Sons of Norway - DVD

Movie: Norway, late 1970s: young Nikolaj (Asmund Hoeg) grows up quite carefree in an unconventional hippie family, where father Magnus (Sven Nordin) likes to decorate the Christmas tree with bananas. But the family's eccentricity is abruptly destroyed when mother Lone (Sonja Richter) dies in an accident. While Nikolaj's younger brother stays with relatives, he has to stay behind with his father, who is shaken by a deep depression. More and more Nikolaj takes refuge in the world of punk, rebelling and rioting without being put in his place by his father. All attempts to provoke Magnus fail. But even when his father seems to have awakened from his rigor mortis, Magnus fails to see that his son would need a real father to keep him from falling deeper into the hole of drugs and violence that he is balancing dangerously close to the edge of right now...

Sons of Norway begins with wonderfully quirky humor that bodes well for an unconventional comedy with some very bitingly wicked wit. There are moments throughout the story when this hope is then confirmed. But all in all Jens Lien's tragicomedy leaves a rather disappointing impression. This is certainly not because of the very good set or the good actors. Especially Sven Nordin, known from the cult comedy Elling, delivers a very good performance as an unconventional father on the brink of insanity.

What hurts the film, on the other hand, is the somehow indecisive staging. Jens Lien has adapted the autobiographical novel Theory and Practice by Nikolaj Frobenius, who also adapted the screenplay, as a somewhat half-baked mix of comedy and drama. It succeeds very well in the whimsically humorous moments. Especially scenes like the summer vacation at the nudist camp or the confrontation between Magnus and his son's school principal are really quite wonderful. But around them there are too many moments that somehow seem inappropriate or even trivial. As a viewer you sometimes wonder what the story actually wants to say or who the movie wants to address. The fact that the characters also seem only partly sympathetic, reinforces this unbalanced impression.

Whether Sons of Norway works as an homage to punk, I can not judge, because I have never really dealt with this music genre. At the very least, fans of the Sex Pistols will enjoy a small guest appearance by Johnny Rotten. But even if the attitude towards life of the 70s generation and their rebellion against their anti-authoritarian hippie parents are well captured, the story still lacks a really engaging build-up that connects the handful of really good scenes to a coherent whole.

If you like Nordic entertainment of the slightly weirder kind, you will certainly be very well entertained here in some moments. Nevertheless, a recommendation can only be given conditionally, as it is hard to be really captivated by the story or its characters. A stretches nice, but overall just quite irrelevant film and therefore only: conditionally worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The 70s look of the film was also well implemented for home cinema. Especially with the color mixing was done here very good work. The image sharpness could have been a little better in some scenes. A certain coarseness, which can be noticed here and there, does not stand out negatively, but rather underlines the retro look of the film. The sound remains largely restrained, only the punk music and some harmoniously implemented ambient sounds provide a little movement in the surround. Good!

Extras: The DVD brings with it a couple of extras worth watching. It starts with a short making of (approx. 10 min.), followed by an interview with Johnny Rotten (approx. 8 min.), who once again lives up to his reputation here. In addition, there is an uncommented look behind the scenes (approx. 7 min.), as well as some cut scenes (approx. 5 min.), which are, however, without German subtitles. A short video of the film band Pink Dirt (approx. 1:30 min.), the trailer and other program tips round out the neat bonus program.

Conclusion: Sons of Norway is sometimes quirky comedy with whimsical characters, sometimes dark social drama and coming-of-age story. Not all elements of the film can convince equally, so that in the end a somewhat unbalanced overall impression. Nevertheless: if you like unusual arthouse fare with a Nordic touch, you can definitely risk a look at this technically well-realized DVD

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp