I have not read Jostein Gaarders book "Appelsinpiken" which has been turned into this film manuscript, but it is not difficult to find the philosophical touch of which Gaarder became a world hit with "Sofie's world".
Appelsinpiken has got nothing to do with this story though, being about a boy getting a heavy letter from his long gone father on his sixteenth birthday, the same day as he's going on holiday in the mountains to watch a comet through his telescope - a gift from his father more than ten years ago. On the way he starts reading his fathers story about his big love in life. At the same time we understand this trip will be very different for Georg...
It's a philosophical story about gripping or understanding love, or how a father can tell his son that recognizing love when it appears is important, and that love is a strange and difficult thing.
Appelsinpiken engages for a long time, and is built up like a mystery, but at some time the story paces off for my taste. OK, the story is beautiful, and the film professionally made, but a couple of times it gets too silly. Falling in love might be a crazy thing, but.... Why isn't Jan Olav asking the name of the girl he is falling in love with?
The most annoying thing of the film is filming long distance through café windows and bushes. Maybe this is to make us get distance to the story, or is it to make us feel like watchers or stalkers? This does not function to anything more than annoying me. Another not understandable thing is picking small children which never could grow up to look like the older versions of the cast. Come on! At least hair color should be easy enough to fix nowadays.
The acting is sometimes good, but is sometimes not functioning. I think Harald Rosenstrøm in the role of Jan Olav goes from good to bad several times. He's not filling the role completely. Better so with the son Georg, Mikkel Bratt Silset which really convinces as the 16 year old he obviously is.
Well there's more to pick out not functioning here, but if you let this all fly, and decide not look for the art in the movie, Appelsinpiken is a lovely story, though mainly for youngsters and romantics.
If you're the romantic kind, you might easily fall in love with this story. But I got a feeling that this functions better in the book than on celluloid. Eva Dahr has done a fair job, but misses out in making this story really special. This kind of story should at least make us shed a tear!
Appelsinpiken has got nothing to do with this story though, being about a boy getting a heavy letter from his long gone father on his sixteenth birthday, the same day as he's going on holiday in the mountains to watch a comet through his telescope - a gift from his father more than ten years ago. On the way he starts reading his fathers story about his big love in life. At the same time we understand this trip will be very different for Georg...
It's a philosophical story about gripping or understanding love, or how a father can tell his son that recognizing love when it appears is important, and that love is a strange and difficult thing.
Appelsinpiken engages for a long time, and is built up like a mystery, but at some time the story paces off for my taste. OK, the story is beautiful, and the film professionally made, but a couple of times it gets too silly. Falling in love might be a crazy thing, but.... Why isn't Jan Olav asking the name of the girl he is falling in love with?
The most annoying thing of the film is filming long distance through café windows and bushes. Maybe this is to make us get distance to the story, or is it to make us feel like watchers or stalkers? This does not function to anything more than annoying me. Another not understandable thing is picking small children which never could grow up to look like the older versions of the cast. Come on! At least hair color should be easy enough to fix nowadays.
The acting is sometimes good, but is sometimes not functioning. I think Harald Rosenstrøm in the role of Jan Olav goes from good to bad several times. He's not filling the role completely. Better so with the son Georg, Mikkel Bratt Silset which really convinces as the 16 year old he obviously is.
Well there's more to pick out not functioning here, but if you let this all fly, and decide not look for the art in the movie, Appelsinpiken is a lovely story, though mainly for youngsters and romantics.
If you're the romantic kind, you might easily fall in love with this story. But I got a feeling that this functions better in the book than on celluloid. Eva Dahr has done a fair job, but misses out in making this story really special. This kind of story should at least make us shed a tear!
