Odd Horten, a Norweian train operator, is doing his last trip at the helm of his locomotive. The trip will take him from Oslo to Bergen through the snowed countryside that seems to go on forever. Horten arrives at the inn where he has stayed during his years doing the route. Fro Thorgensen, the woman in charge, asks Horten if this is the end, which makes us think he had been having a long affair with her when he overnights in her place. Being a man of a few words, he does not have an answer to her question.
Odd's friends from the railroad get together that night to celebrate his retirement with a dinner at a restaurant where they go through routines they have enjoyed during his years of working for the railroad. Odd is impassive to what his buddies are trying to do to celebrate his many years at work. Later, they decide to go to the apartment of one of the people at the party. Horten gets separated from the group, but he is given the code to enter the building. When he return from buying his pipe tobacco, he cannot get in. Not knowing what to do, he decides to go up via the scaffolding outside the building. Unfortunately, he gets into a stranger's apartment, where a young boy holds him up by his side, not letting him go. Odd oversleeps and is late for his return trip.
In Oslo, Odd goes to visit his mother, an avid skier, now living at a senior's home. The woman does not utter a word, but listens to her son intently. One day, Odd coming out of a tobacco shop, finds a man that is laying on the ground next to the streetcar's rail. He manages to get him up, and it turns out he is Trigve Sissener, a former Norwegian ambassador who had a long career in Africa and Indochina. The grateful Trigve asks him to go home. The men fall into an easy conversation as the doctor shows and tells stories about his years abroad. Giving a lift home, Trigve offers to drive with his eyes closed. Odd is not too happy, but goes along, trusting his newly found friend's instincts. Odd is shocked when the car comes to a complete stop at a curve, realizing Trigve suffered a massive heart attack.
Odd Horten had regretted the fact that he was not a skier, like his mother. He always wanted to do one ski jump from one of the runs not far from the city. Going back to Trigve's place, where he saw a pair of skis, he goes in and retrieves the equipment for his jump. Coming out of the house he meets a man who turns out to be the real Trigve. Odd overcomes his fears and jumps. The next thing we see is Odd going to Bergen to Fru Thorgensen, who is waiting for him.
"Odd Horten" conceived and directed by Bent Hamer, is a deadpan comedy where not much happens, and yet, it holds our attention. Like his previous film, "Factotum" and "Kitchen Stories", the director shows a knack for making everyday occurrences interesting. With Odd Horten, he created a stoic man that has gone with the flow, never doing anything out of the ordinary. Suddenly, as he has reached retirement age, he suddenly wakes up, no doubt a bit shaken by watching a new friend die in front of his eyes and begins living, for a change.
The excellent Bard Owe is Odd Horten. An actor that conveys a lot with an economy of gesture, he is perfect as the man whose life has passed him by. Equally good is Esken Skjonberg, seen as Trigve Sissener. The supporting cast does a marvelous job for the director.
Odd's friends from the railroad get together that night to celebrate his retirement with a dinner at a restaurant where they go through routines they have enjoyed during his years of working for the railroad. Odd is impassive to what his buddies are trying to do to celebrate his many years at work. Later, they decide to go to the apartment of one of the people at the party. Horten gets separated from the group, but he is given the code to enter the building. When he return from buying his pipe tobacco, he cannot get in. Not knowing what to do, he decides to go up via the scaffolding outside the building. Unfortunately, he gets into a stranger's apartment, where a young boy holds him up by his side, not letting him go. Odd oversleeps and is late for his return trip.
In Oslo, Odd goes to visit his mother, an avid skier, now living at a senior's home. The woman does not utter a word, but listens to her son intently. One day, Odd coming out of a tobacco shop, finds a man that is laying on the ground next to the streetcar's rail. He manages to get him up, and it turns out he is Trigve Sissener, a former Norwegian ambassador who had a long career in Africa and Indochina. The grateful Trigve asks him to go home. The men fall into an easy conversation as the doctor shows and tells stories about his years abroad. Giving a lift home, Trigve offers to drive with his eyes closed. Odd is not too happy, but goes along, trusting his newly found friend's instincts. Odd is shocked when the car comes to a complete stop at a curve, realizing Trigve suffered a massive heart attack.
Odd Horten had regretted the fact that he was not a skier, like his mother. He always wanted to do one ski jump from one of the runs not far from the city. Going back to Trigve's place, where he saw a pair of skis, he goes in and retrieves the equipment for his jump. Coming out of the house he meets a man who turns out to be the real Trigve. Odd overcomes his fears and jumps. The next thing we see is Odd going to Bergen to Fru Thorgensen, who is waiting for him.
"Odd Horten" conceived and directed by Bent Hamer, is a deadpan comedy where not much happens, and yet, it holds our attention. Like his previous film, "Factotum" and "Kitchen Stories", the director shows a knack for making everyday occurrences interesting. With Odd Horten, he created a stoic man that has gone with the flow, never doing anything out of the ordinary. Suddenly, as he has reached retirement age, he suddenly wakes up, no doubt a bit shaken by watching a new friend die in front of his eyes and begins living, for a change.
The excellent Bard Owe is Odd Horten. An actor that conveys a lot with an economy of gesture, he is perfect as the man whose life has passed him by. Equally good is Esken Skjonberg, seen as Trigve Sissener. The supporting cast does a marvelous job for the director.