoming famous writers, and shortly thereafter they send their manuscripts off to publishers.. Friends since childhood, they have supported one another emotionally for years. Philip immediately hits the jackpot and finds fame and fortune; Erik keeps plodding along trying to make sense of his fruitless pursuits. The two boys have a large circle of friends. The two have an idol, Sten Egil Dahl who is a recluse, a Norwegian J. D. Salinger. Their lives intersect with Dahl at strange points in time.
“REPRISE explores the paths which are chosen by Philip and Erik and those which are forced upon them. We see constant cinematic flashes about their thought processes and their fantasies and are challenged by a cinematic examination of the hypothetical, all meandering together with a narrative line that is grounded in reality. This is a very demanding film, one which is best to see wide awake. REPRISE is playful, melancholy, romantic, tragic, and even political as Trier manages some sly asides about George Bush and Hitler Youth.
“Philip’s story is filled with anguish. Psychiatrists believe his illness is triggered by a obsessive romance but signs point to possible over medication with Seroquel, a drug used for treating bi-polar disorders and schizophrenia. As a result of his illness Philip lacks emotional response – the ability to be intimate – leaving him frustrated and angry because he can see himself from the outside. His involvement with Kari (Viktoria Winge) ends when he is hospitalized. Later when Philip tries to forge a life for himself, no longer able to write, he attempts to recapture the moments that began his affair with Kari thinking a reprise might be a sort of cure. Erik has emotional problems of his own. He cannot move away from his mother’s house and he cannot commit to a relationship with his long-time girlfriend. Erik resents Philips early success and is frustrated by the alienating aspects of his illness. When Erik finally does get published, what follows is not at all what he dreamed. 5 cats
“REPRISE screened at the 2007 New Directors/New Films festival co-sponsored by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and MOMA.”
Chris says: “REPRISE is far from the first film to capture the ebullience of being a young adult, but it is one of the rare ones to consider the full spectrum of post-adolescence emotions. Both the thrill of having an entire adulthood ahead of one’s self and all the anxieties and uncertainties that come with the territory are given equal measure.
We meet best friends Philip (Anders Danielsen Lie) and Erik (Espen Klouman-Høiner) as they simultaneously deposit manuscripts of their first books into a mailbox. Immediately, an omniscient narrator accompanies a breathlessly paced montage of the subsequent acclaim and intellectually stimulating adventures bestowed among these two young men and their published works–but it’s only an idyllic version of what they hope will happen. In actuality, Philip’s book is published, but Erik’s is rejected. Six months pass, and the film resumes with Erik and a few friends driving to a mental health facility to pick up Philip, who is recovering following a suicide attempt.
From there, the film proceeds forward, with a few carefully chosen flashbacks. We learn that Philip’s collapse was partially brought on by the end of a brief but passionate, obsessive relationship with Kari (Viktoria Winge). As Erik takes care of his friend, finds a publisher for his own book and slowly grows disillusioned with his surroundings, Philip has lost the will to write, or do much of anything. When Kari re-enters his life, his behavior increasingly points towards signs of serious mental illness (rather than stress) that may be to blame for his malaise. All three leads are very good: Lie keeps Philip from coming across as too much of an enigma, Winge tackles the girlfriend role with grit and subtlety, and Klouman-Høiner holds our attention even as his character is the film’s most normal and least angst-ridden.
In his first feature, Norwegian director Joachim Trier proves himself a skilled borrower: the narration is straight out of Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN, the graphics and narrative construction are reminiscent of TRAINSPOTTING, and the overall attitude reeks of French New Wave (particularly Godard). Despite all this, he’s not a poseur, for as REPRISE recalls these touchstones, it often feels nothing like them. The pacing and drained-out colors are more common to a Dogme film, and the tone is moody and atmospheric but not pretentious. As much as Trier loves his characters, there’s a sense of detached wisdom towards them that keeps the film from feeling contrived. 4.5 cats”
Michael says: “REPRISE had a brief theatrical run earlier this year and is now available on DVD. I haven’t seen many Norwegian films, so my interest was piqued for this one; especially since Chris really enjoyed it. REPRISE is also a debut feature for Norwegian director Joachim Trier, and as a first film, it’s pretty accomplished stylistically. The story revolves around two young men in their early twenties from the wealthy side of Oslo, who both happen to be aspiring writers. The film follows their careers as writers and the hopes, dreams, ups and downs that come with success, failure and adulthood. It was an interesting age to focus on; a time when young people come across alternatively as banal and obnoxious high school students, and accomplished, youthful demigods, buzzing with creativity and confidence. Trier, who also co-wrote the script does a fairly good job at capturing this feeling, yet he stumbles in other areas.
“While I appreciate the non-linear way the story unfolds, and the omniscient narrator who periodically swept in to let us know what was to come, I was baffled by the time period for this film. Not knowing enough about Norway, I don’t know if there were any clues to establish a time period. I would have thought the film was contemporary, but the music that they listened to was punk AND it was on vinyl. There was liberal use of cell phones, so I suspect that the nostalgia the characters felt for punk music came directly from Trier, who was born in 1974. Then there was the inherent juvenility of the main characters’ friends, a group of young men filled with hubris and misogyny convinced that all that matters is each other, their creativity, and their music. While that is the point, and by the film’s end we see that the ensemble have matured to the point of accepting that women might be okay and have something to offer, I was frequently annoyed by the characters we were supposed to enjoy.
“The acting was strong, with the three leads, Anders Danielsen Lie, Espen Klouman-Høiner, and Viktoria Winge, all having little or no film experience. Winge especially shines in her first feature film. She manages to elevate the girlfriend role into something with a little backbone and identity. All in all, I appreciated REPRISE more than I liked it. 3 cats”