Thelma

After reading the fantastic reviews and hearing from friends what a great film this was, i went in with big expectations. I was, oddly not to my surprise, a bit let down, and i think others will be too. But that doesn't mean that you shouldn't go out and watch it!

Harboe is the perfect choice for the titular character - every emotion is portrayed with the utmost of believability. Her connection with Anja feels natural and at times entrancing. If Harboe doesn't win an Amanda for Best Actress i'll boycott the award show. Just saying...

The story in engaging, but slow-paced. I don't mind, others might. This is a beautiful piece of art, executed with finesse by Trier. The soundtrack is underscoring the action without adding too much drama, and you've gotta love every moment Susanne Sundfør's music is playing in the background. A perfect fit for this film. The screenplay has a lot of potential, but stumbles here and there. In a way i wish it had been a bit easier on the use of metaphors and symbolism, but at the same time i can't quite grasp what Thelma really is about. Visually, it's stunning - and that's not a given for Norwegian film. But film needs more than stunning photography, cinematography, characters, cgi and music. And that last bit is what's missing here.

Summed up: if you don't like Trier's other films, you might not like this one either. But it's worth the money (!) and your time. Film er best på kino!

The film was excellent but they seriously need a seizure warning somewhere.

Thelma is a hard film to categorise. It contains everything from drama, mystery, supernatural elements, a bit of horror and is essentially a story about love, self-discovery and the fear it may be attached to it. It is a very slow film but the pace is even enough so it never gets dull or drags. The opening sequence is perfect and sets the tone of the film right from the very first seconds. All the performances are simply top-notch and photography stunning. There is also a bit of symbolism present so you will get your share of food for thought. The symbolism nicely compliments the film, it is not the focus of it and thus does not make Thelma a full on art-house film where you can't decipher or understand what is going on. It is very well written although it is very hard not to think of or compare it to Carrie since there are similarities.

Everyone who love dark films and stories with haunting atmosphere, good performances and beautiful photography should not miss this one. Recommended.

Thelma is categorized as a drama, fantasy and horror but I wouldn't categorize it as a horror movie because there are no horror moments at all. There is suspense building throughout the whole movie but it never gets really creepy. The story is good though, intriguing, slowly building to the climax. Good directing from Joachim Trier. Thelma is nicely shot, clearly done by professionals. The cast was well chosen as well, as all the actors did a good job with their respective characters. To me it could have been darker with more scary moments to make it better but even without that it's entertaining and worth watching. Good Norwegian movie.

Very good acting and some compelling character development are this film's greatest strengths. The deliberate, almost meditative pacing is affecting, as is the score. There are many moments of quietude, and this is part of what makes it such an interesting twist on Carrie. They really are of two completely different kinds of stories despite Thelma being a sort of Nordic retelling of Carrie.

The film's greatest flaw is the script's incorporation of that tired old cliche of fundamentalist religious fanaticism, which is such an old and boring trope. every single movie I've ever seen with this component and every story I've ever read that relies on it is weaker as a result. There are so many more subtle ways to introduce character and thematic complexity if part of what you're trying to do is include some sort of religious or spiritual dimension. Relying on the old and not-so-venerable fundamentalist Christian cliche means that the script misses out on some really interesting opportunities for greater subtlety and depth period

Nonetheless, this is a very good low-key paranormal drama.