Hjem til jul (2010)

The film looks at those who are desperately trying to connect or reconnect with their families, friends, or anyone who will listen.

Director:

Bent Hamer

Writers:

Bent Hamer, Levi Henriksen (contributing writer)

Stars:

Nina Andresen Borud, Arianit Berisha, Joachim Calmeyer

1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Nina Andresen Borud	...	Karin
Arianit Berisha	...	Goran
Joachim Calmeyer	...	Simon
Trond Fausa	...	Paul (as Trond Fausa Aurvaag)
Levi Henriksen	...	Security Man
Cecile Mosli	...	Elise
Patrick Mölleken	...	Thomas (voice)
Igor Necemer	...	Serb
Tomas Norström	...	Kristen
Kai Remlow	...	Paramedic (as Kai Remlov)
Morten Ilseng Risnes	...	Thomas
Sarah Bintu Sakor	...	Bintu
Issaka Sawadogo	...	Bintu's Father
Kristine Rui Slettebakken	...	Tone
Nadja Soukup	...	Goran's Mother

Storyline

Following a prologue set in war-torn former Yugoslavia, the film follows several different Christmas celebrations in the small Norwegian town of Skogli. Paul is a thirty-three-year-old laborer who marches into his doctor's office demanding a prescription, then proceeds to lay bare all his woes. The doctor is beleaguered by his own marital and financial difficulties (he's left his upset wife to work emergency calls on Christmas Eve). There's also an elderly man preparing an esoteric ritual, a vagrant who runs into an old flame, a middle-aged couple in the throes of passion, a boy hopelessly in love with his Muslim neighbor and a young émigré couple whose car breaks down as the woman goes into labor.

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Plot Keywords:

christmas | love | doggystyle sex | female frontal nudity | female nudity | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Germany] Official site [Japan]

Country:

Norway Sweden Germany

Language:

Norwegian English Serbian French

Release Date:

12 November 2010 (Norway)

Also Known As:

Home for Christmas

Filming Locations:

Östersund, Jämtlands län, Sweden

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pandora Filmproduktion,Filmimperiet Sverige,Bulbul Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

User Reviews

A grown-up holiday movie in unmistakable Scandinavian style

I love this film and consider it a modern Christmas classic. It has many of the elements of a traditional Christmas story – a couple welcoming a newborn in the what amounts to a stable, meaningful signs in the sky, touching and sad family scenes – as well as Bent Hamer's unmistakable wry, Norwegian sense of humour. Certain scenes made me laugh out loud while my husband thought my reaction was odd. I guess you either get his jokes or you don't. Personally, I find all of Hamer's films funny in a droll way. While the opening scene is particularly bleak, don't be deterred. The story quickly changes time and place.

The film gives you a Christmas Eve peek into the lives and relationships of several individuals and couples, young and old, in a small Norwegian town. You see how modernity and tradition live side by side in a peaceful and practical way, reflective of Norway's down to earth cultural maturity.

I thought all of the actors were quite good and well-cast in their roles. There are as many sad endings as happy ones for the characters in this film, so it's a far more realistic interpretation of a Christmas story than "It's a Wonderful Life".

I enjoy Scandinavian films in general and Bent Hamer's films in particular. If you liked "O'Horton" and "Kitchen Stories" this is probably your kind of Christmas film. It was difficult to find a copy of "Hjem til jul", I had to buy a copy of it on Ebay from someone in the Philippines. I'm sure it had decent distribution in Europe, but good luck finding it in North America. No one's seeding it on Torrentz. Still, if you're a Hamer fan, it's well worth the hunt. Now, if only I could find "Eggs"…