Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Baard Owe | ... | Odd Horten (as Bård Owe) | |
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Espen Skjønberg | ... | Trygve Sissener |
Ghita Nørby | ... | Fru Thøgersen | |
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Henny Moan | ... | Svea |
Bjørn Floberg | ... | Flo | |
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Kai Remlow | ... | Steiner Sissener (as Kai Remlov) |
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Per Jansen | ... | Lokfører |
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Bjarte Hjelmeland | ... | Konduktør |
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Gard B. Eidsvold | ... | Stinesen |
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Bjørn Jenseg | ... | Valkyrijen kelner |
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Morten Rudå | ... | Röhmer |
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Lars Øyno | ... | Connery |
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Trond-Viggo Torgersen | ... | Opsahl |
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Terje Alsvik Walløe | ... | Man på pissoar |
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Peder Anders Lohne Hamer | ... | Nordahl |
A picaresque tale. Odd Horton is dependable and contained: he's a train engineer retiring after 40 years of service, living a simple life. His idea of adventure is to fly from one city in Norway to another. Starting on the night of his retirement dinner, Odd has a series of dislocating experiences: a boy insists that Odd sit by his bedside while he falls asleep; misadventure causes Odd to miss his last run; he witnesses an arrest; he assists an old man and makes a friend; he takes a trip with a blindfolded driver; he adopts a dog; he takes stock late one night at the roundhouse; he revisits his mother's disappointment in him. How should he live the rest of his life? Written by <jhailey@hotmail.com>
Rhapsodic. Anti-climactic. Deadpan. Superbly lit, shot, and cut. Writer-director-producer Bent Hamer's unique blend of vision and attention to detail makes sure that everything fits in this gem of an art-house movie. It's uneventful and unprecedented at the same time. In the process of telling the story of Odd Horten's retirement, Bent Hamer paints an affectionate portrait of his quiet hero. We never know what's really going on in Odd Horten's mind, but we learn a great deal about him just from watching him go about his daily routine during his final days as an award-winning locomotive driver on the Oslo-Bergen express. Odd is a loving son, an early riser, a drinker of black coffee, a pipe smoker, a boat owner, a late-night sauna-goer. Late one night, on his way home, he meets Trygve, a schizophrenic inventor who likes to drive his Citroen with his eyes closed. What Trygve says of his brother is also true for Odd: He does things in his own way. The segment about Odd's exhausting attempt to pay a visit to his friend Flo, an airport worker, alone is worth the ticket. Great instrumental score by John Erik Kaada. Not for everyone, but if you like it odd, Odd is your man.