The Film Experience™ was created by Nathaniel R. All material herein is written by our team. (This site is not for profit but for an expression of love for cinema & adjacent artforms.)
This is the entry to a kino here in Norway. My friends didn't let me go in *sniffle* Be back to NYC and thus movies tonight. What did I miss these past ten days? Fill me in! What have you been seeing?
Hey kids. It's Nathaniel just checking in from my vacation. I hope you miss me but I'm loving this very unplugged trip -- today I lept from a dock in remote Norwegian village into the freezing cold ocean. Invigorating!
Anyway... when I arrived in Bergen Monday afternoon I was surprised to see Wenche Foss, beloved Norwegian postwar actress staring back at me on the Tarmac.
It got me to thinking about which actresses we idolize enough in America to give them this sort of treatment. Not that we do but IF we did as we should? Who would it be? Besides Dame Meryl of course?
Amir here, bringing you a film from the Hot Docs festival that will surely land on my top ten list come the year’s end.
I'll have the watch till 11 o'clock. Then I'll go down to the saloon and write the meaning of life.”
As a general rule, I try to avoid all films that deal with the ocean. I'm not averse to action adventures but I suffer from intense thalassophobia and cinema is an experience I'd like to enjoy, not endure. Exceptions have to be made every now and then, of course, and a few experiences have been rewarding enough to justify all the shaking and sneaking through fingers. I made one such exception for Expedition to the End of the World, based on strong word of mouth, and I’m happy to say I came away thoroughly satisfied. In fact, I doubt I’ll see a better film at this year’s festival.
For some people who live in the United States, this weekend will be their first opportunity to see Norway’s 2012 Best Foreign Language Film nominee Kon-Tiki in a movie theater. Sort of. In point of fact, nobody in the United States, not this weekend nor during the film’s limited roll-out, is going to see the film nominated for that Oscar, unless it’s because they’ve imported the unsubtitled DVD from Europe. Because the version of Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg’s movie playing in the States is a combination of footage from the “real” version that played in Norway, with dialogue sequences re-shot in English. It is, literally, a different movie, with the exact same plot and shot setups.
We’re not here to rip apart the Weinstein Company for releasing that version (though seriously, it’s pretty dumb – the audience for Kon-Tiki in English is certainly not significantly larger than the audience for the original version), but to consider the greater questions it raises about watching foreign language movies in the first place. I assume that you, like me, are at least a little bit offended by this bit of Anglophonic pandering, and would all things considered, rather see Kon-Tiki in its original version, and the question I ask both you and myself is: why?
Mysjkin with Woody Allen. As close as she fears she'll get to him!We're getting to know the Film Experience community. Should this be a weekly feature? Today we're talking to Ann-Mari from Norway who goes by "Mysjkin" in the comments.
Quick what's the last movie you watched before I asked you to do this reader spotlight?
MYSJKIN: I finally got around to watching Let the Right One In after finally having read the book. As a librarian I am intrigued by how page translates to screen. It's impossible to completely capture a novel, choices need to be made. Let the Right One In was to me a really well judged adaptation, focusing on what I found to be the heart of the novel; the relationship between Eli and Oscar and their fragile, violent and compelling coming-of-age.
When did you start reading The Film Experience?
MYSJKIN: I discovered TFE back when IMDB had links to fun stuff at the bottom of their page and I clicked to read Unsung Heroes: The SFX of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, that being one of my favourite films. After reading that post and several of your own, I felt like I had discovered a treasure chest of cinematic goodness!
I was so sad when IMDb stopped that link feature but I'm glad you stayed - that was just before the site overhaul.
MYSJKIN: I love the mix of old and new and the unabashed obsession with actresses and Oscar! All your contributors are excellent and reading the comments is highly enjoyable, that last bit is in itself a rare online treat. But most of all, it's your writing, your warmth, wit and creativity that keeps bringing me back.
Tusen takk! Do you remember your first movie?
No, but I remember my first movie obsession. It was Pete's Dragon. I would watch that video tape (<3 the 80s ) over and over and over. Whenever someone claims to have seen something weird, "A dragon, a dragon, I swear I saw a dragon!" is the first thing that pops into my head.
Let's move on to more adult matters. Have you ever broken up with someone because of a movie?
Haha! Almost... When I was 19, my boyfriend of about a month wanted me to watch 'the best film he had EVER seen'. It was Braveheart... I had my first portent that it would'nt last right then and there. It was over a couple of months later.
Three favorite actors?
Vintage Gem: Gregory Peck Current Obsession: Michael Fassbender (yes, like EVERYONE else ;D) God Among Us: Daniel Day Lewis.
I saw The Last of the Mohicans in theaters at the tender age of 15. The hotness! The hair! The instant teenage girl crush! The jawdropping realization that this was the same actor I had seen in A Room With a View only a few months prior.
Since I speak a little broken Norwegian tell us which 5 Norsk movies readers should check out?
I'm so happy about your love for Joachim Trier, because I think Reprise and Oslo, 31. Augustare perhaps the two best Norwegian films ever made! ...and third place goes to DeUsynlige (Troubled Water). For some vintage spookiness, watch De dødes tjern (not sure if there's an English title, but it translates as Lake of the Dead) and to tap into the Norwegian Heart and Soul, watch Flåklypa Grand Prix
Finally, we need to talk about Elling! Not only is this a good, heartwarming film, but it also features yours truly as an extra! Yup, (as you will see from the attached picture) that's the back of my head right there! I'm only visible for a few seconds, but it was enough to secure the film an Oscar nomination! ;D