Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Sep 9th at 7:40p for Oslo, August 31st at the Somerville Theatre . Look for Sean wearing a nametag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.
A man who cant sort out the wreckage of his life wonders what sort of future he deserves in this drama adapted from a novel by Pierre Drieu La Rochelle. Anders (Anders Danielsen Lie) is a struggling writer from a successful family who stumbled into bad habits and is soon to be released from a treatment center for drug addiction. Describing himself as a spoiled brat who (messed) up, Anders has pinned his hopes for the future on a job at a magazine in Oslo, and after being discharged he heads into the city. There he meets up with an old friend, Thomas (Hans Olav Brenner), who has turned his back on drug-fueled carousing and now looks after his children; their conversation makes it obvious Anders isnt feeling comfortable on the outside, and his job interview is little short of disastrous. As Anders wanders Oslo and crosses paths with former friends and acquaintances, most of whom dont seem especially happy to see him, he ponders the future that lies before him and contemplates taking his own life. Oslo, August 31st was directed by Joachim Trier, a cousin of noted filmmaker Lars von Trier; the film was an official selection at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.