Oslo, August 31st

Oslo, August 31st

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Joachim Trier
Produced by Hans-Jørgen Osnes
Yngve Sæther
Screenplay by Joachim Trier
Eskil Vogt
Based on Will O' the Wisp by Pierre Drieu La Rochelle
Starring Anders Danielsen Lie
Hans Olav Brenner
Ingrid Olava
Music by Torgny Amdam
Ola Fløttum
Cinematography Jakob Ihre
Edited by Olivier Bugge Coutté
Distributed by Strand Releasing
Release date
  • 19 May 2011 (2011-05-19) (Cannes)
  • 31 August 2011 (2011-08-31) (Norway)
Running time
95 minutes
Country Norway
Language Norwegian

Oslo, August 31st (Norwegian: Oslo, 31. august) is a 2011 Norwegian drama film directed by Joachim Trier. It is loosely based on the novel Will O' the Wisp by Pierre Drieu La Rochelle. It premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.[1][2] It won the prizes for Best Film and Best Cinematography at the 2011 Stockholm International Film Festival; jury president Whit Stillman described the film as "a perfectly painted portrait of a generation".[3] It was one of three films on the Norwegian shortlist for submissions to the 84th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film.[4]

Plot

Anders is a recovering drug addict in an Oslo rehab clinic. On 30 August, he is given a day's leave to attend a job interview in the city centre. After visiting his friend Thomas, he proceeds to his appointment. In the interview, he admits to being a drug addict and storms out. He then wanders the streets of Oslo for the rest of the day and night, meeting, and sometimes confronting, people from his past. The film ends the next day, 31 August. Anders, who has bought some drugs on his day away from the rehab clinic, retreats to a room within the family home and injects.

Cast

Reception

Oslo, August 31st has received widespread critical acclaim from both film critics and audiences. Review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes reports that 98% of critics have given the film a positive review, based on 57 reviews with an average rating of 8.2/10. The general consensus being: "An upfront study of a drug addict confronting his demons, Oslo, August 31st makes this dark journey worthwhile with fantastic directing and equally fantastic acting." Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, reports the film has a score of 84. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film four out of four stars and said the film is "quietly, profoundly, one of the most observant and sympathetic films I've seen".[5] Ebert went on to name it the ninth best film of the year in his annual list.[6]

References

  1. "Festival de Cannes: Official Selection". Cannes. Retrieved 2011-04-16.
  2. "Cannes film festival 2011: The full lineup". guardian.co.uk. London. 14 April 2011. Retrieved 16 April 2011.
  3. Dawtrey, Adam (20 November 2011). "'Oslo' tops Stockholm fest". Variety. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
  4. "Norway names three Oscar candidates". norwegianfilms. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
  5. "Oslo, August 31". rogerebert. 29 August 2012. Retrieved 2013-01-01.
  6. Ebert, Roger. "Ebert's Top Movies of 2012". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
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